There's a plethora of volunteer opportunities for the kind-hearted of every ilk this week.
National Volunteer Week starts today and runs until Saturday. You can check our website at www.schuylkill.us/cvia for almost 200 volunteer opportunities. If you have Internet access, you can email me for a short list of family-friendly opportunities.
Tuesday is Earth Day. Many colleges will be hosting fairs and expos to pay tribute to our beautiful planet.
Arbor Day is on Friday. You can easily combine Earth Day with Arbor Day for some planet friendly activities.
"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now." - Anonymous.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme and World Conservation Monitoring Centre website, http://www.unep-wcmc.org/, forests are the green lungs of the world and play a key role in the health of the planet. Nothing could survive without plants - they're the foundation for most of Earth's ecosystems. Two mature trees supply enough oxygen for a family of four for a year.
In addition to providing oxygen, trees absorb carbon dioxide and provide food and shelter for animals while also supplying us with wood products from newspaper to furniture.
Plan a project for the entire family to participate in: plant a tree at home or in the woods, clean an area or reduce your carbon footprint. The planet has been kind to us; it's time to return the favor.
If you've read any of my columns, you know that I just love nature. I support local environmental agencies and parks whenever possible. I participated in "Plant it Forward" once by filling my landscaping with Schuylkill Conservation District and Sweet Arrow Lake's seedlings, now grown from babies to juveniles and getting prettier every season. Every action helps.
Thursday is Pay it Forward Day. Little known but big on good will, the international day is your chance to make someone feel good. The idea is that you do something nice for someone and they pass the kindness on to someone else and the chain of generosity continues - a ripple effect of good will. I participate every year and it's nice to see the smiles a small act of kindness can bring.
Some ideas are to give the cashier a dollar toward the coffee purchase of the person behind you in line, put a quarter in a parking meter before the driver can or let someone in front of you in the checkout. You can also buy an inexpensive bouquet of cut flowers, like friendly daisies, and pass them out to random people throughout the day. You can tape a lottery ticket to an ATM machine or take a box of donut holes to your library. Of course, you should also pass on a PIF card explaining the act that encourages the recipient to continue the "chain." You get the idea. Have fun with it.
You can find ideas, school kits, and downloadable cards at http://payitforwardday.com/.
The eighth annual Block of Art will be held from Friday to Sunday. Watch Pottsville be transformed into an art mecca for the weekend. Enjoy fine art, pottery, poetry, photography, music, an art auction, the art mart and more. Start your art experience at the Schuylkill County Historical Society at 6:30 p.m. Friday with art and music. There will be a "meet the artists" brunch at the Greystone from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information, go to www.block-of-art.org.
The 26th annual duck race will take place Sunday, April 27, at Walmart in St. Clair. Activities begin at noon and ducks enter the water at 3:32 p.m. There will be food, music, live entertainment, amusements, children's activities, vendors and prizes.
Use the above contact info for those specific volunteer opportunities and check out other opportunities at www.schuylkill.us/cvia.
Community Volunteers in Action can be reached at 570-628-1426 or jjohnston@co,.schuylkill.pa.us. Check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/communityvolunteersinaction.