How to Help
Volunteer
 |
Are you passionate about FORCE and about helping others facing hereditary cancer? Do you want to make a difference? Volunteers are the backbone of FORCE. As we grow, we need you more than ever. |
Volunteer Profile
Our featured volunteer this month is Mary Orloff. Read Mary's story below. Then learn about the MANY ways you can help FORCE make a difference in your community.
November 2, 2008 will be the 30th anniversary of my mom’s death from ovarian cancer. I was 16 at the time and the oldest of five children. In addition to my mom, my grandmother, aunt, sister and cousin have all been affected by either ovarian or breast cancer. With such a strong family history of these cancers, I knew that I would have to be vigilant and take charge of my health care. Genetic testing revealed that I have the BRCA1 mutation. After many years of increased breast surveillance (mammograms, MRIs, ultrasounds, research studies), I decided to have prophylactic mastectomies followed by reconstruction. Information I received at the 2007 FORCE conference reinforced my decision to have |
prophylactic surgery a month later. So many wonderful women were willing to talk and share their stories. I realized that I wasn’t alone in this journey. I thought that when I was finished with my surgeries I would want to forget about all of this, and go on with my life. However, I’ve become passionate about FORCE and the many ways the organization can help women and their families with issues surrounding hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. I love to read, so I volunteer and co-chair the Scholastic Book Fair at my sons’ grade school. I love to be creative, so I volunteer and decorate bricks for the Breast Cancer Brick Auction. I love to be involved with my sons’ education, so I volunteer and I’m on the PTO Board for their school. I love to exercise, so I walk and run in various community events such as Race for the Cure and the Emerald Miles for the Epilepsy Foundation. I love my parish family, so I volunteer at the church festival and other events. And finally, I love to help other women who are facing the same tough health care decisions that I’ve had to make, so I volunteer as the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky Outreach Coordinator for FORCE! I love… so, I volunteer! |
PROJECTS
- Keep Us Linked: FORCE has a lot of information and resources on its website. We need a few volunteers to make sure that our links are current and working. We'll show you what to do - anyone with a computer and a little bit of time to invest each week can help.
- Writers. We need writers to help take the responses from our Voices of FORCE survey and create the profiles featured here: Profiles.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please send email Barbara Pfeiffer
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
- Virtual Outreach Coordinators.
Looking for 2-3 “virtual” outreach coordinators to identify opportunities for expanding FORCE’s online presence and fundraising through social networking sites. We are looking for individuals with 6-8 hours per week to identify the best online sites and opportunities (Facebook, You Tube Non-Profit Program); create a plan and set up accounts with key sites; and participate regularly in on-line communities including posting FORCE information and notifying other groups of education and support opportunities for FORCE.
Interested candidates must have 6-8 hours per week (initially) to dedicate to the project; have extensive on-line experience, are comfortable with technology and social networking and may have some marketing or other on-line experience. Candidates must be willing to attend an online training on FORCE and our mission. A stipend may be available for this position.
- Helpline Volunteer Administrator. We need a volunteer who can help us set up new volunteers with on-line training, schedule and maintain online shift calendars and set up phone schedules (forwarding phones via a central panel). All work is virtual and PC-based. Please email Barbara Pfeiffer.
- Local Fundraisers and Organizers. We need people "in the field" who can help our Outreach Coordinators with local fundraisers and other activities (setting up events, etc). If you are interested in joining a group and helping support our coordinators, please email Barbara Pfeiffer.
ON-GOING OPPORTUNITIES
FORCE has many opportunities for people interested in raising awareness, educating others, or helping promote research on hereditary cancer. Please consider helping FORCE grow by volunteering today.
Opportunities include:
SPECIAL SKILLS
We have an on-going need for volunteers with the following specialized skills or interests:
- Fluency in Spanish
- Public relations expertise
- Fundraising expertise
- Computer skills
- Compiling resources