Chamber's volunteer fair aims to serve Cape area

Eighteen area agencies who rely on volunteers were on hand Thursday for the first Leadership Cape Girardeau Volunteer Fair, sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and its Leadership Cape Committee.

Jeff Glenn, director of membership development for the chamber, said the idea for the event actually came about as an outgrowth of the chamber's Leadership Cape program. The program is designed to develop leadership among Cape Girardeau's emerging business and civic leaders.

"This program is made up of participants who meet once a month for seven months," Glenn said. In that time, participants learn about Cape Girardeau, its strengths, and its problems. The idea is to give them the knowledge to bring about positive growth and change in the area.

"One of our goals is to provide a resource for agencies that need community volunteers," Glenn said. The result was the volunteer fair.

Attending the fair were agencies who need volunteers, people from the community who are seeking to find ways to volunteer their service, and "alumni" of the Leadership Program who are continuing their efforts at community service and learning more about Cape Girardeau's needs.

Some of the groups looking for volunteers Thursday were the American Red Cross, the City of Cape Girardeau Police Department, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Southeast Missouri Hospital, and the Alzheimer's Association, Project Charlie, Rolling Readers, Old Town Cape, Safe House for Women, Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau, Girl Scouts, United Way, and Salvation Army.

Cheryl Klueppel, Southeast Missouri Outreach Coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association, commented that Thursdays volunteer fair was a great opportunity for organizations such as hers.

"We've had several people stop by and ask about our organization," said Klueppel. She added what surprises many people is the wide variety of volunteer opportunities available in her organization, as well as in most organizations.

Gaylon Smith of Rolling Readers USA, who also had a booth at Thursday's volunteer fair, agreed.

"We use volunteers in a lot of areas. We use them as readers for children, and to help with our organization in many ways," said Smith.