Volunteer opportunities

How will you get started as a volunteer? Virtually everything the Sierra Club does is done largely or entirely by volunteers.

Some volunteers pick a cause that they care about and offer to do whatever is needed to advance it. Some pick a type of activity:

• do you want to do something valuable but mindless, or are you looking for challenge;
• do you want to do something sociable, or do you prefer working mostly alone;
• should it be a regular commitment, or just once in a while?

One of the keys to the Club's success is that different volunteers bring such different aptitudes and preferences.

Almost every Yodeler article contains a volunteer opportunity. Every type of Sierra Club event and activity is led by volunteers, and experienced volunteers are always helping new folks get started. The listings below are just a tiny sample of the opportunities.

So call a name that you see in this Yodeler, or if you're not sure who to call, call Joanne Drabek at the Chapter Office at (510) 848-0800, ext. 315

We'll welcome you and try to help you find the volunteer opportunity that suits you best.

Web design and programming

If you are a web designer/graphics professional, work with JavaScript, ASP, or Flash, or have other web-development skills and can spare some time to volunteer your services, please email

Solano Stroll

The Sierra Club needs volunteers to help at the Solano Stroll on Solano Avenue in Albany and Berkeley on Sun., Sep. 14. Typical shifts are two hours, at times ranging from 8:30 am (setting up) till 7 pm (cleaning up), with lots of fun in between, sitting at the table and greeting visitors. Volunteers will share information about sustainability and the November elections, and will sell Sierra Club Calendars.

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

Detailed MS Word typing

Are you a detail-oriented typist, fluent in Microsoft Word, to help copy picky editorial changes from manuscripts into the computer? You would work at the Bay Chapter Office in Berkeley. To help, contact Yodeler editor Don Forman at (510)848-0800, ext. 305.

Updating database

The Chapter has a database of Bay Area elected officials, but now that elections are over, it needs to be updated. The initial update might take 10 hours; ongoing updates will be needed after elections and occasionally at other times. If you are comfortable entering information into a database (Excel) and looking up information on the web, we'd appreciate your help. To volunteer, contact or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 316

Leaders sought for SF outings

The San Francisco Group is seeking leaders for outings in San Francisco to highlight the Group's conservation efforts. These might include the Presidio and the city's various natural areas. Please contact Group conservation chair Steven Chapman at steven -at- sfwild.net or (415) 552-5299.

Receptionists

The Chapter Office in Berkeley needs additional volunteer receptionists. You should be an energetic team member, 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 on Tuesdays, 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. Interested individuals, please call office manager Joanne Drabek at (510) 848-0800, ext. 315.

Yodeler Photo Contest

What's happened to the Yodeler Photo Contest? Why hasn't it happened this year? The fact is that we need some more volunteer energy to help put it on. If you're interested in working on it, please call Anne Seasons at (510) 295-4292.

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 email sadierabe -at- yahoo.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.

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

Your chance to write Sierra Club history

We have some great projects for volunteering, internships, even dissertations.

In the Bay Chapter Office in Berkeley and in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley are extensive archives of materials about the Sierra Club and in particular the San Francisco Bay Chapter. We are looking for historians or antiquarians - amateur or professional - to pore through these fascinating documents to preserve and study them.

• We have a more or less complete collection of back issues of the Yodeler, going back to 1937. If we don't take action, however, gradually these are going to crumble into dust. We need you to help scan them into electronic form for long-term preservation.
• Help compile a list (do you have GIS skills? could you make a map?) of all the locations in the Bay Area that the Sierra Club has helped to preserve.
• Work with the Sierra Club's Oral History Project to interview local environmental leaders.
• Teachers and professors, these resources could be the base for a class project.

As you go through the archives, you can also develop your own projects, perhaps for publication in the Yodeler, perhaps for academic research in fields such as history, environmental studies, political science, planning, sociology, organizational behavior, library science, or geography.

If you are interested in such a project, contact Yodeler editor Don Forman at (510)848-0800, ext. 305.