Charities asking for holiday help

Bet Savich, director of the Bloomington Volunteer Network, hopes that before the bags are packed, the plane tickets are bought and carpools home are arranged, students will remember the volunteer opportunities that are needed before and during the winter holiday season.\nThe Bloomington Volunteer Network has a variety of chances to engage in volunteer opportunities during the holiday season. \nThe most important necessity this winter are the hunger-relief projects, Savich said.\n"Their volunteer situation is usually OK on the holidays themselves, but they need people desperately before and after," Savich said. "They particularly need volunteers during IU's break."\nCaroline Daly, an intern at the Community Kitchen, said 10 volunteers can help each day, Monday through Saturday, for two volunteer shifts. Meal preparation is the first shift, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The main service, providing free and nutritious meals, is from 4 to 6 p.m., but the kitchen needs help preparing after-school snacks as well. \nFrom 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., volunteers can serve food at the Rogers Street location, Daly said.\nDuring the IU's winter break when students are out of town, Daly said, the community needs volunteers to help fill the shifts, so she said if students are staying in town and don't mind volunteering, it would be helpful.\nFor more information about volunteer opportunities, contact the Community Kitchen at 332-0999 or kitchen@bloomington.in.us. The Shalom Community Center can be reached at 334-5728 or by e-mail at pkshalom@ix.netcom.com.\nThe Big Brothers and Big Sisters program is sponsoring a program called Adopt A Family for Christmas. The tagline for the program is to "help fill the stockings of the boys and girls enrolled in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program."\nThose interested in being matched with a family can contact Andrea Smith at 334-2828 or e-mail at amsmith@bigsindiana.org.\nThe Monroe County United Ministries offers the opportunities for sponsoring a family for Christmas breaks, donating a turkey or ham or restocking the childcare toy box. United Ministries is a non-profit organization providing human services to Monroe County. The organization serves working families and those in distress by assisting in emergency need and subsidized childcare.\nContact Meri Reinhold of the United Ministries at 339-3429 or e-mail mcum@bloomington.in.us. \nContinuing the adoption programs this season, The Salvation Army is offering an "adopt a low-income family" program to buy gifts for an entire family (parents and kids) and the "Angel Tree" to sponsor a child age 12 and under by choosing the child's name from a tag on a tree at various locations around town.\nFor more information about The Salvation Army adoption program, contact Monica Clemons at 336-4310 ext. 10 or e-mail at Monica_Clemons@usc.salvationarmy.org.\nMartha's House, a nonprofit organization, serves the needs of the homeless in Bloomington, and single men and women and up to four families will be available after Friday for holiday gift adoption. For more information, contact Meredith Short at 332-1444 or at meredithls@juno.com.