Berks Women in Crisis

Current Volunteer Opportunities

645 Penn Street, 2^nd Floor
Reading, PA 19601
Phone: 610-373-1206
Fax: 610-372-4188

If You Enjoy Working with Children

We are looking for a volunteer to help out at Emma's Place in the afternoon. Volunteers will assist the teachers and staff in activities for both the pre-school and the after-school children. No matter how cold and grey it is outside, the children at Emma's Place are sure to bring a smile. This is a very rewarding volunteer opportunity. Must be 18 years old and have criminal and child abuse clearances, which BWIC will assist you in getting if you don't have. Though not required, it is recommend that volunteers at Emma's attend the BWIC 60-hour training sessions (see Upcoming Events for the next scheduled session).

Location: Emma's Place
Hours: Various
Send To: Volunteer Coordinator

Interested in the Legal System? Court Watch Volunteers Needed!

BWIC is looking for volunteers to track and monitor domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Responsibilities will include observing the court proceedings and logging points of interest and activities. BWIC legal department has developed a monitoring tool for our volunteers to submit with their observations. Volunteers are needed for Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon; Monday from 1:30 to 2:30 pm; Thursday and Friday from 1:30 to 5:00 pm. If you have availability during these times, an interest in the legal system and the desire to help victims of domestic and sexual violence. Volunteers will be trained by BWIC's legal department as to what information needs to be tracked.

Location: Court House
Hours: Various
Send To: Volunteer Coordinator

Mandatory Training for Direct Service Volunteering

If you are looking to volunteer directly with individuals./victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, consider attending our upcoming 60-hour Educational Seminar. You and your "classmates" will explore the complex areas relating to the individuals that BWIC serves. As a trained volunteer, you will have the opportunity to help BWIC in a very real and meaningful way. The seminar is traditionally offered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in the Autumn, and Monday and Wednesday evenings in the Spring. Please visit the Upcoming Events for the specific dates and times of the next training session or contact Karen at 610-373-1206 for more information.

Location: Penn Street Office
Hours: See Upcoming Events Section for Upcoming Training
Send To: Karen

Office Assistance Needed

BWIC is looking for individuals to greet our clients, help with childcare, assist staff with special projects and provide general office support. Volunteers might be asked to concentrate on a specific project or be a floater and help out where ever the need is greatest. Individuals should have a compassion for BWIC's clients and an optimistic personality. Individuals will need to have a flexible personality and be willing to pitch in and help out where needed. Additionally, volunteers will need to be reliable and punctual as our staff will rely on them to accomplish tasks in a timely and professional manner.

Location: Penn Street Office
Hours: Various
Send To: Karen

Special Project Volunteers Needed!

BWIC is looking for volunteers to help on an "as needed" basis as your schedule allows. BWIC needs help with special projects, mailings and other activities. BWIC would email a week before the project to see if you are available. So if you want to join our Special Project Email List, please contact us!

We especially need bilingual (Spanish/English) volunteers, male or female, who could assist with PeaceWorks groups. PeaceWorks offers educational groups to students in Berks County, and a bilingual PeaceWorks assistant would be greatly appreciated.

Location: Various
Hours: Various
Send To: Volunteer Coordinator

Autumn 2008 Volunteer Opportunities

The United Way sets up volunteer fairs at the local colleges and a few high schools that have ‘volunteer’ requirements for graduation. We would like to attend these volunteer fairs, and would prefer that our volunteers staff them! Check below to see if you can staff one or more of these events:

Alvernia College – Friday, August 22^nd, 10:45AM – 12:45PM; set up by 10:30; tables set up in gymnasium;

Reading Area Community College – Wednesday, August 27^th, 11 AM – 1PM; held outside the Student Center on the sidewalks of the Quad; parking pass and lunch ticket will be provided.

Kutztown University – Thursday, August 28^th, 10:30AM – 12:30 PM; under a tent in an open field between McFarland SUB and Science Building. Refreshments, food and parking permits provided. Limited to 27 agencies on a first-come basis.

Penn State Berks Campus – Wednesday, September 3^rd, 1 – 2:30 PM; under a tent in front of the Perkins Student Center; parking permits, drinks & lunch provided if reservations made before 8/25.

Albright College – Wednesday, September 17^th, 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM; Main Lounge of the Campus Center; parking spaces will be reserved in employee/visitor lot near Center. Lunch buffet will be provided.

Holy Name High School – sometime this fall – date TBD.

Central Catholic High School – sometime in the spring – date TBD.

Continual Needs

Legal Department – We need someone to come in about one day every other week for several hours to do some filing. This person needs to be certificated and clearances must be in the office file. This is not a ‘simple’ filing job, as legal documents can get rather complicated.

Housing Tenant Meetings - Usually, the Transitional Housing staff meets with the tenants on a monthly basis to go over some issues and for emotional support. The meetings go more smoothly when there are volunteers to help keep the children occupied. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at 5 PM at the Hilbert House and should last about an hour or so. Clearances are required and several training sessions are necessary.

Shelter - The shelter needs volunteers on a nightly basis (5 to 8 or 9 PM, Monday through Friday) as well as other times (better to speak with Shelter staff directly to determine needs). We currently have certain nights covered fairly regularly, but we definitely need more volunteers to lighten the load. Certification and clearances are required.

Quarterly - When the newsletter arrives in the office, we must label it and get it out the door. There is no set time for this – emails go out pleading for help! No certification/clearances needed, but the confidentiality form must be signed – just in case a volunteer sees someone he/she knows in our office for services.

As Needed and On-Going - We have two major fundraisers every year: Dining with Friends, and the event in December. The fundraising committee meets as needed at 7:30 AM on Friday mornings at the Cloud Nine Café in Wyomissing. Let us know if you would like to join the committee for these meetings or help with projects as needed.

Goggleworks – the PA Women’s Commission Museum has had a BWIC display with portions of all our public awareness displays. We have only August 23^rd left for someone to volunteer and sit there as people drift in. The time is Noon until 3 or 4 PM. Let me know if you can help out with this final date!

Help to REMOVE all the displays and literature from the Goggleworks – and MOVE THEM BACK to the office on Friday, August 29^th at 10 AM until we are finished. If you can help and have a large car or van, your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Health & Information Fairs - Saturday, September 6, from 10 AM until 2 PM – Western Berks Family Expo at Conrad Weiser Middle School in Robesonia (right off Route 422). Set-up is 9 AM. Will need at least two people per shift, as we will have an information table and a children’s activity going on to help draw families over to the information table.

Wednesday, September 24 from 9 AM until 3 PM – Giorgio Foods Employee Health Fair at the Maidencreek Banquet Hall; we tentatively have one volunteer and one staff person, but could use more people as it will be a long day! Giorgio has many employees who speak various languages, so if you speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese or any other language in addition to English, you will be priceless at this health fair. Volunteers should be fed, too, and can mill around the other stands.

Saturday, September 27 from 9 AM until 4 PM – Teen Wellness Fair. A teenager working on a Girl Scout Project is organizing this event. The plans include having speakers (PeaceWorks will have several presentations throughout the day) and information tables to help teens become more aware of today’s issues and health concerns. At this time, we do not have location, schedule or anything. If this comes off, it should be a good event, but it is very tentative at this time.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and we will probably have lots of activities throughout the month. One event we schedule annually is the Silent Witness Project. The Silent Witnesses are life-size red silhouetted figures which represent individuals murdered in Berks County as a result of domestic violence. We ‘parade’ them downtown and carry placards – taking a stand against domestic violence in our society, and Berks County in particular. This is a very emotional event and we appreciate all people who come to walk with us and take a stand.