HandsOn Suburban Chicago's Community Paint-a-thon is a unique community partnership designed to paint the exterior of homes owned and occupied by persons with limited financial resources, who are at least 60 years of age, a veteran, or have a permanent disability, making them unable to do the work themselves. Only the exterior of the house may be painted as part of Paint-a-thon. The house must be a single-family residence, occupied by its owner(s) and in need of paint.

Study Buddies is a free academic support program designed for children in grades 1-8. A small group of children is paired with a Study Buddy, who is a volunteer from a local high school or an adult from the community. In addition to providing homework help, the program also focuses on relationship-building and mentorship. In addition, volunteer groups prepare and serve food to the children beforehand.

Supportive services for families of children and adults with IDD, physical disabilities, and other special needs are provided in our Weekend Respite Home and in their own homes.

Volunteer opportunities available. Contact for more information.

A no-kill animal shelter that provides shelter, care, and suitable homes for animals when possible. Other programs include: - Animal Assisted Therapy: brings pets to residents of nursing facilities, assisted living, Alzheimer's Centers, and residential disability centers. - Dog Bite Prevention Education: visits schools and other groups to teach children the basics of animal behavior and how to avoid getting bitten by dogs and cats. - Continuing Care: provides shelter and care for pets if their owners become unavailable to care for them. - Arm Chair Adoptions: Individuals who are unable to care for a pet in their home can "adopt" a pet that lives at the animal shelter, and the individual receives letters and photos of their pet.

Offers free income tax preparation assistance for low income individuals and families. IRS-certified volunteers will prepare federal and state tax returns.

Offers English as a Second Language (ESL) and helps with U.S. citizenship. Literacy Volunteers helps adults read, write, speak, and understand English by matching them with trained volunteer tutors one to one. Each tutor and student meet for one hour a week at a public location that is convenient for them, such as public libraries. Students can also meet with tutors virtually. The program is open entry, open exit so adults can enroll at any time and exit at any time.

Bright Start is a Gold Circle of Quality childcare center.

Provides services to terminally ill patients and their families. Focus of services are on comfort rather than curative care, emphasis is on relief of physical symptoms and emotional support. Services provided include: - Pain and symptom control. - Spiritual support. - Bereavement support for families and friends. - Emotional support.

There are multiple volunteer opportunities each month, including Foodmobile data entry, food repackaging, produce sorting, and assistance with office and warehouse tasks.

Children's Christmas Party is offered for low-income families. Gift and food distribution will take place at the Midwest Food Bank, 2031 Warehouse Road, Normal (off of Northtown Road, north of I-55 in Normal). This will be a drive-in, drive-out event and packages will be loaded in vehicles. Children do not need to be present to receive a gift.

Coordinates organ and tissue donation while supporting families of donors in Illinois and portions of Indiana. Streamlines the organ donation process and provides support to both donor and recipient families. Specific services include: - Evaluation of donors. - 24/7 referral coordination. - Educational programs. - Registration. - Lab screenings. - General help for patients and medical providers involved in the organ donation process. - Information on the Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor Registry, Donate Life Illinois, and the critical need for organs and tissue.

Red Cross volunteers help people prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies, assisting with all services including disasters, services to the Armed Forces, blood services, fundraising, administrative, and other duties.

Volunteers needed for: - Annual bell-ringing fundraiser in November and December. - Emergency Disaster Services. - Food Pantry: Tue and Fri afternoons. - Administrative . - Events.

Temporary homes for children of families in crisis. Gives parents an opportunity to resolve temporary crises while reducing risk of abuse, neglect, and isolation for children. Parents retain full custody and can reunite with children at any time. Can provide coaching if parents wish children to be placed with a family friend.

Plans, prepares, and responds to public health emergencies that may affect and could harm the community. Examples of such public health emergencies include pandemic flue, food-based diseases, natural disasters, hazardous releases, and terrorism. Before, during, and after major disasters, the Franklin-Williamson Bi-County Health Department (FWBCHD) works in a variety of wars, in a coordinated response, to protect residents.

Red Cross volunteers help people prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies, assisting with all services including disasters, services to the Armed Forces, blood services, fundraising, administrative, and other duties.

Temporary homes for children of families in crisis. Gives parents an opportunity to resolve temporary crises while reducing risk of abuse, neglect, and isolation for children. Parents retain full custody and can reunite with children at any time. Can provide coaching if parents wish children to be placed with a family friend.

Recruits, trains, and places volunteer tutors to work with adults 17 years and older to learn English as a Second Language, or to improve their reading and/or math skills up to the 9th grade level. Tutoring takes place in public locations. STAR staff provide: - Testing. - Learning materials. - Support to tutors and their learners.

Volunteer opportunities available. Contact for more information.

Phone crisis intervention for sexual assault survivors.

Families and friends of individuals with Down syndrome who are committed to promoting awareness and inclusion provide the following services: - Helps families adjust to the birth of a child with Down syndrome. - Provides support for expanded inclusive educational, recreational, social, vocational, and residential opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome. - Provides informational and educational opportunities to families and interested persons, as well as public awareness activities to dispel myths about Down syndrome. - Offers a wide variety of new books with information from newborn to adult through The Down Syndrome Library. The CIDSO library is located at the Bloomington Public Library. - Provides assistance to those with Down syndrome through the CIDSO Enrichment Fund; based on annual volunteer commitments, members have access to funds to help afford/support people with Down syndrome's participation and support in communal activities.

- Provides advocacy and support for residents of long-term care facilities. - Informs residents of their rights and related information. - Investigates and resolves resident concerns and complaints.

Volunteers will: - Work the front desk. - Answer questions about the facility and take entry payment. - Tidy up toys at the end of each shift as needed.

A variety of opportunities are offered. Those interested can sign up through the habitat website, which allows volunteers to make a profile and search for available opportunities that may interest them.