Volunteers

Send listing information to tricity@dailyherald.com.

Preservation Partners: Volunteer guides are sought for the Fabyan Villa Museum and Japanese Garden. The Villa and Japanese Garden were once part of a 300 acre estate that included science and code breaking laboratories, a small zoo, Dutch windmill, and much more. The estate is the Fabyan West Forest Preserve on Route 31 north of Fabyan Parkway in Geneva.

Volunteers give tours of the Villa, a Frank Lloyd Wright re-design, on weekend afternoons from May 15 through October 15th. Volunteers may also assist with Wednesday and Thursday afternoon public hours, private tours and special events. Japanese Garden volunteers are needed for public hours on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons from May through October. Garden guides greet visitors, give introductions and answer questions at the garden gate.

No prior experience is necessary -training on the fascinating Fabyan history and Frank Lloyd Wright architecture is provided. All that is required is an interest in interacting with people, and a minimum time commitment of one afternoon per month between May and October. Full training is provided and will be arranged to fit your schedule as much as possible. Special field trips and educational opportunities are also available exclusively for our volunteers!

Call Lynn Dransoff at (630) 377-6424 or email fabyanvilla@ppfv.org for more information. The Fabyan Villa Museum and Japanese Garden are owned by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County and operated by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.

Batavia Riverwalk: Help is needed for the Performing Arts Band Shell Riverwalk Project that will help Batavia celebrate the 175th anniversary of its founding.

The Batavia community is asked to raise $100,000. Naming rights are also available for a business or individuals interested in making a lead gift. Anyone interested can contact Britta McKenna at britta@downtownbatavia.comor can call (630) 406-8322. To learn more about the project, to donate or to volunteer, visit www.its-coming.org.

Forest preserve: The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is looking for volunteers to host the Tekakwitha Woods Nature Center in St. Charles on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Nature Center, filled with a 3-D exhibit of the Fox River, wildlife exhibits and nature-related activities for children, is tucked away between the trees of Tekakwitha Woods, near the Fox River.

The weekend host would be responsible for opening and closing the Nature Center and greeting visitors during operational hours: noon-4 p.m. during the months of April through November and 1-4 p.m. during the months of December through March.

To learn more on how to become a weekend Nature Center Host, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Julia Bourque at (630) 762-2741 or BourqueJulia@kaneforest.com.

Tekakwitha Woods is located off Route 25, one mile north of Army Trail Road. The address is 35W076 Villa Maria Road, St. Charles. For more information on Tekakwitha Woods, the Nature Center or Forest Preserve District programs, visit www.kaneforest.com.

AID retreat: The Association for Individual Development is looking for volunteers to help run its third annual Weekend Retreat this spring from Friday through Sunday.

Located at Wild Rose Program Center in St. Charles, the weekend retreat is for individuals with disabilities, age 18 and older.

Ideally, 15 volunteers are needed to assist with the 33 adults that the facility can accommodate. Scheduled activities for the weekend will include cooking out, sports, crafts, games, nature studies and campfires.

For those interested in attending, cost for residents of Kane, Kendall, or DeKalb counties and Hanover Township is $150. For non-residents, it is $185.

If you are interested in volunteering or attending, call Diana Hulst at (630) 966-4251.

RSVP: The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program seeks volunteers who are 55 or older. The program has links with 200 organizations throughout Kane and McHenry counties.

Volunteers can give a few hours per month, or serve up to six hours a day. Agencies are currently looking for volunteers to deliver meals to homebound seniors, act as docents or tour guides, tutor children, serve as friendly visitors, drive seniors to medical appointments and work in hospitals and resale shops.

For more information, call Debbie Danitz, director at (800) 339-3200.

Food bank: The Northern Illinois Food Bank on Industrial Drive in St. Charles is looking for volunteers age 16 and older. Volunteers are needed the most from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Evening shifts from 6 to 9 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays are also available.

For more information, call (630) 443-6910 or visit www.northernilfoodbank.org

Aunt Martha's: The Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center is seeking caring adults, single or married, in homes or apartments, to become foster parents for abused and neglected children to age 18. Aunt Martha's offers training, ongoing support and partnership in a family focused team approach to foster care. Staff members consult weekly with parents. Foster parents can be trained and licensed within six to eight months. Aunt Martha's is sponsoring a monthly foster parent support group. Specialized foster parents receive 12 paid days a year for respite care and working parents are reimbursed for day care expenses. Foster parents are needed for children of all ages and backgrounds, particularly for teens and sibling groups. For details call Erin Pearlman at (847) 622-0010 ext. 11.

Cancer support: The Batavia American Cancer Society office is looking for cancer survivors to help newly diagnosed patients in its Support for Recovery program. Volunteers offer comfort and support to patients either face-to-face in the home or by telephone.

Survivors of all cancer types are needed and must be at least one year post treatment. Training is provided. For more information, call Corie Rectenwald at (630) 879-9009 or e-mail Corie.Rectenwald@cancer.org.

For details, call the American Cancer Society at (630) 879-9009. For cancer-related information or more background on the American Cancer Society, call (800) ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

Hospice care: Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice training is available to provide emotional support, companionship or respite care for individuals dealing with life-threatening illness or loss.

Those interested must complete a volunteer application. For an application and appointment, call Mary O'Malley at (630) 232-2233, ext. 213.

Court advocates: CASA Kane County is a nonprofit organization that trains court appointed special advocate volunteers to represent the interests of abused and neglected children in court. Last year, the program's 200 volunteers served 467 children throughout Kane County.

Evening training hours are now available for those interested in becoming volunteer court-appointed special advocates for abused and neglected children through CASA Kane County.

Meetings are at the Kane County Courthouse, 100 S. Third St., Suite 460, Geneva. For more information, call (630) 444-3110. For more information about the CASA program, visit www.casakanecounty.org.

Helping pets: Homes for Endangered and Lost Pets, HELP, is seeking volunteers to care for dogs or puppies in their homes until the animals are adopted. HELP provides pet food, supplies and veterinary care for foster animals. Training is provided for foster home volunteers.

HELP is an all-volunteer animal rescue organization that obtains medical care and shelter for stray and abandoned cats and dogs until they are adopted. H.E.L.P. is not an animal shelter. Call the HELP Line at (630) 879-8500 for information.

Dog assistance: Rover Rescue, the dog adoption agency, is seeking volunteer foster homes to care for puppies and dogs. Because of overcrowding at some animal shelters, many animals may be euthanized to make room for more strays brought in each day. Rover Rescue only has enough foster homes to take in a few dogs at a time. The organization is looking for temporary emergency foster homes as well as long-term arrangements.

To volunteer as a foster home or for information on fostering, call Rover Rescue at (630) 897-7454.

History center: The Geneva History Center, 113 S. Third St., is seeking volunteers to greet visitors, assist with programs and tours, host museum special events and help in the museum store. Volunteers are also needed for cataloging materials and basic computer entry. Hours and days will vary. For details, call (630) 232-4951 or e-mail ghc@genevahistorycenter.org

Marklund: Marklund needs volunteers to work in the residential centers and at resale shops. For details on the Geneva and Winfield locations, call Cathy Nikrandt at (630) 593-5468. For Bloomingdale and Roselle, call Pat Peterman at (630) 529-2871. Call (630) 594-1489 for details on the resale shop.

Fox Valley Park District

The Fox Valley Park District's second annual Summer VolunTeen Camp has openings available for its June and July sessions.

Summer VolunTeen Camp provides an opportunity for youths age 13 to 15 to become actively involved in the community through volunteering, develop leadership skills and confidence and meet new friends. Activities include team-building, community speakers and hands-on experiences.

Session one is from June 16 through June 27. Session two is from July 7 through July 18. The camps run 9 a.m. to noon on Monday through Friday at Prisco Community Center, with campers participating in service projects offsite one day per week. Cost is $25 per camper.

Contact Debbie Smith, Community Outreach Manager, at (630) 859-8606 to enroll in Summer VolunTeen Camp, or to find out about volunteer opportunities at the park district.

"Summer VolunTeen Camp helps young people learn how important it is to volunteer and work together," Smith said. "Volunteers feel better about themselves when they give back to the community, and volunteering is also a great way to create job and career awareness."