Duck Corps Teams

Fall Term Opportunities

Registration for fall Duck Corps teams is closed. Registration for winter term Duck Corps teams will be available week 8 of fall term.

Team Lead Opportunities

Team leads have additional responsibilities including becoming Motor Pool certified to drive their team to and from their volunteer site, taking weekly attendance, facilitating weekly structured reflections, and being the main point of contact between their team and Holden Center program assistants.

Serving as a team lead is an excellent opportunity to practice leadership and develop communication and organizational skills.

Alton Baker Park

This team will run every Tuesday, weeks 2–10 (October 8–December 3), 10:00 a.m.–noon. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

Eugene Parks aims to improve the spaces of recreation and natural beauty we enjoy. Alton Baker Park is Eugene’s largest developed park and consists of about 400 acres of forest. Volunteers will assist with habitat and environmental restoration efforts within the park. This includes removing invasive species as well as planting native species to help support the health of ecosystems within the park.

A mandatory Duck Corps Member Orientation will occur on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to noon in EMU 023 (Lease Crutcher Lewis Room). Morning refreshments will be provided! If you already know you might have a conflict, email duckcorps@uoregon.edu.

Volunteer spots: 12

Grassroots Garden

This team will run every Tuesday, weeks 2–10 (October 8–December 3), 2:00–4:00 p.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

FOOD for Lane County’s two gardens—the Grassroots Garden and the Youth Farm—grow fresh nutritious food for distribution through the FFLC network of partner agencies while providing opportunities for youth and adults to grow, learn, and contribute to their community. More than 2,000 children and youth visit the gardens each year, and youth and adults gain skills in gardening, nutrition, and community building.

This Duck Corps team will be assisting in the garden (harvesting, preserving garden produce, planting, renovating beds, etc.), Alternative options in enclosed tunnels and greenhouses will be given in case of rainfall. Lunch will be provided to volunteers at 1:00 p.m. Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather and will be provided with gardening gloves and sunhats as needed.

Volunteer spots: 10

ShelterCare Eugene

This team will run every Wednesday, weeks 2–10 (October 9–December 4), 2:00–4:00 p.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

ShelterCare provides both housing and behavioral health services to community members who are seeking “safe and stable” housing. This includes establishing both long and short-term housing projects as well as counseling, skills training, and telehealth services.

Volunteers with ShelterCare will help with mural painting, dance prep, warehouse organization, and general logistics to help ShelterCare reach as many community members as possible.

Volunteer spots: 8

Lane County Diaper Bank

This team will run every Thursday, weeks 2–10 (October 10–December 5), 9:00–11:00 a.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

Lane County Diaper Bank is a nonprofit organization focused on improving our community through programs that solve previously unnoticed problems, including disposable baby diapers and wipes. Together, we are ending diaper need in our community!

Children in low-income families are at greatest risk of suffering the effects of diaper need because many families can’t afford diapers. Work in this team includes managing social media, working on outreach, and other tasks as directed by those who will oversee the Duck Corps team.

Volunteer spots: 2

Monroe Middle School Lunchtime Mentoring

This team will run every Thursday, weeks 2–10 (October 10–December 4), 11:40 a.m.–1:40 p.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided. Week 1 will be a mandatory training session at the Holden Center, noon–1:00 p.m., on Thursday, October 3.

As a volunteer, you will be matched with two middle school students who the school counselor has identified as needing extra support. The mentor (you) and first student will eat lunch, play board games, and talk about anything the student wants to talk about. Mentoring pairs all meet in the same room and are supervised by a coordinator. The mentoring pairs meet in a space away from the main cafeteria, so it isn’t too loud and the students can feel comfortable to discuss whatever comes to mind. Mentoring lasts for the 30 minutes of the student’s lunch. The volunteer mentors will have a 25-minute break between lunches to chat with the coordinator about any concerns and share suggestions with other mentors. Mentors will be paired with a second student for the second lunch.

Ideally mentors will have the same students each week for the duration of the term. Often mentors build very meaningful relationships with these students and will have the opportunity to continue mentoring for the rest of the school year if they wish to do so. Mentors cannot have any out-of-school contact with their students.

Volunteers must understand how hard adolescence can be and want to be a safe sounding board for a student. The point of this mentorship is not to change students’ minds about religious or political beliefs. Volunteers must sincerely want to connect with these students.

Once registered on Engage, Duck Corps members need to complete the Eugene School District 4J background check and the mentor questionnaire.

Volunteer spots: 10

Hearth and Table

This team will run every Thursday, weeks 2–10 (October 10–December 4), 4:30–6:30 p.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

Hearth and Table supports students experiencing food insecurity by providing meals and education on cooking. This term volunteers will be assisting the chef to prepare the meal each week, including a range of typically vegan, gluten-free meals. This will involve processing produce and other ingredients, some plating and boxing of meals, and keeping up with dishes along the way.

Volunteers will also be required to complete two short food safety training videos in order to volunteer for this program.

Volunteer spots: 5

Hendricks Park

This team will run every Friday, weeks 2–10 (October 11–December 6), 2:00–4:00 p.m. This includes travel time; all transportation is provided.

Eugene Parks aims to improve the spaces of recreation and natural beauty we enjoy. Hendricks Park is Eugene’s oldest city park, housing a native plant garden and rhododendron garden within its 80 acres. Community volunteers and Friends of Hendricks Park strive within the area to achieve a diverse, sustainable and resilient forest. Duck Corps volunteers will assist with habitat and environmental restoration efforts within the park. This includes removing invasive species as well as planting native species to help support the health of ecosystems within the park.

Volunteer spots: 8

Other Duck Corps Partners

We work to serve as many community partners as we are able, while also having a diverse set of social issue areas. We often rotate through several community partners each year. Check out some of our past partnerships below.

Boys and Girls Club of Emerald Valley

As a volunteer you will provide support in a classroom setting to youth and will assist in a variety of program areas. Support is needed with homework, mentoring, physical education, group games, and with art and enrichment. If you love kids, love to be active, creative, and outgoing; and consider yourself a team player who is responsible and dependable, we would love to have you as a volunteer! Duck Corps volunteers will support staff in monitoring and controlling behaviors but will not be disciplining a youth for any reason.

This is an awesome opportunity to work in a fun, structured environment, teaching youth how to become young, responsible citizens while volunteers also learn job skills to build tools to use in their own professions in the future.

Volunteers will need to complete a volunteer application and have an organizational background check completed. As well as submitting their application for the Oregon CBR background check.

Bristol Hospice

Every hospice relies on volunteer support to provide excellent end-of-life care to each patient and family. As a hospice volunteer you will be given choices as to how much and what types of things you want to do. Some examples of typical volunteer duties are:

Providing companionship to a patient and their family
Being a comforting and supportive presence
Providing a respite time for the patient’s caregivers

Eugene Science Center

Volunteers will be supporting the growth and development of the Education Department. They will assist the programs coordinator in planning and preparing, sourcing, and organizing curriculum.

This is a great opportunity for individuals who are interested in building organizational capacity, expanding company infrastructure that is there but has not been fully utilized, and for folks who aren't intimidated by wearing many hats at a small nonprofit organization.

Everyone Village

Everyone Village is a transitional housing community that supports people experiencing homelessness in Eugene. They provide wraparound services into one shared community. Students will work on garden projects to support the developing Garden Program. For the winter season, this will include community engagement with villagers on-site, planning activities and designs for the coming garden season, crafting and building value-added item prototypes for future sale, among many other fun community activities.

Food for Lane County Warehouse

Volunteers will be sorting donated nonperishable food into several different categories. Checking dates, quality of packaging, and ensuring the food is safe before we can distribute it. Volunteers are recommended to wear sweatshirts and or jackets as well as closed-toe shoes.

HIV Alliance

HIV Alliance was founded in Eugene in 1994 to support people living with HIV/AIDS and prevent new HIV infections. As a volunteer, you will help with making safer sex and naloxone kits that are handed out to community members through their outreach locations, supporting the development coordinator, build desks, and miscellaneous tasks as needed.

Native Plant Nursery

The Native Plant Nursery works to protect and enhance the diversity of native plant communities within the City of Eugene natural areas and restoration sites. As a volunteer you will be performing a variety of nursery tasks and maintenance, seed cleaning, weeding, transplanting, and other necessary tasks to take care of the plants. This is a great opportunity to learn about the value of native plants.

Olive Plaza

Olive Plaza is an affordable housing options for senior citizens and those with disabilities. They help make housing more accessible through physical accommodations and through lower cost. As a volunteer, you will provide residents company and help them at weekly tech support events, completing tasks such as setting up an email or organizing photos.

Parenting Now

As a children’s program assistant, you will work with staff and other volunteers caring for young children ages 6 months to 8 years while their parents attend weekly parenting programs. You will receive training in child development and gain experience in the care of young children, experience working with professional staff in a nonprofit environment. You will learn age-appropriate children’s activities, develop professional skills and comprehension regarding documentation, setting priorities, collaboration, communication, processing information, flexibility, boundaries, and confidentiality.

Positive Community Kitchen

Every week volunteer teen and adult chefs come together to prepare organic healing meals for community members fighting life-threatening illnesses. The Duck Corps team will be working in the kitchen prepping and cooking food each week as well as cleaning the kitchen.

Shelton McMurphy Johnson House Museum

The Shelton McMurphy Johnson House Museum is a nonprofit that is dedicated to the upkeep and maintenance of a Victorian Mansion. Located at the foot of Skinner Butte, the house has been the site of much local history. As a volunteer, you will help provide maintenance both inside and outside the museum to help preserve and maintain the historic building and its collection. You will learn about historic preservation and parts of Eugene’s history.

Student Food Pantry

The Student Food Pantry opens its doors and provides free food to students who show their student ID. The morning Student Food Pantry team will help with unloading boxes of canned/boxed food as well as frozen meats and dairy/deli items. Volunteers will also aid in stocking and sorting the pantry with said items, as well as light organization and clean-up. Learn more about what to expect during your shift.

Willamalane Elementary School After-School All-Stars: Track and Field

After-School All-Stars is the perfect way to encourage a lifelong love of sports in young people grades K-5, and you can volunteer to help teach basic track and field skills! Springfield Public Schools and Willamalane have teamed up to make the athletic pursuit easy, offering athletic skill-building immediately after school at the school’s facilities. The six-week programs are all about building a lifelong love of the sport. Coaches use games and drills to sharpen skills and teach fundamentals. There are no programs on non-school days.

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