Twenty miles southwest of Olympia, Washington, Rochester was named in 1890 by Gary Fleming. With a population of about 2,000 people, Rochester is a small town in Thurston county that is rich with history, culture and community involvement. The town features a variety of institutions and organizations that are in need of hard-working volunteers.
School Volunteer Ideas
The Rochester school district provides many services for students with disabilities. Based on the nondiscriminatory prohibitions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the schools provide special accommodations and services so all students can participate in and benefit from public education. Under the school district's "Special Services" umbrella, it provides programs where volunteers with backgrounds in education and special needs are needed. The Learning Assistance Program is an area in which to start. The program focuses on providing students extra help in basic academic areas such as reading, math and language arts and is available for grades 3 to 12.
With over 10 percent of the population being of latino descent, according to city-data.com, the school district also hosts an English Language Learners program for children who are learning to speak English. The program is open to students of all grade levels until they reach fluency in English reading, speaking and writing.
Library Volunteer Ideas
Because the Rochester Community Library has no paid staff and operations are completely dependent on volunteers, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities here. Located within the Rochester Community Center, the library houses several thousand books, DVDs and other resources. The library also features a six-station computer lab, which hosts basic computer classes. If you enjoy working with computers and are interested in volunteering in the computer lab or teaching computer skills classes, the Rochester Community Library computer lab may be an appropriate volunteer idea.
Youth Club Volunteer Ideas
The Rochester community also has volunteer opportunities with its local youth clubs. Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rochester is always in need of volunteers to offer individual time and attention to the local primary and secondary school students. There are also steady volunteer opportunities with the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County for their after-school programs serving ages 5 to 18.
Sports League Volunteer Ideas
Rochester hosts a couple sports leagues that need help every year with games, fundraising and management. Larch Mountain Little League and ROC Youth Baseball are two examples of community leagues in need of regular volunteers. Other sports-related volunteer opportunities may be found with the public school district's student sports programs.
Public Services Volunteer Ideas
Rochester has two food banks which need volunteers as well as donations. Volunteers are also needed for the "Meals on Wheels" program for home-bound seniors. Rochester also runs a program called the Rochester Organization of Families (ROOF), which is for low-income families. ROOF volunteers are needed for programs such as: the emergency food bank, after-school/summer learning, parenting education, English as a second language and other services.
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