Tiny Tots Care Center in Orem is looking for people to provide one-on-one visits to their young clients.
Volunteers 16 and older are welcome to visit and play outside with the children as the weather permits. Those under 16 may assist the children if they are part of a supervised group. Groups of 20 to 30 volunteers are especially needed on Saturdays to push the children's wheelchairs, sit with them on blankets in the shade and provide companionship. When it is too cold to go outside, the facility can accommodate a small group of six volunteers or fewer.In addition to visiting the children, people may donate quilts to the facility. Tiny Tots needs 50 5-by-5-foot floor quilts. The children lie on the quilts during their range-of-motion exercises. This would provide an excellent service opportunity for a group of volunteers.
Tiny Tots is an educational facility serving approximately 50 severely mentally and physically disabled children under 14.
Other service opportunities are available in Utah County. They include:
- Help children and adults learn to read. Project Read, a literacy program on the main floor of the Provo library, is looking for tutors for their family and adult literacy programs. Tutors are asked to meet with their students twice a week for 11/2 to 2 hours. Volunteers are trained and given materials to instruct either adults or children.
Also, volunteers are needed to stay in touch with new readers, invite them to program events and provide social and emotional support. Each volunteer would be asked to contact approximately 10 students.
- Become an HIV/AIDS education instructor. The AIDS Coalition of Utah County is recruiting volunteers who are willing to be trained to teach HIV/AIDS education courses to school and community groups. Those who are available to teach during the day are especially needed. Volunteers will be extensively trained by the American Red Cross of Central Utah.
- Prepare meals for less-fortunate families and individuals in Utah County. The Food and Care Coalition in Provo needs volunteers to help weekdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. setting up for breakfast, preparing for lunch and helping with light cleaning projects. Two to three people are needed for this shift every day.
- Repair books at the Provo library. Volunteers are needed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The library staff will train volunteers to repair books and maintain shelves.
For more information about these and other volunteer opportunities in Utah County, call the United Way Volunteer Center weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 374-8108.