In cooperation with the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan, we are pleased to publish opportunities for volunteers each week.  To find out about these or other volunteer opportunities, please call 983-0912 in the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area, 683-5464 in the Niles area; visit our website at www.volunteerswmi.org; or e-mail us at volunteer@volunteerswmi.org for further information.  To arrange an appointment, please call ahead. Appointments do not constitute an obligation to accept a volunteer opportunity.  The center is a United Way agency affiliated with the HandsOn Network.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Are you off school and work on Martin Luther King Day?  Why not make it a day on instead of a day off?   Visit www.volunteerswmi.org to learn how you can volunteer that day and the rest of the year in honor of his legacy.

MENTORING

• During National Mentoring Month in January why not consider becoming a mentor?   Visit www.volunteerswmi.org to explore volunteer opportunities or call 983-0912 or 683-5464.

•  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass invites volunteers to a life-affirming experience as a community mentor or as a lunch buddy.  Mentor a 6- to 12-year-old who needs an extra adult in his/her life.

• Heartland Human Care Services – Opportunity Center provides the Second Chance Mentoring program to youth 14 to 17 years old at the Berrien County Juvenile Center in Berrien Springs.  Male mentors are especially sought for one-on-one mentoring.  The program offers youth a combination of intensive mentoring, educational support, life skill development, community service activities and career development.

• Helping Our Youth Achieve (HOYA) offers volunteer tutors to work with middle and high school students in Benton Harbor, utilizing an online system that provides a self-paced study program.