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Newsletter — Summer 2016

Two Good Soles: We’re Ready to Help

The Annual “Two Good Soles” Socks & Shoes Drive will begin on August 1st and run through September 9th.

If you’re interested in helping out this year by delivering donation boxes, picking up donated items, counting and sorting socks & shoes, or setting up for the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony, give us a call at (352) 249-1275.

All donations will stay right here in Citrus County to help children in need.

The socks & shoes will be distributed to children by: Citrus County School System, Daystar Life Center, Citrus United Basket, CASA, the Pregnancy & Family Life Center, and the Family Resource Center.

Last year your generous donations netted almost 3,000 items. Let’s get the word out so we can surpass this number!

Watch for donation boxes throughout the county to donate a new pair of shoes or socks! (see page 7 for drop-off locations)

Remembering & Responding to 9/11

“TWO GOOD SOLES”

Shoes and Socks Drive starts August 1st

New

Shoes

New Socks

Welcome New Volunteers!

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Friends of NCVC

& RSVP

Advisory Council

Jan Squires, President

Andi Pokry�e, V.P.

Dee Cornell, Secretary

Sandy Plumadore, Treasurer

Members at Large:

Joanna Castle

Dave Marden

Pat Coles

NCVC Staff:

Laurie Diestler

RSVP Project Director

(352) 249-1276

Sue Carscadden

Sr. Program Asst.

(352) 527-5959

Rhonda Noel

Sr. Program Asst.

(352) 249-1275

Fax (352) 527-8733

E-mail: ncvc@citrusbocc.com

Welcome New Volunteers 2

Travel Reimbursement 3

3

Senior Companions 4

Seniors on the Move 4

Upcoming Trips & Activities 5

Special Needs Call Down Drill 6

Are You Ready? 6

Two Good Soles Collection Sites List 7

Web Assist Instructions 8

2016/17 Travel Voucher 9

Travel Voucher Instructions 10

Station Spotlight 11

Volunteers Needed 11

Our Partners & Sponsors 12

Inside this issue:

Michael Belkin

Susan Bell

Bonnie Buesching

Joseph Cardinali

Linda Cardinali

Robert Chapman

Marie Charles

Kristine Clay

David Davenport

Jan Davenport

Andrew Davies

Bonita-Ann Demianczyk

Judith DiPasquale

Michelle Dorman

Caleb Fagan

Joseph Fagan

Camille Faso

Debra Goss

Elaine Haischer

Penny Hesselbert

Earle Kircoaf

Judith Laubert

Odie Malave

Gale Marfia

Sue McCombs

Patricia Morgan

Sarah Parker

Barbara Richie

Rebekah Rosequist-Jones

Amy Sawdey

Diane Smedley

Marla Stewart

Cindy Suters

Juliana Tollari

Dwight Venell

Beatrice Voight

Jane Woodard

Warren Woodard

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WE’RE ON THE WEB!

WWW.NATURECOASTVOLUNTEERCENTER.ORG

Updated Travel Forms Available July 1st

The new Travel Reimbursement form will be required in order to be reimbursed for your travel in the new grant year that started July 1, 2016.

We are currently going into the first year of the three-year grant cycle. Please start using the new reimbursement form for travel you do starting in July. If you have older forms, please discard them.

Also, please be sure to fill the new form out completely, including the full date on each of your volunteer days.

The mileage you claim should be rounded up to the nearest mile, and NCVC staff is willing to calculate the totals for you, but we ask that you fill in each line

completely. Forms that are not completed properly will be returned, which may delay your reimbursement.

Please see page 9 of this newsletter for a copy of the form to be used reporting your July 1, 2016—June 30, 2017 volunteer hours and mileage.

If you have any questions about your mileage form, please call our office at (352) 249-1275.

Watch your mail and email inbox for the new forms to arrive. Please let us know if you do not receive one.

Summer 2016 Page 4

The Senior Companion program just completed another successful year and we celebrated with a guided tour of the new YMCA facility and lunch at Crackers. Everyone agreed the YMCA is an amazing place and we were encouraged to see that it was being used extensively by seniors—particularly in the gym and the swimming pool. There are many programs seniors can be involved with and it is a great place to meet friends and keep fit.

We have 12 companions serving Citrus County, and are hoping to expand to 14 in the upcoming months. The program began here in the County in 2000 and has been gaining strength ever since. Companions typically have 5 or 6 clients who they see on a weekly basis. Clients are given a four hour slot during which time their companion can take them for a medical appointment, shopping, the beauty parlor, and many other places. They can also spend time with the client in their home assisting with things which our clients might find difficult to do alone. They do not do housework or any personal care. Our clients typically do not drive and would have difficulty using public transportation.

If you think you would benefit from our program or you might be interested in becoming a companion yourself, please call Sue at (352) 527-5959 for further information.

Jackie Reiss and Bonnie Pilkington have continued to find interesting and entertaining events for our Seniors on the Move clients. The summer months are often a quiet time for the program, as some clients are snowbirds and have “flown” north. Because of the heat there are not as many events happening, but our ladies use their initiative and find many interesting “indoor” things to do. Well done Jackie and Bonnie.

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SENIOR CORPS — Talent ~ Skills ~ Experience

The RSVP program is federally funded by the Corporation for National & Community Service. There are six focus areas where volunteer impact is measured. Those areas are: Education, Healthy Futures, Economic Opportunity, Veterans & Military Families, Disaster Services, Environmental Stewardship, and Other Community Priorities. Senior Corps taps the skills, talents, and experience of more than

330,000 Americans age 55 and over to meet a wide range of community challenges through three programs—RSVP, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program. RSVP volunteers recruit and manage other volunteers, participate in environmental projects, mentor and tutor children, and respond to natural disasters, among many other activities. Foster

Grandparents serve one-on-one as tutors and mentors to young people with special needs. Senior Companions help frail seniors and other adults maintain independence primarily in the clients’ own homes. These are just a few examples of the impact Senior Corps has on communities across the nation.

UPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTS

August 1 Two Good Soles Socks & Shoes Drive begins—please see page 7 to locate a donation box nearest you

September 9 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

October 22 Make A Difference Day

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Oh, and don’t forget that non-electric can opener!

If there is an approaching storm, such as a hurricane, be sure to check your stock of medications to be sure you’ll have enough during and after a storm.

Remember your pets too! Do you know where their registration/shot records are located? Put them in a Ziploc-type baggie for safe keeping. Make sure you have enough food for them, and keep his/her leash and collar close to your survival kit.

Your valuable documents can also be kept safe and secure in Ziploc-type baggies. Your safety and welfare are the most important things, but if you plan ahead to keep your documents safe and dry, you will have one less worry during and after a disaster.

Making a simple survival kit is easy, and doesn’t have to be expensive. Many of the things you will need are probably in your house now. See the list of things below that you may need for the first three days after a disaster.

Are you ready? Planning ahead is simple and easy. Make a Plan ~ Make a Kit.

Do you know how much water you will need to survive if your water supply is cut off in a disaster? One (1) gallon per person/per day!

Have you stocked up on canned goods? Keep canned soups, pastas, beans, meats (such as tuna and canned chicken) and other such foods available in the case you lose power and cannot keep your fresh foods fresh.

ARE YOU READY?

♦ Water - one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation ♦ Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food (i.e., tuna, beans, soup, pasta meals) ♦ Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both ♦ Flashlight and extra batteries ♦ First aid kit ♦ Whistle to signal for help ♦ Dust mask to help filter contaminated air; and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place ♦ Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation ♦ Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities ♦ Manual can opener for food ♦ Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

WAYS TO HELP

Whether you actively participate in an actual emergency, or help before a storm, every aspect of what you do is vitally important to those in need. Twice a year, in May and December, our volunteers lend a hand to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office by participating in the Special Needs Call-Down Drill. The Drill consists of calling those registered with the Sheriff’s Office to confirm their address, need, and interest in remaining on the registry. There are over 300 citizens registered with this program, and our volunteers can make those verification calls in a matter of a few hours. If you’d like to participate in preparedness activities, give us a call at (352) 249-1276 and we’ll let you know when the next drill is happening.

Summer 2016 Page 7

WEB ASSIST

Volunteer Time Recording

Registered volunteers and station staff may now go to our website at www.naturecoastvolunteercenter.org and submit volunteer hours. Please contact us if you encounter any problems when entering your hours.

You can also search for additional or different volunteer positions that may be of interest to you. The system allows you to send us messages, and we can send you messages as well.

Your user name will be your name without any spaces, i.e. Mary Jones, would have the user name: MaryJones. If you provided your middle initial to us during your registration be sure to include that as well, i.e. MaryKJones.

The password will be volunteer for the first time that you access the system. You will have an opportunity to change your password, if you choose to do so, once you log into the system the first time.

Example: User Name: MaryJones

Password: volunteer

Station supervisors will be able to enter the hours for all of their volunteers at one time by simply signing in to the system and selecting each volunteer from a menu. The user name will be the station name without any spaces and the password will be volunteer for the first time that you access the system.

Example: User Name: GreatVolunteerOrg

Password: volunteer

Please call 249-1275 with any questions regarding entering your time on the web.

Please Note: Some people have been experiencing problems when accessing our web page to submit hours via Internet Explorer. You can download Firefox for free and use that as your internet browser to bypass this problem. Here is the link: https://www.mozilla.org

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Helpful Hints for Completing RSVP Travel Vouchers:

1. RSVP Travel vouchers must be original documents. No copies or faxes

will be processed.

2. All RSVP travel vouchers must be completed using an ink pen.

3. Remember to sign in the “Volunteer Signature” space.

4. Do not use “white out”. Do not erase. To make a correction, draw a line

through any incorrect information, write the correction, then initial the er-

ror.

5. In order to provide this partial mileage reimbursement to as many volun-

teers as possible, while at the same time maximizing the use of grant trav-

el dollars, a minimum of three (3) hours of volunteer service is re-

quired per day to be considered for reimbursement. Current maximum

reimbursement is $200 per volunteer per grant year (July 1– June

30). Please note: The minimum hours, maximum yearly reimbursement,

and possible seasonal adjustment reimbursement rate may fluctuate ac-

cording to the current balance of grant travel dollars.

6. Only travel within Citrus County may be considered for reimburse-

ment. If applicable, indicate “to/from county line”

7. On the “Home to…. & Home” line, indicate the place or station where

you volunteered.

8. Partial mileage reimbursement is only available from your home to your

volunteer site and from your volunteer site directly back to your home, per

the RSVP Operations Handbook.

9. If travel does not total at least 32 miles during one month, you may wait

until the next month to submit a travel voucher so that your request will

meet the $5 minimum required for processing.

Please submit your RSVP travel vouchers in a timely manner. Call 249-1275 or

visit our office if you need help to complete your travel voucher or if we

can be of further assistance to you.

Crystal River Preserve State Park is looking for volunteers. Whether you like to work indoors our outdoors, they may have the job that’s right for you. Call them

at (352) 563-0450. “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”

Robert Byrne

Summer 2016 Page 11

Volunteers needed

Station managers and volunteer coordinators have let us know of some immediate needs throughout the county. If you’re looking for an additional volunteer opportunity, or know of someone who is, here are a few immediate needs:

STATION SPOTLIGHT ~ YMCASTATION SPOTLIGHT ~ YMCASTATION SPOTLIGHT ~ YMCASTATION SPOTLIGHT ~ YMCA

The YMCA opened its doors at the beginning of May, and held its ribbon-cutting celebration on Friday, May 20th. Some of the county’s most influential figures gathered at the new facility, which was a vacant piece of property, thick with pine trees, just a year earlier.

Membership prices to the YMCA can vary from $25—$100. Financial assistance is available, and members of the Silver Sneakers program can enroll at no additional cost. The YMCA offers members two pools, exercise equipment and activity rooms.

Visit the Y for a tour of the facility. If you have any questions or need additional information, call the friendly staff and volunteers at 637-0132.

Citrus County Blessings has many opportunities available, from packing to delivery. Call Grace H @ 637-1199.

ACCESS Florida has a need for volunteers to assist the public with the food stamp application process. If you have some computer experience and like to help others, give them a call at (352) 279-1962.

Sheriff Ranches Thrift Store—Crystal River is looking for stockers and store personnel. Give them a call at (352) 795-8886

Friends of the Nature Coast Volunteer Center P.O. Box 640683 Beverly Hills, FL 34464

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

LECANTO, FL 34461

PERMIT NO. 121

Thank you to these sponsors and partners for their support!

Friends of the Nature Coast Volunteer Center Friends of the Nature Coast Volunteer Center