A new year has arrived and maybe you have been doing good and giving back on your list of resolutions. To help you in sticking to that resolution we have taken a look at 2012 and some of the volunteer opportunities that we have here at PHP that are already on the calendar. Here are some of the highlights: Contact our volunteer coordinator, Joanna Jaeger at joanna@php.com or (408)727-5775 x133 if you are interested.

• February 13-19 is Random Acts of Kindness Week, volunteer to help a friend or neighbor who has a family member with special needs or spend a little time in the PHP offices helping the staff.
• March 15 is PHP’s Annual Transition Fair. We need volunteers on the afternoon of March 14 to help with set up and on March 15 to support the event and all the people attending.
• April 17 is our Volunteer Appreciation Event, we are seeking volunteers (of course) to help prepare for and host two receptions (one in the morning and one in the evening) to honor all the volunteers who help us do our amazing work throughout the year. Channel your inner Martha Stewart and help us put on a nice party for some wonderful people.
• September 11 is a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Commit to volunteering at PHP for the day or for an on-going project.
• October has two volunteer days, the 1st is “Be the Change Day” and the 27th is “Make a Difference Day.” Contact us and we’ll work together to find a way for you to support PHP and the great work that we do.
• November 16-18 is the Abilities Expo. PHP needs volunteers to help set up and man our booth that will showcase the iTech Center and the work that PHP does to support the special needs community. If you can, help out for a few hours and be an ambassador for PHP. It will help us to spread the word and reach out to families.
• December 1 is our Annual Holiday Party for children with special needs. Calling all elves! We need volunteers the day of the event as well as volunteers to help with planning and preparation during October and November. 

Development Volunteers: Help us to continue to grow and make a difference in the lives of families by supporting our development and fundraising efforts. We need help with a variety of activities including preparing and mailing thank you letters to donors, data entry, funding research, support for special events, helping to identify potential sponsors and donors, making follow up phone calls, writing/editing articles for our website, press releases or other agency materials, and much, much more.

Monthly Volunteer Opportunities: Each month we have as many as 16 different support and information groups that meet. Many of those groups can use the help of a volunteer or two to help with set up and registration and clean up. If you can give your time once a month it would be a great help to the groups and their facilitators.

PHP Ambassadors: We are often invited to participate in corporate, community, and nonprofit events like Health Fairs, Conferences and Awareness events by having an information table set up. Help us with our outreach and public relations by representing PHP in the community. If we can connect with just one family who needs us, it can make all the difference.

Looking forward to working with all of you in the coming year as we make a difference for families and children with special needs of all ages.