Phone Bank Volunteers Needed for Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Wednesdays from 7-8:30, July 18 to August 15

CCAN’s Takoma Park office,
6839 Eastern Ave, Takoma Park MD 20912

If you have a great phone voice and think you can pitch CCAN, please volunteer for our membership drive phone bank. Our goal is to reach 500 members by August 15, and we need your help! If you have never phone banked with us before, don’t worry, we’ll get you fully trained. DINNER AND FUN INCLUDED! Just contact Susanna at susanna@chesapeakeclimate.org and let her know which of the following dates would work best for you: July 18, July 25 (tentative), August 1, August 15

Take our 4 question Volunteer Survey

Get credit for your volunteer time!
Many companies offer benefits for their employees who do volunteer work. We want to help you get the credit you deserve. Often times companies need nonprofits to register as a charity; if so, contact Susanna at susanna@chesapeakeclimate.org and let us help you get set up.

For more information email Info@chesapeakeclimate.org or call 301-270-3722

Do you have trouble paying for your prescriptions?

The Primary Care Coalition's Center for Medicine Access has developed a Medicine Access Survey to determine where Montgomery County residents get their prescription medications and the barriers they face that hinder or prevent them from securing these medications.

The surveys do not ask for any personal identifying information and no such information is used in any report. Surveys are available in both Spanish and English. After data analysis, we hope to implement new strategies and utilize resources in a manner that will benefit the maximum numbers of patients requiring medications.

If you are a Montgomery County resident and have problems paying for your prescription medications, please call 301.628.3422 for a telephone survey or visit your local Montgomery County Recreation Center to receive a printed copy of the survey. PCC staff is able to respond to inquiries in English and Spanish.

The Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County Maryland was founded in 1993 to increase access to primary and preventive care to the low-income, uninsured residents of Montgomery County. The Coalition's vision is that every Montgomery County resident has the opportunity to live a healthy life.

Emergency training offered

Proactive citizens can be Community Safety Advocates by registering in CERT, or community emergency response training. These individuals can become front-line assistants during large emergencies and more skilled at assisting their communities at such times.

The next course is scheduled for November. County officials have indicated the class might be offered in the Takoma Park/Silver Spring area if warranted by expressions of interest no later than October 1.

Contact Buddy Daniels of the PSCAC at 301/270-5789 or Battalion Chief Brian S. Geraci at 240/777-2202. Brian.Geraci@montgomerycountymd.gov.

The program is modeled after the FEMA CERT program originally developed by the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985.

Trainees will attend seven classes over a three-week period, meeting two nights a week with one all-day Saturday or Sunday practical and test day. For more info. see the Montgomery County CERT homepage: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/firtmpl.asp?url=/content/firerescue/sion/cert/index.asp

Got a ghost story? Have brush with the paranormal in downtown Silver Spring? Lynn Koiner, a member of the Silver Spring Historical Society, is organizing a Ghost Tour of Silver Spring and is soliciting stories from the community. She promises utmost discretion. To share your ghost story, email Lynn at koiner@starpower.net.

Are you interested in getting weekly, healthily-grown fruits and vegetables straight from the farm?
Local organic farmer Mike Tabor announces his third year of Community Supported Agriculture. Throughout the growing season, he will be bringing cases of veggies and fruits down to the Washington, DC area. He says that the portions are quite generous so that sometimes several families have shared a box. Folks subscribe on a bi-monthly schedule. June - July; August - September; October - November. Mike also puts out a "trade box" where subscribers can switch around food as well as a bonus box with extra tomatoes, squash, peaches, apples, or whatever else is in abundance. Vegetables and fruits from Mike's farm are grown to organic standards and are certified. He also provides some fruit from a local orchard that are IPM raised (very low pesticide use).

The cost is $35/week for a minimum of 20lbs of food. You may be able to pay on a sliding scale--just ask. He also accepts WIC coupons and food stamps. This program is limited to 30 subscribers, so sign up as soon as possible if you are interested.

CSA pick up times will be Saturday or Tuesday evenings at Mike's Takoma Park home. For more information, send a message to esiegel2@igc.org.

Become a better gardener!
Bring your gardening questions, plant materials or mystery insect to a Montgomery County Plant Clinics staffed by Montgomery County Master Gardeners. We have had training in soil and plant science, tree and shrub identification, integrated pest management, pesticide safety, plant diseases and insect pests.

Master Gardeners will help you to · select the right plants and trees for your site · decide when and how to test your soil · feed your turf without feeding the Chesapeake Bay · identify weeds, insects and disease · avoid blanket use of herbicides and pesticides · identify and not kill beneficial insects · learn how and when to prune your trees and shrubs · know the difference between mulch and compost · read seed catalogues: decode VFFFNT for tomatoes · think about deer and rabbits before they think about you · become an instant expert by searching the Web.

Bring your plant samples and questions to Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., March through October, Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Call for volunteers: Weed warriors control invasive plants
The over-growth of non-native invasive plants in parks has become a region-wide problem in recent years. Non-native invasive plants rapidly invade edges, open space, parks and wildlife refuges, and compete with native plants for light, water, and nutrients. They have been introduced into an environment in which they did not evolve and thus are free of the vast and complex array of natural controls present in their native lands (including herbivores, parasites, and pathogens) that might limit their reproduction and spread.

As a response to this problem, the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission has created the Weed Warriors program to educate those willing to help control invasive plants in Montgomery County.

As a Weed Warrior volunteer, you will receive a short training session from the M-NCPPC Forest Ecologist in the identification of, removal and control techniques for alien invasive plants. Weed Warriors can then work at their own pace and choose a schedule that best suits them.

Many current Weed Warriors live near an M-NCPPC Stream Valley Park or Regional Park and do their volunteer work while walking their dogs or taking an occasional hike through their neighborhood park. Whether you choose to work individually or in a group your efforts will contribute to the control of non-native vegetation throughout the 32,000 acres of Montgomery County parkland.

If you are interested in becoming a Weed Warrior or would just like more information on non-native invasive plants in Montgomery County you are welcome to attend one of our Training Sessions. These sessions are geared towards those interested in volunteering as Weed Warriors but are open to anyone who would like to learn more about non-native invasive plants.

To register for training please call our Parks Volunteer office at 301-495-2464, or email lynn.vismara@mncppc-mc.org.

Mentors Needed: Hundreds of young people with disabilities are living in Maryland nursing facilities and have expressed the desire to move out into the community. Independence Now is looking for mentors who have experience with disabilities to provide support through this long transitional process. If you are interested in helping someone get out into the community, please contact us at (301) 277-2839 or go to www.innow.org

City of Takoma Park Emergency Assistance Fund:
The Emergency Assistance Fund, created by the City Council in 2001 and supported solely by donations, helps Takoma Park residents who are experiencing a crises such as a health issue, or a pending eviction or notice of a utility cut off, often due to loss of employment or financial circumstances beyond their control. Donations are tax-deductible and are sent by the City to a designated non-profit organization which distributes the money based on the availability of funds and the presented need.

Since 2003, the city has maintained an agreement with the Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, Inc. to administer and distribute these funds. Recipients of the funds often are referrals from the City's Landlord-Tenant Office, but many residents also go directly to this well known community service center.

For more information on how you can help those in need by contributing to the fund, please contact Linda Walker at 301.891.7222 or by email at LindaW@takomagov.org

Has mental illness touched your life?
You are not alone. Sign up for Peer-to-Peer, a free Recovery Education Course offered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Montgomery County. During this class you will learn about the major mental illnesses, develop a personalized relapse prevention plan, bond with others, and learn about and discuss issues such as relationships, addictions, spirituality, sleep patterns, medications, coping skills, language and emotions.

Spaces are limited. Peer-to-Peer is offered free of charge. It is not necessary to be a NAMI member to participate. For more details call Sarah O’Brien, Peer-to-Peer Coordinator, at 301-949-5852 or send an email to: sobrien@namimc.org.

Make friends, changing lives.
Friendship is about being there for someone. But for people with mental illness, too often there is no one to turn to when they need a friend. That’s where Compeer steps in.

Compeer is a model program which matches trained volunteers in one-to-one friendship relationships with people recovering from mental illness. Compeer of Montgomery County is currently recruiting volunteers and advisory committee members. For more information, contact Beth Duffin at 301-754-1102 ext. 15 or bduffin@bduffin@thresholdservices.org.

Help boost a child’s skills and self-esteem: be a mentor.
Mentor immigrant children in Silver Spring after school program.

Interages, Inc., a Montgomery County nonprofit, seeks experienced adults (age 50+) for our Intergenerational Bridges mentoring program at Eastern Middle School on Tuesdays from 2:40-4:00 PM. Volunteer/student pairs share games, crafts, homework, and friendship. Training, all materials, staff support provided. Contact Sara Cartmill, 301-949-3551, X19 or Cartmill@interagesmd.org