KTTC Drive-By Toy Drive for Christmas Anonymous

The KTTC Drive-By Toy Drive for Christmas Anonymous is Saturday, Dec. 6th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. outside the KTTC Television Studio.

You can help by donating new toys, games, bicycles – or any gift for:
- Infants
- Children
- Teenagers

KTTC News Talent and staff, as well as Christmas Anonymous volunteers will be on hand all day long accepting gifts. You don’t have to get out of your car; KTTC news talent and employees will be there taking donations. The first 300 cars will receive a certificate for a six-inch sub from Subway. People can also stop by KTTC anytime during the week (Dec. 1-5) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and drop gifts off inside.

Every donation stays in Olmsted County. Christmas Anonymous will distribute these gifts to needy families. The STORE DAY is Saturday, December 13th at Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester. For more information call Christmas Anonymous at 507-285-3940.

Christmas Anonymous is a 100 percent volunteer organization whose sole mission is to help families and people in need in Olmsted County. This Rochester organization has been in effect for more than 50 years.

Arc Southeastern Minnesota seeking volunteers annual "Jail-A-Thon"

Arc Southeastern Minnesota is currently seeking Volunteers for its annual
"Jail-A-Thon." Come down to their jail located at Hy-Vee Barlow on Wednesday, Nov. 19th and raise money via pledges for persons with developmental disabilities and their families.

Arc is a non-profit agency providing support, education and advocacy to persons with developmental disabilities and their families in Olmsted, Winona, Houston, Dodge, Goodhue, Wabasha, Fillmore and Rice Counties. Contact Ryan at the Arc office at 507-287-2032 for more information!

Salvation Army Holiday Volunteer Opportunities

The Salvation Army of Rochester is seeking volunteers for this holiday season. Listed below are their top five volunteer needs for this year:

Bell Ringing (Nov. 14 - Dec. 24)
Through the Red Kettle Campaign, needed funds are raised to support year-round programs in your community. With the help of hundreds of generous volunteers, The Salvation Army is making a difference in thousands of lives. Bell ringing shifts are in 2 hour increments...sign up for as many as you would like!

Christmas Application Processors (Nov. 17 - Dec. 17)
Put your computer skills to work! You will be helping area families apply for Christmas program assistance. Registration will take place via computers located at our building. The program is straight-forward and people skills are a must. Shifts are for three hours, so sign up for one or as many as you would like!

Prison Toy Wrap (December 3)
Volunteers gather to wrap and ship gifts to the children of inmates at the Rochester Medical Center Corrections Facility. Before this event, the inmates are interviewed and make requests for what gifts they would like to have sent to their kids.

Children's Shopping Trip (December 10)
And the shopping continues... The 8 & 9 year old children of eligible families are invited to join the Children's Shopping Trip. This trip involves pairing up the children with a volunteer. Together they board a bus and head to ShopKo where they shop for members of their immediate family. The Salvation Army provides funds based on family size. The children and volunteers then return to The Salvation Army where they wrap their gifts and have a snack before parents pick up their children.

Christmas Toy & Joy Shop (December 22 & 23)
Shoppers, this is for you! Volunteers are paired one-to-one with needy families and literally take them "shopping" through all of the donated new toys, clothes, books and games. The volunteer will assist the parents in finding age-appropriate items and the correct number of items for each child in their family. All toys, clothing, and other gifts have been donated by groups and individuals through the Apache Mall Sharing Tree, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots, and other programs.

The information above, as well as more volunteer opportunities, can be found on Salvation Army's Web site by clicking HERE. For more information, contact Jess Urban at 507-424-4191.

Volunteers Needed for United Way of Olmsted County's Winter OuterWear Program

The United Way of Olmsted County is seeking volunteers to help with their Winter OuterWear program this year. Winter OuterWear provides winter coats and other outerwear items such as hats, mittens, gloves, boots, snow pants, scarves to individuals and families in Olmsted County who have no other means to purchase these essential items to keep them warm during the long and cold Minnesota winter.

Volunteers are needed on distribution days - Oct. 22 and 23- at United Way of Olmsted County. They are also seeking volunteer shopping escorts, welcomers, troubleshooters, registrars, etc. They especially need volunteers to help as shopping escorts on Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. There are also opportunities to help out on October 17, 20 and 21 if you're interested in sorting winter coats and other winter outerwear items.

Please visit www.volunteersolutions.org/olmsted and look for the Winter OuterWear logo under the Events heading to sign up. If you have already signed up this year - thank you! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Becky at 507-529-4831.

Running Start for School seeking Volunteers

The United Way of Olmsted County is currently seeking volunteers to help with their Running Start for School program. Running Start for School provides essential school supplies to youth who reside in Olmsted County and who also qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Volunteers are needed on their distribution days on August 20 and 21 at the Hawthorne Education Center. They are seeking volunteer escorts, welcomers, troubleshooters, registrars, etc.There are also opportunities to help the following week (August 11-15) if you're interested in counting school supplies and assembling school kits.

Visit http://www.volunteersolutions.org/olmsted/volunteer/home/ and look for the Running Start for School logo under the events heading to sign up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Becky at 507-529-4831.

Volunteers Needed for the Rochester Family Y's Med-City Marathon

Volunteers are needed for the Rochester Family Y's Med-City Marathon on Sunday, May 25th.
Volunteers are needed for the Y's water stop. Shifts are 8 -10 a.m. or 10 a.m. - Noon. Course Guides are needed to help direct runners along the course. Shifts run around two hours and start 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. Contact Brenda if you are available and interested at BrendaK@rochfamy.org or call 287-2260 ext. 305.

Prarie Island Indian Community Tribal Council presents $5,000 check to Habitat for Humanity.

For the fifth year in a row, the Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council and Treasure Island Resort & Casino executive management and maintenance team members volunteered their time to the Goodhue County Habitat for Humanity. In addition to volunteer labor, the Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council presented a $5,000 check to Habitat for Humanity.

500 Flood Recovery Volunteers Needed

Although August's flooding in southeast Minnesota happened more than a month ago, volunteers are still desperately needed for recovery efforts. As mentioned previously, we will continue to get the word out to our members through our blog, Web site, newsletter and other means of communications about how they can lend a hand and provide the much needed support. The following is a note from United Way of Olmsted County:

United Way of Olmsted County is still working with government and interfaith and non-profit organizations to assure that people needing help in recovering from rain and flood damage get the assistance they need. To date, United Way of Olmsted County has deployed more than 1,700 volunteers across the region to help in flood recovery efforts. More help is needed. Currently there are more than 500 volunteer opportunities across the region available for flood clean up and recovery.

“As the weather turns to fall, those affected directly by the flooding of last month feel a heightened sense of urgency to recover and begin the rebuilding process. United Way of Olmsted County remains confident that the communities across our region will respond with their time and resources, “ says Karen M. Erlenbusch, United Way of Olmsted County president

Persons wanting to get help/give help in the City of Rushford, Olmsted County, Winona County are directed to register with United Way of Olmsted County’s website at www.uwolmsted.org.

All persons in need of help are encouraged to register through the United Way of Olmsted County along with FEMA.

Registration is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Internet: www.uwolmsted.org
Landline: dial 2-1-1
Cell phone and out-of-state: 1.800.543.7709