COVID-19 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

To help address some immediate needs of local nonprofits during this pandemic, United Way of Lane County is actively collecting and sharing information with the community about nonprofits seeking volunteers. Thank you for considering these opportunities!

To learn more about how United Way is responding to COVID-19, visit www.unitedwaylane.org/covid19.

Does your nonprofit currently need volunteers to support your efforts related to COVID-19? Please send volunteer needs to volunteer@unitedwaylane.org.

Before you volunteer, personal health should be considered. According to the CDC, people who have serious chronic medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease, are at higher risk for getting seriously sick.

Those who are interested in volunteering should make sure they:

Do not have any symptoms of COVID-19, including runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever;

They are practicing social distancing as much as possible;

Are not in the high-risk categories for infection, taking age and autoimmunity into consideration.

For more information on best practices, go to the CDC’s website.

Become a Community Responder

A Community Responder is a volunteer who receives alerts when an organization helping the COVID-19 efforts needs help with an in-kind donation or volunteer need. Learn more and sign up here.

Community Sharing

Is looking for volunteers to help in their pantry and/or delivery food boxes to homebound individuals. Interested volunteers please call and speak to Glenn, the Pantry Manager, for more information at 541-942-2176 ext. 2.

Downtown Food Hub

Is looking for healthy, able-bodied volunteers to assist with food prep, packaging, and delivery starting this Thursday, 4/23. Food is prepared and packaged at First Christian Church in downtown Eugene then delivered to our partner "drop" sites such as White Bird, Community Supported Shelters, and Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. All prospective volunteers will need to read the Volunteer Health & Safety Protocols and Procedures and take the online assessment. Email Jessie at pastorjessieconnor@gmail.com with any questions.

Face Masks

City of Cottage Grove Community Center Is looking for volunteers to help assemble fabric face masks that PeaceHealth Hospital will distribute out. Mask can be made either by hand or with a sewing machine. Supplies needed to make fabric masks: knit fabric (great way to make use of those "special occasion" never/hardly worn t-shirts) or lightweight breathable tightly woven fabric (cotton, silk); and ribbon, seam binding, or elastic bands (for securing the masks to the head). Interested volunteers can contact Teresa at 541-942-1185 to get the authorized PeaceHeatlh pattern to start making masks. If you would like to help, make masks but don’t have any supplies to get started please contact Teresa and she will work with you to get supplies to make masks. Do you have all the supplies but don’t know where to start? Contact Beth at 541-512-2739 and she can help you.

Eugene Emeralds The Emeralds have teamed up with local businesses to help make masks for our local health care providers. They are helping with delivery and pick up face mask kits along with driving all over Eugene and Springfield to get supplies to you and pick up completed masks. If you are willing and able to help please email Anne at anne@emeraldsbaseball.com , so she can coordinate pick up/drop off with you. The Emeralds will also provide instructions and a PowerPoint presentation with photos showing the steps. Once you are done with your face masks let Anne know and she will coordinate a pick time and deliver them to where they need to go!

Peace Harbor Hospital Volunteer Services at Peace Harbor Hospital in Florence is looking for volunteers to make masks at home and donate them to the hospital. If you can make masks please contact Monica at monistar@aol.com .

The Seamsters Is an open Facebook group that is making face masks for health care workers in Eugene-Springfield. This group provides instructions and support for people to make 100% cotton face masks to be used by health care workers. Masks are being donated to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and several other local agencies who need them.

White Bird Is looking for community members to assist them in the sewing and construction of masks and personal protective equipment. If you have the interest, skills in sewing, and access to sewing machine or tools of your own, please contact White Bird here . White Bird is providing materials to volunteers and will handle sterilization of completed gear prior to use and distribution where appropriate.

Willamalane ​​​​​​​ Community members and local health care workers are in need of face masks and bouffant surgical scrub hats. If you are a skilled sewer or have the time to learn a new skill and support our local community members with this great need, please email Mavis at Community members and local health care workers are in need of face masks and bouffant surgical scrub hats. If you are a skilled sewer or have the time to learn a new skill and support our local community members with this great need, please email Mavis at mavis.sanchez@willamalane.org



​​​​​​​​​​​​​​First Place Kids

Is looking for volunteers to help provide kids activities for families staying at SVDP's Annex Night Shelter. Activities will take place Monday-Friday between 9am-4pm for the duration of school closures. Volunteers need to be socially responsible with the spread of the virus, and isolate themselves between their homes and volunteering at Annex Night Shelter. Interested volunteers can contact Ilana Jakubowski at ilana.jakubowski@svdp.us.

Florence Food Share

Is looking for volunteers to help fill emergency boxes for clients and bring them to the client’s curbside on Monday afternoons. Interested volunteers can contact Pam or Sherri at 541-997-9110.

Junction City Local Aid

Is looking for volunteers to help at their food pantry, interested volunteers can fill out an application form at http://junctioncitylocalaid.org/volunteer/ or call 541-998-3992.

Lane Bloodworks

The blood bank is asking for volunteers to donate blood at 2211 Willamette Street Eugene, OR 97401. Lane Bloodworks is in need of large spaces to conduct blood drives while maintaining social distance. This includes gyms, hotel banquet rooms, church lobbies and any space where volunteers can maintain distance. People interested in donating blood or space can go to bloodworksnw.org or call 1-800-398-7888.

Lane Council of Governments-Senior and Disability Services

Is looking for volunteers to help deliver Meals on Wheels in Springfield and surrounding communities (outside of Eugene) to support food security for Seniors. Interested volunteers, please fill out and send this form and a copy of your driver’s license to David at dvanderhaeghen@lcog.org. Click here for a full list of food sites that are needing deliveries.

NAMI

Is looking for volunteers to be virtual facilitators for online support groups. Ideally, these volunteers should be NAMI trained facilitators. For more information go to NAMI’s website or Facebook page.

Rural Organizing Project

Has been doing food and supply distributions for months and needs more helping hands in Cottage Grove. Rural Organizing Project is looking for more volunteers to help with weekly shifts running the distribution of food and supplies. They are also looking for volunteers to help sort, package bulk foods into smaller quantities, and washing donations before items are able to be distributed out. Interested volunteers, please contact Jess at jess@rop.org.

St. Vincent de Paul

Volunteers without high-risk health concerns are needed for a variety of tasks, including running the Egan Warming Center, temporary shelter on freezing nights. For more information about volunteering please email volunteer@svdp.us or go to svdp.us.

Upper Willamette CDC

Is looking for volunteers who can lift at least 25 pounds and help Oakridge Food Pantry, in Oakridge on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays from 9am-1pm. Interested volunteer call 541-782-2192.​​​​​​​