Volunteer Opportunities

Saw it in our E-Newsletter? Here's a bit more information for you about our current & upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Tutors

• tutor a local child who has experienced some level of abuse or neglect
• 1 tutoring session per week (approximately 1-2 volunteer hours/week including session, prep & travel time)
• must be 21 years old
• must pass Child Abuse/Neglect & MO Highway Patrol background checks
• All tutor sessions occur in a public location
  
• No experience required & training is available
  
• Volunteer Tutor Job Description, Tutor Application, Child Abuse background check form, Highway Patrol background check form
  

Clothing Drive Coordinators

• Help organize a clothing drive at your school, work or church
• Deliver collected clothing to The Kid's Clothes Closet
  
• We need to collect brand new children's clothing size infant-teenager for boys & girls to keep our Kid's Clothes Closet restocked
• The Kid's Clothes Closet provides brand new clothing, socks, underwear, pajamas and coats for local foster children

Groups to Adopt-a-Caseworker

• Perfect for a Church, small faith group, business, group of work colleagues or a family
• We match you with a local Child Protective Caseworker
• The Caseworker tells you the needs of the 20-25 children on his/her caseload
• You try to fulfill the needs when you are able (with used or new items)
• Adopt-a-Caseworker Frequently Asked Questions (page 1, page 2)
  

Raffle Ticket Sellers

• Saturday, June 26th at the Branson Landing
• Saturday, July 17th at the Branson Landing
• Help us sell raffle tickets for a new Mustang (as part of the Price Cutter Charity Championship)
• We need volunteers from 9am-10pm both dates (volunteer shifts are 2 hours)
  

Golf Tournament Volunteers

• Price Cutter Charity Championship August 5th-August 15th
• Many volunteer jobs available based on your preferences
  
• No golf experience necessary for most volunteer jobs

Are you our next Sponsor?

We are still trying to get 1 or more local businesses to sponsor Ambassadors for Children at the 21st Annual Price Cutter Charity Championship this summer.

The sponsorships start at $500 and include a great ticket package and business promotion at one of the top sporting events in our area. Plus, Ambassadors for Children receives a portion of the sponsorship amount when charity funds are distributed after the tournament.

If you want to learn more, please contact Sondra Uzzell at suzzell@ccozarks.org or 417-862-3586

Thanks!

Say What?

Yes! We are finally on Facebook and Twitter! It took me several months, but I'm so glad we are now using social media. I thought it was going to be a lot of extra work, but it's actually quite fun to keep everyone updated daily about the great things we are doing. I love to get comments and hear what everyone else is saying. If you haven't become our Fan or Follower yet, you are missing out!

I can't believe we have 171 Facebook fans in our 1st Facebook week!

• Follow us on Facebook

• Tweet with us on Twitter (search: Amb4Children)

Become a Facebook Fan

We are now on Facebook!

Follow our link and become our fan today!

Critical Need

We are in desperate need of donations to support our Kid's Clothes Closet program. We served 427 local foster children in 2009 through The Kid's Clothes Closet by providing them with FREE brand new clothing (6 shirts, 6 pants), socks (6 pr.), underwear (6 pr.), pajamas (2), winter coats (1), shoe gift cards (2-4 cards) and haircut coupons (2). Last year we received $35,000 for this program and we spent less than $100 for each child.

We have received just over $14,000 in program grants this fiscal year and we need at least $21,000 to keep pace with current needs.

Donations can be made several ways:

• Make a secure online donation HERE (follow the link, click the Paypal donate button and put Kid's Closet in the description box)

• Mail a check to Ambassadors for Children, P.O. Box 3947, Springfield, Missouri 65808. Make check payable to Council of Churches and put Ambassadors for Children-KC in the check memo line

• Purchase brand new children's clothing items yourself and deliver them to The Kid's Clothes Closet (located inside the Ronald McDonald House) at 949 E. Primrose, Springfield, Missouri from 9am-9pm, 7 days/week

We partner with the Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks for this program and the free haircut coupons are donated by The System, A Paul Mitchell Partner School.

Letters from Santa

Every young child wants their own letter from Santa! Get your child or grandchild a unique and memorable gift this year (and support Ambassadors for Children in the process).

Click here and purchase a personalized letter from Santa for your special little one. Ambassadors for Children will receive 30% of proceeds from each letter that is purchased. This special gift will allow us to continue our work to ensure the needs of local foster children are met this holiday season. Thank you KringleTalk.com and Merry Christmas to all!!

Back to Work

My baby girl was born just 9 days after my last post! After 10 weeks of maternity leave, I'm back at work and getting caught up on many things. I have several Project Self-Esteem requests to process, as well as 3 new child referrals for our Tutoring Program! That is very exciting news. I will be spending the next weeks (and time into the new year) searching for more volunteer tutors to meet the growing needs of the Tutoring Program.

We also have quite a need for The Kid's Clothes Closet! In October alone, we had over 80 appointments and are struggling to keep the Closet stocked with clothing to meet the demand. It is difficult to see the foster children visit The Kid's Clothes Closet and leave with very little because we do not have their sizes. This is especially hard as they try to find a winter coat. We don't want any child to be cold this season. You can help by donating brand new children's clothing and coats of all sizes to The Kid's Clothes Closet, located at the Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks (949 E. Primrose, Springfield, MO 65807, 7 days/week from 9am-9pm). Thank You!!