United Way invites community members to 'Get on the Bus'

“(Not-for-profit organizations) depend on volunteers. We have very limited budgets, and none of us could do our work without the devoted volunteers,” explained Elizabeth Shelton, executive director of United Way of Southeast Missouri.

April is National Volunteer Month, and UWSEMO has plans scheduled to help others find volunteers and get involved in the community.

One of these events is the “Get on the Bus” tour. The event started in 2015, Shelton said. The tours will be around Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and stop at organizations that need volunteers and help from others.

“So many people have heard of United Way, and they’re glad we’re here helping people. But they have no idea how we’re doing what we do. The whole point of the tour is to introduce them to some of the 30 partners that we fund. We like doing it during National Volunteer Month so that those riding might find an organization that they just really connect with and are passionate about and choose to get involved. It’s a great way to demonstrate the collective collaborative power of the United Way network and also shows people opportunities to engage in the community,” Shelton said.

The first tour will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, and the second from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 24. During the stops, representatives will be giving a short talk about each organization’s programs. For each tour, there will be eight organizations visited in the two hours. These stops will include Lutheran Family and Children’s Services, Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship, Jackson Ministerial Alliance food pantry, Foster Adopt Connect Resource Center, Boys and Girls Club, according to Shelton. On the bus, representatives of organizations that do not have a physical location to be attended, such as First Call for Help, will speak with attendees.

“A lot of these organizations we invest in are mentoring organizations. So this gives people an opportunity to see some of the things we do at every age from the elementary kids up to senior citizens,” she said.

Shelton said there is always a need for volunteers in the area, from high school and college students to those who are retired. There is a spot open for anyone who wants to be involved.

“There is a big need and not just for the retired people to be helping. One of our partners, Big Brothers Big Sisters, those kiddos connect with someone closer to their age than a grandparent, frequently. Mississippi Valley needs people who are fit and able to work with horses. So a lot of organizations, like our own program Read to Succeed, need people every semester to go into the schools and read with kiddos, people of any age. Most of these organizations appreciate volunteers of any age, just not just retirees, which is frequently what people think about,” she noted.

Shelton said not all volunteer opportunities suit everyone.

“People need to think about opportunities that are not just a particular program, like Read to Succeed. All of these organizations have committees, they have boards, they probably have a finance committee or something like that. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t want a real hands-on activity, there is somewhere you can find something that requires crunching data or looking at spreadsheets or something.” Shelton said about volunteer opportunities.

For more information and to register for the Get on the Bus tours, go to the UWSEMO website at www.unitedwayofsemo.org or call (573) 334-9634.