Jan. 14, 2004 – The St. John Community Foundation will hold a volunteer meeting Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at Nazareth Lutheran Church in order to organize volunteers and staff for its July 4th Celebration Children's Village.
Last year St. John had no Children's Village because of a shortage of volunteers. Director Carole DeSenne said that in January 2003 she sent out letters to churches and community organizations asking for volunteers, but only two churches responded. Consequently the foundation could not provide enough people to organize and run the village.
"It's terribly labor intensive," DeSenne said, noting that the foundation needs at least 20 people a night to staff the village, which provides a safe, smoke- and alcohol-free environment where the children can enjoy the festivities. There is no admission charge, but children pay a small charge for the games.
"It's a place where you can drop your kid off for three or four hours and know they're safe," DeSenne said.
Volunteers are also needed to open and close the village, order prizes, find entertainment, organize the arts and crafts, spruce up the games and take care of the myriad other tasks required to make the village a reality.
"The Community Foundation can't do the job alone, and if the community wants a place for their children to go during the July 4th Celebration, they need to help out," DeSenne said.
For more information or to volunteer, call DeSenne at 693-9410.
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