May 19, 2005
Reach out: Volunteer opportunities
U District Food Bank
The University District Food Bank is seeking dedicated volunteers to fill open positions on its board of directors.
The board is looking for people who have skills in any of the following areas: fund raising, event coordination, financial management, public relations, marketing/advertising, program planning, development, social and human services, legal advisory, or human resources to assist with serving one of the most basic of human needs in our community.
Board meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month at the food bank, which is housed in the University Christian Church. An application and further information are available at http://www.udistrictfoodbank.org.
Please contact Marilyn Gregory at 206-543-2449, or Joe Gruber, executive director, at 206-523-7060 if you have any questions.
Mona’s Children Book Drive
Books and other educational resources are being collected by a student organization called Mona’s Children that has been working for the past year and a half to send them to communities in developing African countries. Last year the group was able to send 50,000 books — half to Kenya and half to Swaziland. This year they are working to repeat their success in Ghana and Namibia.
There are a variety of ways people can donate. Books can be dropped off in the big box in the HUB next to the information desk. Professors who have a lot of books and are unable to carry them to the HUB can e-mail the group directly at monas@u.washington.edu and the books will be picked up at University offices any Friday between now and the end of the school year.
Financial contributions can be made online at the Mona Foundation Web site (www.monafoundation.org). The student group has a Web site people can visit for more information about the project: http://students.washington.edu/srkf/intropage.html.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center seeks volunteers who are interested in furthering research to discover the cures and causes of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Volunteers will serve as members of the center’s Institutional Review Board, or IRB.
The center’s review board is composed of community members, scientists and physicians who review and monitor research clinical trials involving human participants to ensure that critical components, such as informed consent and patient safety, are in effect and monitored appropriately.
Volunteers on the board must be comfortable with scientific research and be able to understand new concepts and ideas. They must be articulate and willing to learn medical and scientific terms. They must be dependable and able to apply ethical standards to individual situations.
Board duties typically require 10–12 hours per month. Members are asked to commit to a two-year term. Meetings are held in the afternoon at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., and typically last about three and a half hours. Parking is free.
The center’s Institutional Review Office is responsible for training and corresponding with IRB members.
If you are interested in learning more about how to be an IRB volunteer, please contact Winona Hollins-Hauge, community outreach manager, at 206-667-1246.
