Partner (Volunteer) Information

So many folks are eager to be introduced to the world of volunteerism, but would feel more secure doing so in a well trained, structured, supervised setting. With your help we intend to give our youngsters a one-to-one relationship where you will have the chance to teach, guide, help build confidence for you and your challenged friend and make new friends. You can make a difference in the lives of these youngsters and possibly even your own life as well. The Partners will gain an opportunity to experience life from the eyes of one challenged child and will understand the communities responsibility to support persons with developmental disabilities. This is a mutually rewarding experience for both the Partner as well as the challenged child.

In volunteering for Eddie's Club we will have you go through a ONE TIME - one hour orientation and informational training class prior to your first partnership with a child. We would like all returning volunteers to go through training again as a refresher and update for this year. This training will prepare him/her with ideas on how to teach and work one-on-one with a disabled youngster. Training shall also consist of definitions of the disabilities as well as the expectations of dealing with a special needs person. These training sessions will be taught by parents of disabled children and experienced volunteers.

Eddie's Club will meet one Sunday afternoon from October through March for 2 hours. We offer a wide range of recreational activities. A lot of our kids don't normally have these kinds of opportunities. You can make their dreams come true.

The time that you put into Eddie's Club will count towards Community Hours Served for our volunteers. If you are interested, you may receive extra volunteer service hours by coming in at 12:30 to help set up and stay until 4:30 to help shut down and clean up. We also offer opportunities to work with our kids in an off site environment for those volunteers that are interested. We will also be glad to write reference letters for you to help you with college/employment applications.