Volunteer opportunities

Regardless of your Sierra Club or related experience (or lack thereof) - have we got something for you to do! 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!), contact Chapter administrative assistant Joanne Drabek at the Chapter Office at (510)848-0800, ext. 315, or email joanne -at- sfbaysc.org

Organizers and hands for Marin Group dinner

Help organize the Marin Group's eighth annual fall dinner. We need someone to coordinate overall event management, as well as individuals for numerous more specific tasks such as:

stuffing envelopes;
writing press releases and notifying newspapers;
designing invitations and getting them printed;
writing, having printed, and mailing out a sponsor letter;
organizing a mailing list and mailing out invitations;
designing award certificates and getting them printed and framed;
processing RSVPs and payments.

This is not only our one annual fundraiser but also an opportunity to meet and celebrate Marin's environmental heroes, when we present our annual Resource Conservation Award and Hannah Creighton Environmental Justice Award. We also bring in distinguished and interesting speakers.

This is a fun event and very important to our operations. We especially need an overall event coordinator to get started soon, and a few hands to whom they can delegate specific tasks. If you can help, call Marin Group chair Gordon Bennett at (415)663-1881.

Help sell Sierra Club Calendars

Starting in September the Chapter Office will be selling 2007 Sierra Club Calendars. Sales of the 2006 calendar netted $4,000 for the Chapter budget. To make this year's sales even stronger, we need your help.

Marketing manager: find new ways to promote and sell Sierra Club calendars, and develop a business-customer base. Start as soon as possible.

Project coordinator: manage the entire sales process, overseeing each step from receiving orders to shipping the calendars. You need to be available September through December, twice weekly during business hours. You should be detail-oriented, well-organized, and self-motivated, with good leadership skills.

Packaging clerks: efficient, detail-oriented volunteers to pack and address calendars, from September through mid-December, for weekly, 4 - 6-hour shifts.

Shipping clerks: able-bodied people with your own motor vehicle to take packages (4 - 20 per week, weighing 1 - 20 pounds each) to Post Office and UPS store once a week, from September through mid-December.

Data-entry clerk: to enter orders into an Excel spread sheet and update their progress through shipping dates. You should be detail-oriented and comfortable with computers. We need you from September to mid-January (excluding last week of December) for a weekly four-hour shift.

To volunteer or get more information, call Joanne Drabek, (510) 848-0800, ext. 315.

Plan to support the Sierra Club by ordering your 2007 Sierra Club Calendars from the San Francisco Bay Chapter. Calendars will be available September through mid-December. See the September-October Yodeler for order form with early-bird rates.

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 Anna at (510) 848-0800, ext. 307, or email anna -at- sfbaysc.org

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.

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 visit http://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

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.

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 email 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.

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.

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 http://www.sierraclub.org/ico/sfbaychapter/index.html or contact Sadie Rabe at (925) 768-2242 or email sadierabe -at- yahoo.com

Help stop clearcutting

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 email StopClearcutting -at- motherlode.sierraclub.org