Your Email:

Friend's Email:

Note: (optional)

Subject:

Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/38518/full/38518/maccabi-volunteers-still-desperately-needed/ <br /><br /> <b>Maccabi volunteers still ‘desperately’ needed</b> <br /> Thursday, July 9, 2009 | by amanda pazornik <br /><br /><p>Maccabi Games organizers are scrambling to find about 500 more volunteers before the weeklong athletic competition, hosted by the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, kicks off Aug. 2.</p> <p>“We are desperately in need of volunteers,” volunteer coordinator Kelly Bourke said. “It’s a great way to see what’s going on, meet the athletes and connect with your community.”</p> <p>Plenty of four-hour shifts are still open, from welcoming out-of-towners at their hotels to scoring a basketball game. Other available jobs include timing heats at the swimming pool, setting up table tennis equipment or helping with security.</p> <p>Helpers also are needed to ensure the athletes board the correct buses headed for their venues. While they won’t be taking city transit, participants will ride “an elaborate bus system” put in place to transport them from the games’ hub at University of San Francisco to sports venues around the city and beyond.</p> <p>“Some kids have to go to Marin to play golf,” Bourke acknowledged. “We have to make sure they get on the right bus.”</p> <p>Although the organizing committee succeeded in getting enough host families to house visiting athletes, the reason why so many last-minute volunteers are still needed is because of scheduling conflicts, Bourke said. Organizers are “welcoming anyone who has any time to give.”</p> <p>A one-hour orientation at the end of July is the only pre-games commitment, Bourke said. For the games to run smoothly, organizers are hoping to have more than 1,000 volunteers. “I definitely think we’ll get the volunteers we need,” Bourke said. “We have to.”</p> <p>To volunteer or get more information, visit <a href="http://www.jccmaccabisf.org/volunteer">http://www.jccmaccabisf.org/volunteer</a>. For additional information, call (415) 292-1270 or e-mail Sami Koppinger at <a href="mailto:skoppinger@jccmaccabisf.org">skoppinger@jccmaccabisf.org</a>.</p>

Please enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below: