Charities ask for ­volunteers

The Voluntary Action Center is calling for volunteers.

Whether it’s helping to build houses, working with children or spending time with the elderly, the center has several opportunities to choose from.

Cindy Mustard, executive director of the Voluntary Action Center since 1991, assists people who need help. The center’s mission is to provide information and referrals to the social services community and provide emergency assistance to families when local programs are unable to meet critical needs.

“We link people to services,” Mustard said. “We try to fill gaps in services that aren’t being filled in the community.”

The center’s volunteers contributed to its Christmas Family Program, which helped 1,200 families with donations of time, food and gifts.

Among the many volunteer organizations asking for assistance, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore is in need of volunteers to staff its facility on Monroe Road.

Bill View, executive director of Show-Me Central Missouri’s Habitat for Humanity, said his group needs people to run the resale store that takes donations of building materials and appliances. The store sells the donations to the public.

“With the sales at the ReStore, we make enough to build a home and a half,” View said.

Linda Makarewicz has worked at the ReStore for three years, volunteering once a month. She chose the Habitat for Humanity store because it fits with her own beliefs.

“I believe in the principles of Habitat,” Makarewicz said. “It fits in with my personal philosophy of recycling. I don’t like usable items to get pitched in the trash.”

The ReStore sells household appliances such as washers, dryers, stoves and different types of building materials.

“It provides a place for people to recycle used items that would have been thrown away,” Makarewicz said. “It also gives them an opportunity to purchase things at a reasonable price.”

Another organization that needs assistance is the Boone County Council on Aging, which works with low-income seniors.

The council needs volunteers to help with snow shoveling and yard work, as well as help with its Friendly Visiting Program. The program provides company to seniors through volunteer visits.

The council’s senior services specialist, Andrea Kolb, said both programs have seniors on a waiting list.

Anita Metzen said she’s been a volunteer in the visiting program for four years.

“As you get to know someone, you get to share different aspects of your life,” Metzen said. “I think so many people would enjoy it if they only knew about it.”

The Rainbow House emergency shelter is a temporary housing facility for children who have been removed from their home or for children whose parents are having difficulty and request help.

“While the children are with us, case workers are trying to find a permanent place for them,” said Jamie Schwartz, a family advocate and marketing coordinator for Rainbow House. “Sometimes they are with us for only a couple of days.”

The Rainbow House is looking for people to assist with daily activities and general care of children.

Schwartz said volunteers can work directly with children or help out with house upkeep, administrative duties and fundraising. For those who want to volunteer to work with children, a background check is necessary.

“A lot of the children have been abused and neglected or have experienced some sort of crisis,” Schwartz said.