Volunteer opportunities

Yes, we want you to volunteer! What would you like to do? Your options are many: from envelope-stuffing to working on local environmental issues, from helping in our Berkeley office to leading hikes. No special expertise is needed; your genuine interest and commitment are far more important. For more ideas, contact Chapter conservation manager Jonna Papaefthimiou at (510) 848-0800, ext. 312, or email jonna -at- sfbaysc.org

Election help

This November's elections could be the most important ever for the environment! Help elect candidates who will care for the earth. The Sierra Club offers volunteer opportunities at all levels of involvement.

Sierra Club Calendars

Once again the Bay Chapter is selling Sierra Club wall and engagement calendars as a fundraiser for our local conservation work and to beautify local walls and desks. We need your help as:

• regional-group reps - to sell calendars at local meetings and events in your geographic area through mid-December; regional groups can use this as an opportunity for fundraising;
• shipping clerks - efficient, detail-oriented volunteers to pack and ship calendars, available weekly 4 - 6 hours weekly through mid-December.

To volunteer or for more information, call Joanne Drabek, (510) 848-0800, ext. 315.

Plan to support your local Sierra Club this holiday season and order your 2005 Sierra Club Calendars from the Bay Chapter and the regional groups. Calendars are available through mid-December. See the order form on the back page of this Yodeler.

Retired? Want a challenge?

Volunteer at the Club's national headquarters in downtown San Francisco (one block from BART and Muni); contribute your experience to help us come to grips with the environmental problems of the next century. You'll meet new people with similar interests; have access to computers, the internet, and one of the best environmental libraries in the country; and expand your own interests while sharing your time and skills. Experience would be useful in just about any field. We can use skills at translating from English into a wide range of languages. In addition, we need a volunteer to do administrative support including filing, copying, and if familiar with computers, some light correspondence and internet searches. For details, call Michele Perrault at (415) 977-5670.

Energy Committee

The Bay Chapter Energy Committee needs volunteers to help us to keep abreast of energy issues affecting the Bay Area and to work with other Sierra Club entities to encourage renewable energy and energy conservation. Current needs include:

• following San Francisco's progress in implementing tidal- and wave-energy technology;
• implementing a plan to educate local communities on energy efficiency and conservation;
• exploring ways locally to move towards sustainability and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

We meet once a month, usually on the fourth Wednesday (see sfbayenergy.org for exact times/places), to discuss these and other local energy issues, and to hear presentations from energy experts. Experience in the energy field is helpful, but more important is an interest in learning the details of specific technologies and legislation. For more information, contact committee chairs Doug Beach (San Francisco/Marin Counties) at (415) 608-1439 or email dbeach7 -at- mac.com or Tom Roberts (Alameda/Contra Costa Counties) at (415) 203-2781 or email tc.roberts -at- mindspring.com

Alaska volunteers needed!

The Bush administration is attacking the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the western North Slope, and the Tongass National Forest all at once. Help the Sierra Club's Alaska Task Force and the Alaska Coalition defend Alaska's unique lands! To volunteer, contact Vicky Hoover, Sierra Club Alaska Task Force, at (415) 977-5527 or email vicky.hoover -at- sierraclub.org

Yodeler Photo Contest

Help make the annual Yodeler Photo Contest happen (see article, page H). To volunteer, contact Aphra Pia at (510)655-0969 or email aphrapia -at- aol.com or Wade Sherwood at (510) 531-8664 or wwsherwood2 -at- juno.com

California wilderness and forests

The Sierra Club's Oakland Field Office is looking for passionate, dedicated volunteers to work on California wilderness and forest issues, particularly the California Wild Heritage Campaign, a historic statewide effort to protect the remaining wilderness-quality lands in California. The office needs many volunteers to help with this campaign, whether for an hour a month or an hour a day. Help with administrative/office work, organizing tabling at events, phonebanking, etc. Contact: dave.westman -at- sierraclub.org or (510) 622-0290, ext. 220.

Outings Office assistant

Every month Sierra Club's Outings Department in downtown San Francisco receives hundreds of requests for information. We need a few volunteers for about three or four hours every couple of weeks to help mail out responses. The hours can be any time 9 am - 5 pm, Mon. - Fri. To help, call our volunteer coordinator at (415) 977-5686.