Volunteer opportunities

Regardless of your Sierra Club or related experience (or lack thereof) - have we got a job for you! Volunteer opportunities abound, from helping lead outdoor adventures (big and small) to lobbying on important local environmental issues, to lending a hand at our Chapter Office. You decide - it all depends on your interests and how much time you can spare from your busy life. You need no special expertise to get started - only a genuine interest in getting involved. For ideas, check the examples below. For more opportunities (many more!), call Chapter conservation manager Jonna Papaefthimiou at (510) 848-0800, ext. 312, or email jonna -at- sfbaysc.org.

Volunteer CPA needed

The Sierra Club Bay Chapter is looking for a volunteer CPA to help us refine our budget and accounting practices. The Chapter has grown to have an annual budget in excess of a million dollars. To help, please contact Chapter director Michael Bornstein at (510)848-0800, ext. 303, or email mb -at- sfbaysc.org (include "CPA" in the subject line).

Help create youth environmental curriculum for Clair Tappaan Lodge

Clair Tappaan Lodge is seeking volunteers to help create a curriculum for students in grades 4 - 8.

Due to budget deficits, the Sierra Club may have to sell the lodge. But the Lodge Executive Committee is working on plans to erase the deficit. One method would be to fill the currently under-utilized facility with school groups Monday through Friday during the winter months. Many public schools hold week-long field trips focused on science and environmental education.

The Lodge can attract schools with a curriculum based on the surrounding Donner Summit area with its rich cultural legacies and unique natural environment. The area was the home to Maidu, Washoe, and other native people. It was the scene of the tragic Donner Party incident of 1846 and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Chinese immigrant laborers two decades later. The area has a rich volcanic geology as well as the heaviest snowfall in the Sierra Nevada. The area's forests, meadows, and streams also suggest great topics focusing on plant and animal life. We are looking for teachers, writers, editors, filmmakers, astronomers, biologists, geologists, hydrologists, historians, and anyone who would like to contribute to this project.

We hope at once to help save Clair Tappaan and to create a new form of Sierra Club outreach to educate people about the Sierra and the environment. If you are interested in working on this or know someone who might be, please contact Richard Boyden at (650) 355-4168 or email richardboyden -at- earthlink.net

Can you house a volunteer?

The Host Committee is looking for housing for Sierra Club members attending the Sep. 8 - 11 Sierra Summit in San Francisco. Do you have a spare bed or room for a Club member or members from Ohio or Hawaii?

We are also looking for volunteers to staff the convention - registration, session monitoring, and San Francisco welcome desk are among the roles.

To volunteer, visit www.sierrasummit.2005.org or contact Becky Evans, (415) 775-3309 or email rebecae -at- earthlink.net

Sierra Club's home in Yosemite

The LeConte Memorial Lodge is a 100-year-old museum, library, and visitor center operated by the Sierra Club in Yosemite National Park. We seek Club members to volunteer one week this summer to assist in keeping the doors of the Memorial open to our many visitors. As a volunteer, you receive free entrance to the park, and you may camp with us, free of charge, under the ponderosa pines near the Merced River with a wonderful view of Half Dome. Many weeks are still available for the 2005 summer season. Bring a friend or family member and volunteer together. For more information, see www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/volunteering.asp

To discuss volunteering, contact Lodge curator Bonnie Gisel at (209) 403-6676 or email leconte.curator -at- sierraclub.org

Learn more about LeConte Lodge at a lecture sponsored by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association on Thu., May 12, at Senior Hall on the UC Campus (not a Sierra Club event). This remarkable structure (1902 - 1903) was designed in granite and wood by Berkeleyan John White, Bernard Maybeck's brother-in-law, and built by the Sierra Club as an education center in memory of UC Professor Joseph Le Conte. The speaker will be Lodge curator Bonnie Gisel. To order tickets ($10, or $6 for full-time students with ID) or for more information, www.berkeleyheritage.com, or contact BAHA at (510) 841-2242 or email BAHA -at- rcn.com

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 email 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. Read the articles in the front part of this Yodeler to learn about part of the wide range of issues we are involved with. 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 email dbeach7 -at- mac.com or Tom Roberts (Alameda/Contra Costa Counties) at (415) 203-2781 or email tc.roberts -at- mindspring.com

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!)

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 email 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.

Alaska under assault - volunteers needed!

The Bush administration is attacking the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the western North Slope, and the Tongass National Forest all at once. Its efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic are particularly horrendous. We've stopped that effort so far - and we can stop it again - but only if we have lots of volunteers making phone calls and sending letters to the editor. Help the Sierra Club's Alaska Task Force and the Alaska Coalition mobilize to defend Alaska's unique public lands! Even volunteering a couple of hours for phone calls makes a difference. To volunteer, contact Vicky Hoover, Sierra Club Alaska Task Force, at (415) 977-5527 or email vicky.hoover -at- sierraclub.org; or David Edeli at (415) 252-7524 or email dedeli-at-hotmail.com

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.