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April 6, 2011     Indian Valley Record
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April 6, 2011
 
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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter NEIGHBORS helping NEIGHBORS National Volunteer Week is April 11 - 15. Now, more than ever, people are looking for meaningful ways to give back and pay it forward. Thousands have discovered the rewards of volunteering and getting in- volved in their communities. Here in Plumas County, Community Connections, a membership volunteer pro- gram, has been growing by leaps and bounds. Community Connection's is a service of Plumas Rural Services. Now, in its fourth year, there are more than 140 members and 30 business/organization spon- sors who are exchanging a staggering number of service hours nearly 2,500 hours since July. These dedicated and com- munity-minded members have supported many activi- ties and events, including: the completion of the new Green- ville Community Center; com- munity suppers; ongoing support at the Plumas County Animal Shelter; installation of community gardens; the Round Valley Run & Walk event; and children's activi- ties such as Plumas-Sierra 4-H events, preschool reading hour at the library and the Wild Wednesday afterschool program. In addition, they have supported each other uincy • I I with pet-sitting, gardening, computer instruction, sign- language classes, personal finance workshops, furniture repair and even massages. Community Connections is based on the international model of "time banking." Every member is equal in value one hour ofservice equals one time credit. Every time you provide an hour of service, you receive an hour in return. Members (currently from the age of 6 on up to 84) have unique skills, talents, knowledge and life experi- ences that they are willing to share with others. There are nearly 300 dif- ferent services available, including: arts/crafts, busi- ness services, baby-sitting, gardening, household manage- ment, pet care, transportation, tutoring and, of course, participation and support of community activities and events. During National Volunteer Week, Community Connec- tions is waiving the $20 mem- bership fee and offering free memberships. Now is the time to take advantage of this op- portunity and get involved. Each member decides what activities he or she is interest- ed in and when to be available -- the only commitment when you join is to see how volun- teering, even a little, will add meaning to your life and life to your community. For more information and to receive a membership application, call Leslie Wall at Plumas Rural Services, 283-3611, ext. "818, or visit plumasruralservices.org. OWS ,lives \ began in 20'06. With that came involvement of the DMV, which offers people the opportunity to sign up when getting or renewing a driver license or state ID card. Starting in July, the ques- tion of whether to sign up must be answered when sign- ing up or renewing a driver license or state ID. The options then will be "Yes" or "Not at this time." There's also a website where people can sign up anytime: donateLIFEcalifornia.org or (in Spanish) doneVIDA california.org. DMV support of the pro- gram has this year allowed the registry to top 8 million names. Network officials point out that, still, fewer than 25 percent of drivers sign up. CTND donate life ambas- sadors like Buckhout work to get even better numbers. At Quincy DMV, Buckhout has at times staffed a table to answer questions about donation. Quincy's record of having about half those who could sign up on the registry is an example of how effective the DMV and CTDN pairing is, said officials. "We are proud and thank- ful we have partners like Kim Blanchard," said Lisa Stanley, the network's com- munity development assis- tant who works with DMVs in northern California. "Of course we would want to encourage more people in the area to sign up, but having that many people on the registry saves many, many lives." | • !./ I • ¢ Wednesday, April 6, 2011 9B I Imagine how hard it would be to get half the people in a community to say "Yes" to something. Not so hard in the area around Quincy, at least when it comes to saving a life. According to state Depart- ment of Motor Vehicle's (DMV) figures, about haft the people who signed up or re- newed their driver licenses between July and December 2010 at the Quincy DMV opt- ed to also sign up for a reg- istry to donate their organs, eyes and tissues when the time comes. 'q was pleasantly surprised to learn that our efforts in working with the staff at Quincy DMV office had paid off so well," said Tim Buck- hout, a California Transplant Donor Network ambassador. "It's a phenomenal effort. No one else in the state is even close." The California Transplant Donor Network (CTDN) links people who decide to donate organs, eyes and tissues with the hospitals and tissue oper- ations which provide live- saving transplants or life- enhancing tissues. Officially, the Quincy DMV percentage was 49.23 for the July to December 2010 period. Nearby Susanville in Lassen County has a DMV office with a good success rate -- about 38 percent for the same period. Through the Northern and Central California area served by CTDN, the average percent of potential donors actually signed up to the registry is about 25 percent. The state registry allowing people to sign up to be donors ! '?i: