VOLUNTEER TIMES

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In This Issue

Volunteer Spotlight

Helping Hands Opp

Catch-a-Ride Growth

Service Hours

SHICK

9.11 Day of Service

Valentine Stampede

CORE 4 Public Services Expo On September 28th, over 50 public service agencies from local governments

participated in the first ever Public Services Expo for high school students. The

CORE 4 initiative consists of Johnson County, Unified Government (Wyandotte

County), Jackson County, and Kansas City, Missouri. Over 4000 students

attended the event at Bartle Hall. The CORE 4 Public Service Expo was an

excellent opportunity to inspire young adults who are considering a career in

public service.

Interactive Career Booths

Human Services staff created three different stations where students could learn more about services offered by our department, while learning some of the careers available in a human services field.

The first station was a large life-size version of the Game of LIFE. Students received a client profile and journeyed down the path of services clients would utilize if facing certain life circumstances.

Our second station was a mock housing inspection, where students went through a checklist of items to determine whether a home is safe and up to code or hazardous. Our staff explained violations and safety/health concerns.

Our third station was a mock food pantry where students had 30 seconds to collect enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Students explained their choices and staff explained to students the importance of nutrition and how to stretch meals with simple ingredients.

Volunteer Services Newsletter January 2016

Human Services Staff at the CORE 4 Public Services Expo

Meals on Wheels Volunteer Turns 90—Meet Mel Fischer One of our former Meals on Wheels volunteers is De Soto resident, Mel Fischer. He’s 90 years old and delivered meals to homebound seniors for 13 years. Up until 2012, Mel had been driving and delivering these meals by himself. For the past three years Mel and his daughter, Carol Smith, delivered meals together. In October, Mel decided it was time to ‘retire’ as a MOW delivery driver.

Mel sets the example

Mel has worn many hats in his life; airport developer for the Federal Aviation Administration for 27 years, architectural engineer for eight years, and has been a volunteer everywhere he has lived. From an auxiliary policeman to a planning development committee, to Meals on Wheels volunteer, Mel has shown that he believes in giving back to his community.

Mel is proof that age is just a number. Delivering meals each week and being a reliable volunteer are two qualities that his clients will miss about him. Mel went above and beyond by often bringing the newspaper from the lawn or emptying a trash bin. “If they need a minute’s help, I try to do it while I’m there.” he said. You can read more of Mel’s story here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/community/joco-913/olathe-southwest-joco/article44181054.html

Refer a Friend Meals on Wheels is always in need of new community volunteers. With 53

volunteer routes that go out each day, we utilize 265 volunteers a week. Meals on

Wheels is great for the family. We have volunteers of all ages including newborn

babies who ride along with an adult parent to older adults like Mel. If you have just

one hour a week or if you know someone who has time to share volunteering—

please send them our way. We will send you a special gift just for referring a

friend. For more information, please contact Katie at 913.715.8895

Helping Hands Volunteers Needed As we begin 2016, many of our seniors

who still live in their homes can feel a

sense of helplessness if they are

unable to care for the outside of their

homes. You can help our senior adults

by volunteering for Helping Hands.

Currently we are looking for volunteers

who can assist with winter snow

shoveling when 3 inches or more of

snow has fallen. Volunteers are needed

within 24-48 hours of the snowfall to

assist in clearing driveways and

sidewalks. This spring we will need

volunteers who can assist with lawn

mowing and spring yard maintenance.

If you are interested in volunteering,

please contact Brandy at

Brandy.Hodge@jocogov.org

All referrals for volunteer assistance

are received through our Area Agency

on Aging case managers. Helping

Hands is offered to Human Services

clients who have received an in-home

assessment of needs. If you know a

senior adult in need of help at home,

please give them our telephone

number 913.715.8861 and an Aging

Information Specialist can schedule an

at-home assessment.

Mel’s Last Day Volunteering in DeSoto

Mel Fischer and his daughter Carol Smith delivering meals in De Soto, KS

Catch-a-Ride Services have

doubled

Two years ago, we hired

a new Catch-a-Ride

(CaR) Coordinator, Anna

Collins. At the time of

hire, CaR was averaging

30 rides per week. Fast

forward to today and

Catch-a-Ride is now

averaging 70 rides a

week.

Great news, we are

serving more people who

need transportation to

essential appointments.

Bad news, we still need

more volunteers to help

with the demand for

services. Currently we

need drivers who are

willing to pick-up riders in

De Soto, Gardner, and

Spring Hill and drive to

appointments in Overland

Park and KU Medical

Center. There is also a

need for drivers in the

Northeast part of Johnson

County, cities such as

Merriam, Mission, Prairie

Village, and Roeland

Park all have a large

aging population which

creates a big demand for

transportation.

Transportation is one of

the key factors when

someone decides its time

to move into assisted

living or a nursing home.

Help our neighbors

continue to live

independently in their

homes by spreading the

word about our need for

volunteer drivers.

Here is one large donation received by the North West Multi-Service Center in 2015

Need Service Hours? One of the new initiatives with volunteer services include offering service hours to

students who collect at least 50 items for one of Johnson County Human Services

six multi-service centers. We will be offering quarterly drives to bring awareness

for the need of food and other items here in Johnson County. In September our

theme was Nut Your Average Food drive where students collected hygiene

products that one cannot purchase with an EBT (food stamps) card. In late

October, we began promoting Thanksgiving in a Box where individuals who

receive food pantry assistance were given items to prepare a holiday meal

excluding frozen turkeys. In December our focus was on collecting hygiene

Stocking Stuffers. Now in January and February we are collecting canned food

items such as canned soup, fruit, meat, or vegetables for the Soup-er Bowl.

It’s easy to host a food drive. First, students choose a location such as school,

church, neighborhood, or parent’s work. Students collect items for one—two

weeks. Students can either collect items from a preset list or participate in one of

our themed drives. Upon completion of the food drive, students will arrange a time

to drop off items at one of our six multi-service centers. Students who collect at

least 50 items will receive a certificate for five hours of service.

For more information about our food drives, please contact Brandy at

913.715.8866 or Brandy.Hodge@jocogov.org

Winter Safety Tips for Driving Driving in the winter can be challenging, especially in icy conditions. As a Midwesterner, we

may be used to snow, but not everyone on the road is used to driving in winter conditions.

Drivers are advised to take precautions to ensure that they will arrive safely at their

destination.

Before You Go In cold weather, it is recommended that you warm up your car before you drive. To prevent

carbon monoxide poisoning , never leave a vehicle running in an enclosed area such as a

garage. If the weather is questionable, wait out the storm. However if you must leave, share

your travel plans and route with someone before you leave. Make sure to prepare your car

for winter weather by having a mechanic perform an annual inspection.

Don’t Leave Home Without These In an emergency situation, in addition to a full tank of gas and fresh antifreeze, the National

Safety Council recommends having these with you at all times:

Properly inflated spare tire, wheel wrench, and tripod jack

Shovel

Jumper cables

Bag of salt or cat litter for tire traction or to melt snow

Tool kit

Flashlight and extra batteries

Reflective triangle or flares

Compass

First Aid Kit

Windshield Cleaner

Ice scraper and snow brush

Matches in a waterproof container

Scissors and string or cord

Non-perishable, high energy foods like unsalted nuts, hard candy, dry fruit

Blankets, mittens, socks, and hats

Ultimately, your safety is number one! In some cases of inclement weather, we do cancel all volunteer activities such as Catch-a-Ride and Meals on Wheels. If you are scheduled to volunteer that day, you will be notified of the cancellation. If you ever feel uncomfortable driving in winter weather, please notify us ASAP and we will find a substitute driver.

SHICK Senior Health Insurance

Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) is

a free program offered to Kansas

residents where they have an

opportunity to talk with a trained

community volunteer and get

answers to questions about

Medicare and other insurance

issues. SHICK also provides

resources to residents when they

visit our office.

Johnson County Human Services

is lucky to have four SHICK

volunteers. Volunteers are

required to attend an annual state

training to learn about any

changes to Medicare or health

insurance.

Our SHICK Volunteers are:

Linda Hoover

Melanie Irwin

Pat Martin

Fred Noble

Our SHICK volunteers’ goal is to

educate and assist the public to

make informed decisions on

what’s best for them.

To schedule an appointment to

meet with one of our trained

SHICK volunteers, please call

913.715.8856

SHICK Counselors assist with complicated Medicare questions

Before heading out—follow these safety tips

Valentine

Stampede

For several years,

residents across the metro

have collected handmade

Valentines, store

purchased Valentines, and

postage stamps to ensure

that our homebound

seniors are remembered

on Valentine’s Day. This

year we have received

tremendous support from

local schools, scouts,

churches, and other

organizations for

handmade cards.

We need your help! We

are in need of the

following items.

500 Full-Sized Store

Purchased Cards

400 Postage Stamps

200 Ziploc Bags (to

package the cards for each

senior)

If you would like to donate

any items, please drop-off

your donations by

Wednesday February

3rd to our Olathe office

located at:

11811 S. Sunset Drive

SUITE 1300

Olathe, KS 66061

Thank you for

remembering our

homebound seniors this

Valentine’s Day.

Johnson County Government employees participate in Meals on Wheels ride-alongs

9.11 Day of Service Each year Johnson County Government employees have the opportunity to

participate in a Day of Service on September 11th. 9.11 is the largest annual day

of service in the United States. Each year more than 40 million Americans observe

9.11 by performing good deeds that help others. Johnson County government

began a Day of Service in 2013 for staff to give back and help the community.

For the second year, the Day of Service included a Meals on Wheels Ride-Along.

In 2015, twelve staff participated in ride-alongs with our veteran Meals on Wheels

drivers. Our hope is to create an awareness for the need of volunteer drivers as

well as allow our County employees to learn more about services provided by

Human Services. Each year, we typically gain one new County Meals on Wheels

team by allowing employees to ride along prior to signing up to serve as a

volunteer driver.

In addition, we hosted a toilet paper collection drive where we collected 2,178 rolls

of toilet paper for our six Multi-Service Centers. By hosting the toilet paper drive,

we created an awareness to employees that toilet paper is an item that one can

not purchase with an EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card, formerly known as

food stamps. Our Multi-Service Centers try to stock items such as hygiene

products, however these are not the typical items someone thinks of when hosting

a drive for a food pantry.

Johnson County

Human Services—

Volunteer Services

11811 S. Sunset Drive

Suite 1300

Olathe, KS 66061

(913) 715.8859

Brandy.Hodge@jocogov.org

Visit us on the web at

www.jocogov.org/dept/human-

services

Contact Information

Catch-a-Ride Volunteers— Anna Collins : 913.715.8900

Meals on Wheels Volunteers —

Katie Baker: 913.715.8895

SHICK— Karen Mitscher: 913.715.8856

Multi-Service Centers

Blue Valley MSC- Beth Johnson: 913.715.8985

Gardner/Edgerton MSC— Joanne Haworth: 913.715.8980

North Central MSC— Theresa Hicks: 913.715.6650

North East MSC— Larry Kutcher: 913.826.5510

North West MSC:- Jess Collins: 913.715.8970

Spring Hill MSC - Cris Lowe: 913.715.8960

Meals on Wheels Pick-Up Locations:

Blue Valley : 913.980.3633

De Soto : 913.585.1762

Gardner : 913.856.3471

Lenexa : 913.888.6141

Merriam : 913.667.2048

Olathe : 913.715.8898

Overland Park: 913.648.2949

Spring Hill : 913.592.3180

Johnson County Human Services

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