Environmental Volunteer Opportunities

The EPA has some possible volunteer opportunities to look through. Click here!

A Plethora of Volunteer Opportunities

The JCC on Summer St. is looking for assistance at its Grand Reopening this Sunday, November 22nd from noon to 4:30 pm. There will be children’s activities, a family scavenger hunt, and people will also be needed to man a popcorn machine and fun stuff like that. Students can contact one of the following people if they wish to volunteer:

Debra L. Chernoff at
(716) 856-7949 X 210 or
dchernoff@buffaloplace.com

or

Barbara Reden at
886-3145 or
BarbaraReden@jccbuffalo.org

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If any Seniors are looking for some work towards an environmental career, there is an AmeriCorps opportunity that comes with a stipend and an educational grant. You would not receive CAS credit for this paid opportunity, but we wanted to pass this along.

Call Meaghan at Reinstein (683-5959) if you are interested.

More information can be found here:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1960.html

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People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) is always looking for volunteers to help out with their efforts to rebuild the West Side of Buffalo. This organization was instrumental in helping out with the recent Extreme Makeover Home Edition effort on Massachusetts Avenue. You can find out more about the organization by going to pushbuffalo.org and you can contact Aaron Bartley (CHS Class of 1993) at aaron@pushbuffalo.org if you would like to volunteer (CAS hours would be service or action).

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AIDS Community Services of WNY, Inc. is looking for volunteers to gift wrap at the Boulevard Mall. Dates are from 12/4-12/24. Contact Kimberly at kluangpakdy@aidscommunityservices.com for more information or to sign up.

Important IB Dates for Seniors

Friday, 11/6: Extended Essay Subject Area/Title Declaration due to Mrs. Banas

Friday, 11/13: Final draft of Extended Essay. Hard copy to Mrs. Banas and upload onto turnitin.com

The password for uploading is "principled" like the IB Learner Profile trait (not principle).

Tree Planting on Saturday, 11/7.

The sixth seasonal reforesting of the Western New York Area by Re-Tree WNY commences this Saturday in 13 municipalities and the City of Buffalo.

1,700 street trees will be planted by the all-volunteer army trained and assembled by Re-Tree WNY and includes the efforts of 48 City of Buffalo block clubs.

Trees are being off-loaded on Thursday and Friday at two sites, 1120 Seneca Street near Babcock in South Buffalo and 1042 North Forest near Sheridan in Williamsville. Distribution to all locations will be done from these addresses.

Planting in all areas will be at 9AM on Saturday, and will continue until complete. Some municipalities are extending the effort to additional days, as-needed. The Tonawanda planting will be around the Parker Boulevard area and is coordinated with Bradley Rowles, Superintendent of Highways with the Town of Tonawanda. One large Buffalo planting is a coordinated effort between Councilman David Rivera, The Green Fund, Grassroots Gardens, PUSH, and the Grant/Ferry Neighborhood Association.

Anyone who still wishes to volunteer: is being directed to any of the three major plantings: gather at the Re-Tree WNY 14th Street Tree Farm (307 14th Street between Vermont and Rhode Island Streets) for the City of Buffalo; at 333 Dexter Terrace in Tonawanda; or Union & North Forest Roads (Forest Elementary School) in Williamsville.

All sites gather at 9AM - come dressed to plant, with gloves and equipment.

Some larger tree planting areas this Saturday, November 7th, are as follows:

BUFFALO

Saturday, November 7

9AM

Gathering at NOON at the Massachusetts Avenue Boys & Girls Club - a great photo op

370 Massachusetts Ave.

Buffalo, NY 14213

CAS Opportunity

The annual Lindsay’s Legacy 5K run is Saturday, November 14th. It benefits Carly's Club at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and will be held at 11:00 a.m. Students are needed to work about an hour before the race and are then welcome to stay for the post race party.

Any students interested in volunteering should contact Frank or Bonnie Mariani by Wednesday, November 4th. Any volunteers are appreciated - even if you decide to help out after the deadline.

Below is the link to the website and contact information for Bonnie MacIver-Mariani and Frank Mariani below.

http://www.lindsays5k.com/home.htm


mailto:bonniejm@roadrunner.com or

www.lindsays5k.com
Frank A. Mariani
276 Morgan Street
Tonawanda, NY 14150

cell (716) 602-8843 (preferred)
home phone (716) 695-7406
mailto:frankm53@roadrunner.com

REVISED EXTENDED ESSAY TIMELINE 2009-2010 For the IB Diploma Class of 2010

May

Select Advisor. Chose topic and provide outline to TOK teacher.

June/July

Three Day IB Summer Institute.

July/August

Finish research (10-15 sources), write final rough draft.

September 18

Turn in hard copies of whatever you have done to Mrs. Banas. Make sure your name, subject area, and advisor are listed.

October 5-9

Make an appointment to meet with Mrs. Banas this week to discuss the progress of your Extended Essay. You will receive your materials back and discussions may lead to parents being brought in if your progress has not been satisfactory.

Bring all CAS journals/documentation/information at the same time for a CAS evaluation meeting.

November 13

Upload your final rough draft to turnitin.com (Keep an eye on the IB blog for info on how to do this.) Make sure your name, subject area, and advisor are listed. Turn in a hard copy of your final rough draft to Mrs. Banas. She will distribute it to your advisor.

December 13-18

Make an appointment to meet with your advisor this week to discuss your Extended Essay. Your advisor will give back your final rough draft.

February 5

HAND IN FINAL ESSAY to Mrs. Banas – two good copies. (You are being given plenty of time to revise/fix/rewrite based on your conversation with your advisor in December, so this essay should be excellent.)


BACK UP YOUR PAPER ON A CD OR A FLASH DRIVE!

Energized Students Needed at the Clean Air Coalition

Interested is community organizing? Community art? Environmentalism?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you are a perfect fit for the Clean Air Coalition of WNY (CAC)! They are a non-profit based in Kenmore that is working to drastically improve the air quality in the area. The air out there is so toxic it’s giving people leukemia and many other skin and respiratory diseases. They have worked with lots of scientists and policy makers to determine exactly what needs to happen – now it just has to get it done!

Working with CAC is a another opportunity for personal growth and to fulfill your CAS hours. Here are a few projects you can get involved in:

Join their canvass. They are building a team of friendly folks who will go out door-to-door to talk to people about what we do and encourage them to join our work. Erin Heaney, City Honors Alum & director of the CAC of WNY, became involved in a political canvass when she was in high school and it was one of the most meaningful things she did those 4 years. You will hear some powerful stories and learn a lot.

Organize a community art and testimonial project. If you’re interested in story telling or art, this is a really exciting opportunity. They want to put together a project that tells the stories of their members. They'd like to produce a work of testimonials for their website and perhaps as a tangible installation somewhere in the community. Many members have pretty incredible stories and they'd like to be able to document them and make them more accessible to the rest of the community. They are looking for students who do photography and/or film and are interested in conducting interviews and transcribing them.

Create your own project. If their work sounds exciting, but you are not excited by the projects above, get in touch with them and they will work something out that is meaningful for you!

If you’re interested, get in touch with Erin at erin.heaney@gmail.com or give her a call at 472.8042. She’s a City Honors grad and is very excited about getting IB students involved!

Mentoring program

INTERESTING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Science Firsthand is looking for mentors in their program. It would require only about 1 1/2 hours per week after school. The locations are in various schools or Boys & Girls Clubs in Buffalo, working with 6th graders. Note you don't have to be a science major - it is more about critical thinking.

Contact Stephanie Sears, Program Manager, Science Firsthand. stefsears@gmail.com or 716-831-8722. For more info, visit the website below:

http://www.firsthandlearning.org/sciencefirsthand.html

Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo and Erie Co. is looking to hire peer tutors!

Literacy Volunteers is an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of those in need through education. It will be starting its after school programs throughout the city in October this year. These sites will provide after school programs for children of elementary and secondary school age.

Literacy Volunteers is looking to hire peer tutors for each of the sites that are involved in the program. Peer tutors provide structure and support to the children that are attending the program and they also act as an assistant to the site coordinator at each site. The requirements for the peer tutor position are:

* Be at least 16-20 years of age
* Experience in volunteering and working with youth (preferred)
* Responsibility
* Good communication skills
* Available Monday through Friday 3pm-7pm for the duration of the program

If you are interested, please call the office or stop by to pick up an application by Friday September 4.

Contact person and address:

Brittany S. Kucala
After School Coordinator
Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo and Erie Co. Inc.
1313 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
PHONE: 716-876-8991
FAX: 716-876-5036

Class of 2011 - IB Summer Seminar at City Honors @ #56

When: Monday, June 29, 2009

Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Cafeteria/auditorium of School #56

What to bring: A pen/pencil, $5.00 for lunch (lunch will be catered by Wegmans), & $30 for your TOK textbook to be used over the next two years (checks made payable to City Honors).

Questions? Email Mrs. Banas at ebanas@buffaloschools.org

Class of 2010 - IB Summer Institute at UB

When: Tuesday, June 30 - Thursday, July 2, 2009

Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day

Where: UB North Campus. Go to Lockwood Library. Go here to find out more information about Lockwood and its location on the UB North Campus. Once you're in the library there will either be signs or someone to direct you to where we are meeting.

Parking (carpooling is strongly encouraged): Parking for visitors is limited to certain lots and metered areas on each campus. Visitors to the North Campus can park in the Center for Tomorrow Lot off Flint Road, without a charge and utilize our shuttle service. Additionally, on the North Campus, Visitor Paid Parking is available in the Fronczak Lot. There is an entry charge of $4.00 ($2.00 after 1 pm). On the South Campus, Visitor Paid Parking is in the Michael Farber Lot. Permits or receipts are required in these lots from 7 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday.

I have a small number of parking passes available - on a first come, first served basis. Email me or stop by my room at #8 if you want one....

For more information on parking at UB North, go here .

You will need to bring money to eat at one of the on campus eating establishments or bring a lunch each day.

Don't forget all the information you already received/researched in TOK!!!!

Questions? Email Ms. Banas at ebanas@buffaloschools.org

Voluteers Needed!

The Down Syndrome Parent Group of Western New York
Presents "Lose the Training Wheels"
At East Aurora High School
from July 13 to 17, 2009

From www.losethetrainingwheels.org:
“Lose The Training Wheels™ is more than just a bike-riding program…Within days of learning to ride, many children exhibit independent behaviors for the first time ever. This achievement, in turn, creates a gateway of opportunity, helping them gain assurance and self-reliance in many other aspects of their lives.”

For more information, call Deb Flynn, 655-4131, or e-mail dspgwny@hotmail.com.

Documentation to fulfill community service requirements will be provided upon request.

Information for current IB students

The short version of the CAS guide is now available as a quick link from this blog.

Volunteer Opportunity at School #56

Babysitters are needed for younger siblings of students attedning the MEDIA AND ITS EFFECT ON TEEN GIRLS lecture on Thursday, May 14th at School #56. Students are needed from 5:45-7:30 p.m. See Mrs. Banas to sign up.

Volunteer Opportunity at Buffalo ReUse

It's crunchtime for the Open House on Saturday, April 25th from noon-4pm and so we're scrambling around getting stuff ready and if you have time this week, there's plenty of tasks at the store from painting the new entry way to schlepping and relocating inventory so we have some room for info tables and food and a space to play games etc.

But the DAY OF of the Open House we need folks as well to be:

* Facilitate the kids' games (water balloons, recycling toss, coloring table, bubble tunnel, sidewalk chalk drawings) We have 2 teen volunteers so far, but we could use a couple more to assist--I'll explain the games more thoroughly
* Setting up food table (area) and working the hot dog grill (making the lemonade etc) making sure there's spoons etc
* If you would like to bring a potluck side salad--like potato, bean, pea, corn, macaroni or condiments or cookies--that's very appreciated and please let me know.
* Helping the guest organizations set up their tables (just directing them to the table and locating chairs is fine)
* Greeting folks as they come in the store and asking if they'd like to sign up for our newsletter
* Some tour guides who can walk folks through the store and brag about all the improvements since last May
* Someone to man the Seedling Swap table
* We haven't had luck getting a free band/performer yet--so we might be making music with veggies but we're waiting on a reply from Blood Thirsty Vegans to see if they might perform for part of the time.

If you're available for setting up--we'll probably start getting tables ready early in the morning (then I have to run to the Power Vista and do my presentation) and I will be back by 11:30 to finish whatever isn't done.

Any help is wonderful, if there's something else you can assist with that isn't listed--I'm all ears!
--
Caesandra N. Seawell
Logistics Coordinator, Buffalo ReUse Inc
716-885-4131

Volunteer Opportunity with Class of 2010

RUMMAGE SALE:

The Class of 2010 is sponsoring a rummage sale at Central Park United Methodist Church, 216 Beard Avenue, Buffalo, 14214, on Saturday, May 16, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In order to get ready for the sale, donations of clothes and household items will be dropped off at the church on the following Saturdays from 10 am to noon: 3/28, 4/4, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, and 5/9.

Students needing community service hours are welcome at that time to accept, clean, sort, and price donations and to distribute fliers around the neighborhood. All unsold items on the day of the sale will be donated to the church's clothing pantry, "Clara's Closet", and delivered to charities of the students' choice, so students are also needed the day of the sale, especially at the end of the day at 4:00 pm.

Contact: Sue Natali 875-3103, 868-1578, twnsrfun@aol.com or Bonny Ryder @ bkryder@verizon.net to volunteer.

Many CAS opportunities available at Buffalo ReUse:

* VEGETABLE GARDENING & POCKET PARKS --they will have several spaces over the next 6mos which they will transform from brown/weedy vacant lots into inviting green spaces and/or edible or flower gardens. Work would include collecting soil samples, clearing/mowing, building garden beds and paths, sowing seeds, weeding, watering and harvesting among other things.

* TREE PLANTING & MAINTENANCE --they have planted over 400 trees and will participate again with ReTREE WNY this May so there's plenty of trees that need to be re-wired/staked and pruned over the next season. If students want to participate during this planting and learn the ropes, they would really love it!

* STREET BLITZES --this is where they descend upon a street and go from one end to the other collecting trash, pruning trees and shrubs, edging and assisting neighbors with small projects, maybe even some painting or flower planting.

* REHAB-LABS --there are 2 houses we are rehabbing and projects range from clearing debris, gutting walls, painting, installing fixtures, refinishing floors and more.

* TOOL LENDING LIBRARY --they need assistance collecting tools of all kinds (as well as how-to books)- -used and new --they will create training/safety videos and label and sort the tools for the public to borrow and maintain their properties.

* DIY WORKSHOPS --if students (or their parents) want to assist or teach home repair and maintenance workshops like plumbing, window repair, laying tile, installing drywall etc they can host a workshop.

Generally speaking, students should be prepared to get dirty and dress in layers --longjohns and sweatshirts etc, work gloves and boots. Buffao ReUse will provide the goggles and other safety equipment as needed. Right now, they do not have heat in their building so it's really important for students to dress warm. Saturdays are usually the days they do big stuff, but now that they have the gardens starting in April students can volunteer throughout the summer--even on weekdays. Students can show up at the store to help process inventory and with projects too--it's open Tues-Sat from 7:30-5pm.

If there will be more than 5 students in a group, Buffalo ReUse would like to get a headsup to make sure that the prep projects and equipment we'll be available.

Buffalo ReUse is also desperately in need of students that can edit video, turn it into a DVD and upload some clips on-line--some of it's kind of boring material, but they also want to get footage of our projects and shenanigans and interviews to post on their youtube account and website as well.

Also, April 25th they will have an EARTH WARMING PARTY from noon-4pm and welcome any displays students might have created (for a science fair or something) which highlight urban issues, environmental stewardship or innovative green energy/ideas or even some wacky demonstrations or games for kids too (like a recycling game or craft).

If any students know things like bike repair, then Buffalo ReUse would love to have a clinic for their neighbors! Performers for that day would also be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpfYt7vRHuY

Buffalo ReUse will start advertising heavily starting the first of April so if students would like to be included, let them know soon.

There's really a thousand things students can do!

Email volunteer@buffaloreuse.org with any questions and to be added on to the group email list.

2009 Spring Planting With Re-Tree WNY

IBers - why not organize a tree planting for CAS?

Re-Tree WNY is partnering with the City of Buffalo to again provide free trees and supplies to plant within the public right-of-way (between sidewalk and street curb) and non-Olmsted parks in neighborhoods this Spring on May 2 nd & 3rd.

If you are interested in doing a neighborhood tree planting this Spring in the City of Buffalo, Re-Tree WNY is asking all interested groups to follow the steps outlined below in order to secure trees for the planting:

Step 1: Register your group here: www.city-buffalo.org/retreewny

Step 2: Once your registration has been received and accepted, you will be able to access the online tree-planting database at the same site.

Step 3: The online tree-planting database will show specific locations in your neighborhood that have been pre-approved for tree planting. From this database, you can reserve your tree planting locations for the spring.

Step 4: After you have chosen the locations for your trees, you may choose a species from the suggested list provided by the database for each location. At this time, we cannot guarantee that the species you choose will be the species you receive, but we will do our best to honor selections.

Step 5: If this is your first neighborhood tree planting with us stay alert for further information regarding a MANDATORY tree planting informational session provided by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Otherwise all groups will receive regular reminders on upcoming dates and steps to be taken before the planting weekend.

All trees must be reserved by March 16th, 2009!

If you have any questions about the availability of trees or planting location please call the City of Buffalo at 311.

Important Dates:

March 16th – Reservation closes for City of Buffalo
In April – Training dates – Locations to be announced
May 1st – Pick-up of trees by groups/ organizations
May 2nd & 3rd – Planting of Trees

Additional information on Re-Tree WNY is available on-line at www.re-treewny.org

Reminder of ongoing volunteer opportunity

Buffalo ReUse is always looking for volunteers to work on their projects.

Go to: http://www.buffaloreuse.org/ for more information