Serves youth with severe disabilities and has volunteer opportunities for students. Please check out our website 

• Circle of Friends School

In the spring, we will hold our annual spring break camp during the last week in March [3/27-3/31].  Interested students can visit our website and use our contact page or contact us through social media on Instagram and Facebook @circleoffriendsschool

• Click here for a volunteer flyer about day camps.
• Click here for a general volunteer flyer.

CONTACT: Jennifer Davis M.S. Special Education
Co-Founder and Executive Director // Circle of Friends
541.321.0107 // 

Thanks to a group of International Baccalaureate students who are volunteering time in Buford Park, I’ve been made aware of the IB program and the valuable work students from the 4J international high school are engaging in around the Eugene/Springfield area. Friends of Buford Park would love to engage more students from the International High School program in a number of projects we have available in our stewardship area.

Ongoing projects include:

Native plant nursery operations

Friends maintains a 2-acre native plant nursery that supports habitat restoration efforts by Friends and partner organizations across the region. The nursery plays host to many uncommon and relatively rare species endemic to the upper Willamette Valley.

Invasive species management and utilization

The native habitats of Buford Park compete with invasive plant species like blackberry, scot’s broom and thistles for space in the landscape. Part of the stewardship efforts of Friends is to manage these invasive species in such a way as to give native species the opportunity to thrive. We are also actively looking for new and creative ways to create markets for utilization of the plant material byproducts from these management activities. Volunteers contribute to this effort through cutting, digging and pulling invasive plants both by hand and with mechanical and motorized equipment.

Trail Maintenance

Buford Park contains a trail system over 25 miles long that is used by approximately 500,000 visitors annually. This heavy use requires constant maintenance of the trail surfaces, rebuilding of trail beds, closing of desire line trails that accelerate erosion, and clearing of woody debris, trees and brush that impact trail user experience. Volunteers support this work through mechanical and motorized management of trailside vegetation, removing organic material from trail surfaces and on some occasions, decommissioning and rebuilding new trail. 

Wetland Restoration

Friends of Buford Park and Mt. Pisgah steward the Turtle Flats preserve at the confluence of the Coast and Middle Fork Willamette rivers. This preserve is closed to the public and is the site of a historic wetland restoration project embarked on by Friends, State Parks, Lane County and other partners. The preserve is adjacent to Glassbar state park, a water-access-only park at the head of the mainstem Willamette River, and the Willamette Confluence Preserve, another nature preserve closed to the public. Volunteers assist in restoration efforts at Turtle Flats through planting native shrubs and trees, removing trash and other human-produced debris, managing invasive plant and animal species and doing public outreach and education about the site.

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In addition to these ongoing opportunities, we have an ever-changing list of project-based opportunities for volunteer engagement.  At the top of this list is a trail building project on the east side of the park. Friends is rerouting Trail 3 East to improve trail conditions and help conserve sensitive wet prairies habitats adjacent to the current trail. This project will include trail building, foot bridge demolition, culvert installation, utility bridge construction and trail decommissioning work. Some aspects of this project are appropriate for unskilled volunteers, some aspects would be appropriate for unskilled volunteers if supervised by a skilled adult and other tasks are only appropriate for those with some level of trail building knowledge.

If any of these projects and opportunities sound intriguing to individuals or groups of students, please let me know and I can provide an outline of what volunteering on that particular project might look like.

CONTACT: Jared Tarr, Intern and Volunteer Coordinator
Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them What’s This?
Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah
541.606-7587

• volunteer@bufordpark.org
• intern@bufordpark.org
• Please visit us online: Buford Park

City of Eugene Recreation Department has a variety of volunteer opportunities for individuals interested in sharing their time and talent. Volunteers play a vital role working together with staff to create safe, healthy and livable communities and recreational opportunities for all. Click here for volunteer opportunities.

Gain experience in the world of healthcare and make a difference by volunteering with Bristol Hospice! Bring comfort to those on their end of life journey by taking care of pets, creating memory boards, playing music, or sharing a conversation! Contact our volunteer coordinator, Katie Desautels, to learn more at 385.415.4776, or email her at: 

• katie.desautels@brisotlhospice.com.

This opportunity is available for volunteers ages 14 and up.

Katie Desautels- She/Her
Volunteer Coordinator
1077 Gateway Loop B
Springfield, OR 97477
Office: (541) 844- 0151
Cell: (385) 415-4776
Fax: (541) 636- 2722

• Website: Bristol Hospice - Eugene

We are looking for any IHS students looking for some community service hours for help writing in our monthly newsletter. We also give out gift cards to your favorite stores for your help!  We would love help with our monthly content finding athletes, academic achievers, pets, kids corner to write about in the SW Hills Living Magazine.  If you like Instagram, we also post weekly pics showcasing our SW Hills residents.

If interested contact Kimberly Williams, Publisher, N2 Publishing: kimberly.williams@n2pub.com, 541-954-3163

We are always looking for individuals who have a passion for helping others, who are interested in Fire/EMS, or anyone who is looking for something new to try!  This is a great opportunity for those wanting to get into the medical field or those needing some more volunteer hours.

• Click here for an informational brochure
• Click here for an informational flyer

Contact:
Faith Huff (FF/EMT)

• faithhuff.dexterfire@gmail.com

(458) 210-8544

Join Black middle and high school students from across Oregon in creating the next edition of Black Student Magazine!  Gather weekly on Wednesdays after school via Zoom to celebrate Black culture and make new friends statewide while improving your writing and multimedia skills. Participating students receive mentoring and writing support from University of Oregon journalism undergraduates who are also students of color. Learn photography, writing, layout, design and leadership skills. No prior journalism experience is required.

• Click here for informational flyer

Our club is a service group that helps people all over our community. Each year, we run a free, virtual tutoring program for kids in grades K-8 in our local area and we need student volunteers!  We are looking for students in any grade that would be excited to volunteer as tutors. Our tutors work in a variety of subjects based on their personal interests and skills. They can also tutor any age group that they feel comfortable in. Some benefits of this program include, but aren’t limited to, flexible volunteer hours based on tutor’s own schedules, great experience to add to college applications, and making a huge impact on the lives of kids!

If you have any questions let me know or check out our website for more information:   

• SEHS Rotary Interact Club

Walker Sheidow (She/Her)

Rotary Interact Community Tutoring Program Lead

• wsheidow37@4j.lane.edu

Lane County 4-H is in the process of recruiting new leaders for our upcoming 4-H year; the 4-H year runs October-September. Many folks confuse 4-H as a strictly agricultural program, when in reality we are a youth development program that offers youth a variety of hands-on, fun educational experiences. The majority of our clubs are in rural Lane County areas and focus on livestock and small animal projects. My goal is to expand on the non-animal projects in 4-H to expose rural youth to more opportunities and open the 4-H doors for urban youth in our county. 4-H projects outside of animals include: photography, baking, robotics, welding, horticulture/gardening, natural resources, communications, poetry, sketching and painting, sewing, kitchen and food safety, physical activity, leadership…the options are endless! Basically, any area that youth are interested, we aim to provide a leader and club for that project area. With the current pandemic, we are enforcing face masks at all in person gatherings and provide virtual leading/programming for those who are more comfortable with staying home.

Juniors and seniors need many hours of community service, creativity, and physical activity; 4-H could fit each of these depending what the students lead/help with. They can work with kids from kindergarten to seniors in high school. We encourage kids teaching kids, so we’d love to have IHS students volunteer as leaders. We would sign off on community service, they can put us down on their resume, and we could offer letters of recommendation if needed. They can help lead youth in any project area they are interested, and the more non-animal project leaders we can get the better. If they could reach out to us in September and/or October, that would be great.

• Flyer: What is Lane County 4H?
• Flyer: Become a 4H Leader

For more information check out our Facebook page or contact Elizabeth Gangwer if you need more information or have trouble viewing the video.

Elizabeth Gangwer
4-H Program Coordinator

• Oregon State University – Lane County Extension

4-H Youth Development

• elizabeth.gangwer@oregonstate.edu

P: 541-344-4811

Eugene’s Amazon Creek needs your help with litter cleanup as it flows through our community! At times, this important urban waterway can become inundated with garbage that is harmful to habitat and water quality. Volunteers are needed throughout the Amazon Creek corridor to remove debris and improve the conditions for all flora and fauna along the way.

How to Help:

Love Your Parks Solo Cleanups
The magic of the solo cleanup or rallying your own quaranteam cleanup is that it is super easy to do and can happen whenever you want. All you need is some gloves, a trash bag and a trash grabber.

Volunteers can borrow a free cleanup kit with disposable gloves, trash bags and a trash grabber. Cleanup kits will be available for pickup at the Trash Bash event. Email Kelsey Irvine to sign up to participate in Love Your Parks: Amazon Creek and reserve your cleanup kit if you would like one.  Spread the word! Invite your friends and family to join you for a trip to the creek together.

We have a new volunteer website!  Click on the link below to volunteer:
Link: 

• http://volunteer.foodforlanecounty.org/user/login/?return=activation

Throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, St. Vincent de Paul’s Youth and Family Services Department has worked tirelessly to provided uninterrupted services to families navigating homelessness in Lane County.   We are currently in critical need of in-person volunteers!  Join our team of volunteers to provide critical academic support to younger students navigating remote learning while homeless.  Volunteers will work in-person with students and their families to ensure successful academic engagement throughout this unprecedented time.  No prior experience working with students necessary!

St. Vincent de Paul is taking COVID-19 precautions very seriously; all staff/clients wear PPE onsite, extensive sanitization occurs regularly, daily health screens are conducted and exclusion protocols apply.

Volunteer shifts are available at both our day and overnight shelter locations; hours are flexible to meet your needs!  St. Vincent de Paul is able to offer volunteer training, hour verification and letters of recommendation upon request. We ask volunteers to commit to at least 2 hrs. per week for a 3-month time period in order to best serve families in our program.

Interested? Contact First Place Kids Program Director Ilana Jakubowski at ilana.jakubowski@svdp.us for more information!

We have some wonderful opportunities for students to work with kids, have fun, grow and gain valuable skills.   Below is the link to our Volunteer page and interest form.  We have the current offerings listed on the interest form.

• Kidsports Volunteer

Please contact me if you have any questions.
Beth Nitkowski
Senior Sports Manager
She/Her/Hers
541-683-2374 Ext 213
Office Hours: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

• Kidsports