Volunteer opportunities

Yes, we want you to volunteer! What would you like to do? Your options are many: from envelope-stuffing to working on local environmental issues, from helping in our Berkeley office to leading hikes. We have special volunteer opportunities for the November elections. The list below includes just a sample of current possibilities. A few of these would take advantage of your special skills, but for most volunteering no special expertise is needed; your genuine interest and commitment are far more important. For more ideas, contact Chapter administrative assistant Joanne Drabek at the Chapter Office at (510) 848-0800, ext. 315, or email joanne -at- sfbaysc.org.

Data entry

We are looking for a few good volunteers to help with data-entry projects at the Chapter Office. We do not need computer experts, just folks who can follow basic instructions to enter data into our computers. Normal business hours are ideal, and evenings are possible. Your help will be invaluable to our conservation efforts. To help, please contact Cathleen at (510)848-0800, ext. 316, or email cathleen -at- sfbaysc.org.

Sierra Club calendars - regional-group representatives

Once again this year the Bay Chapter is selling Sierra Club wall and engagement calendars to raise funds for our local conservation work. Help your regional group raise money by selling calendars at local meetings and events, from now through December. To volunteer or get more information, call Joanne Drabek, (510)848-0800, ext. 315.

Plan to support your local chapter this holiday season and order your 2006 Sierra Club Calendars from the San Francisco Bay Chapter and the regional groups. Calendars are available through mid-December.

Mailing coordinator

Every three weeks or so the Chapter Office sends a mailing to newly joined Chapter members. We need a volunteer who can coordinate this mailing, including sorting it according to picky Post Office regulations and delivering it to the Post Office. You must be attentive to detail, have a car, and be able to lift a 25-pound mail sack. To volunteer, call Joanne Drabek at (510)848-0800, ext. 315.

ExComm secretary

The secretary attends Chapter Executive Committee meetings (second Monday evening of each month) and takes minutes, later writing them up in final form. This volunteer gets a ringside seat as Chapter policy is made, plus the opportunity to be part of the "inner circle" of Chapter leaders. It's perfect for a member who is already familiar with the Bay Chapter, or for one with a strong interest in learning more. The ideal ExComm secretary has had previous minute-taking experience and has access to a word processor. ExComm minutes serve as a crucial communications link among Chapter activists, so you'll be a star! Time commitment is 8 - 10 hours per month; minimum six-month commitment preferred. For more information, contact Chapter chair John Rizzo at (415) 751-1615 or email jrizzo -at- sprintmail.com

Caricaturist

The Yodeler is looking for a skilled caricaturist to draw occasional portraits of our volunteers of the month. If you are available, please send a few samples of your work to Yodeler editor Don Forman at:

Sierra Club
2530 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702
yodeler-at-sfbaysc.org

Receptionists

The Chapter Office in Berkeley needs additional volunteer receptionists who are energetic team members, service-oriented, and gracious. You will be directing calls, greeting guests, responding to inquiries, and providing general office support. Regular four-hour shifts are available weekdays, 10 am - 2 pm or 1 - 5 pm. We request a weekly commitment for a minimum of four months. Training and ongoing support are cheerfully provided. If you have a predictable schedule and would like to support the Chapter by helping in the office, call Joanne Drabek at (510)848-0800, ext. 315.

Yodeler Photo Contest

Help make the annual Yodeler Photo Contest happen. To volunteer, contact Aphra Pia at (510) 655-0969 or email aphrapia-at-aol.com or Wade Sherwood at (510) 531-8664 or wwsherwood2-at-juno.com

Energy Committee

The Bay Chapter Energy Committee needs volunteers to help us keep abreast of energy issues affecting the Bay Area and to work with other Sierra Club entities to encourage renewable energy and energy conservation. Current needs include:

• following San Francisco's progress in implementing tidal- and wave-energy technology;
• implementing a plan to educate local communities about energy efficiency and conservation;
• exploring ways locally to move towards sustainability and to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

We meet once a month, usually on the fourth Wednesday (see the Yodeler calendar or sfbayenergy.org for exact times/places), to discuss these and other local energy issues, and to hear presentations from energy experts. Experience in the energy field is helpful, but more important is an interest in learning the details of specific technologies and legislation. For more information, contact committee chairs Doug Beach (San Francisco/Marin Counties) at (415) 608-1439 or dbeach7-at-mac.com or Tom Roberts (Alameda/Contra Costa Counties) at (415) 203-2781 or tc.roberts-at-mindspring.com

Alaska volunteers needed!

The Bush administration is attacking the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the western North Slope, and the Tongass National Forest all at once. Help the Sierra Club's Alaska Task Force and the Alaska Coalition defend Alaska's unique lands! To volunteer, contact Vicky Hoover, Sierra Club Alaska Task Force, at (415) 977-5527 or vicky.hoover-at-sierraclub.org

Retired? Want a challenge?

Volunteer at the Club's national headquarters in downtown San Francisco (one block from BART and Muni); contribute your experience to help us come to grips with the environmental problems of the next century. You'll meet new people with similar interests; have access to computers, the internet, and one of the best environmental libraries in the country; and expand your own interests while sharing your time and skills. Experience is useful in just about any field. We can use skills at translating from English into a wide range of languages. In addition, we need a volunteer to help with administrative support including filing, copying, and some light correspondence and internet searches. For details, call Michele Perrault at (415)977-5670.

Brighten a child's life (and yours!)

Have you ever seen a child's face light up during their first real experience with nature? Join the Club's Inner City Outings Program and open new eyes to the wonder of day-hiking, backpacking, and car-camping. ICO provides outdoor experiences for those who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity. Diverse volunteer opportunities exist throughout the year. Most needed are volunteers interested in mid-week day hikes. No prior experience is necessary, but a love of the outdoors and comfort with children are highly recommended. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/ico/sfbaychapter/index.html or contact Sadie Rabe at (925) 768-2242 or sadierabe-at-yahoo.com

Outings Office assistant

Every month Sierra Club's Outings Department in downtown San Francisco receives hundreds of requests for information. We need a few volunteers for about three or four hours every couple of weeks to help mail out responses. The hours can be any time between 9 am and 5 pm, Mon. - Fri. To help, call our volunteer coordinator at (415)977-5686.

Help stop clearcutting

Did you know that:

• more than one-third of the Sierra Nevada is privately owned?
• clearcutting is still allowed on private timberlands in California, and is the primary logging method used in the Sierra Nevada?
• Sierra Pacific Industries, owns 1.5 million acres of timberland in the Sierra Nevada, and plans to clearcut one million acres?
• the California State Board of Forestry regulates logging on private lands, but has failed to act to stop this practice?
• clearcutting destroys the forest, causes soil erosion that pollutes our drinking water, harms fish and wildlife, leaves unsightly scars, and makes our forests more vulnerable to wildfires?
• and it's not necessary - there are viable alternatives using sustainable and ecologically sensitive logging methods?

You can help to stop massive clearcutting in California. Join other activists to work on this issue. You could help make phone calls, write letters, speak to other groups, help with mailings, collect signatures, create flyers, attend Board of Forestry meetings, or donate money to help support these activities - whatever your interest! Contact Patricia Jones at (510) 548-2204 or StopClearcutting@sierraclub.org

Also use the e-mail form on Gov. Schwarzenegger's web page at www.govmail.ca.gov/ to urge him to tell the Board of Forestry to end clearcutting on private forest lands in California. Please copy us on your e-mail at StopClearcutting-at-sierraclub.org

Sausalito resident needed for Mosquito Board

The city of Sausalito has a vacancy to fill on the 24-member board of the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito District. The long-obscure District is now struggling over decisions about toxic pesticides that may pose more heath risk than the mosquitos they kill. Throughout Marin, with its high breast-cancer rates, families are particularly concerned about toxic pesticides. In West Marin, with its organic farmers and endangered species, communities have requested that the District prioritize education to prevent mosquitos from breeding and only as a last resort use organic pesticides. But the District is heavily biased towards spraying toxics and devotes only $44,000 to education compared to $350,000 to pesticides. The District meets on the second Wednesday of most months in Cotati, and there is a $100 per meeting stipend.

For more information, see www.msmosquito.com.

To get an application form for the vacancy, contact Dale Vaughn at (415) 289-4130.

Gordon Bennett, chair, Marin Group