The Sunnyvale Sun

Community

Hands on Bay offers range of opportunities to help

By SAMANTHA ROBERTSON

Sunnyvale's Tammy Pottorff started volunteering with the Hands on Bay Area organization eight years ago, when a church friend encouraged her to take part in a bicycle donation project in East Palo Alto.

"After volunteers repaired donated bikes, kids in the area could come and pick out which bike they wanted," she remembers, noting that the event's proximity to the holidays made it even more meaningful.

After four years as a volunteer, Pottorff trained to become a project manager for the organization. She manages materials for events, delegates as needed to other volunteers, and meets with the coordinators of the agencies she assists.

Pottorff said the Hands on Bay Area program is good at matching people with volunteer activities that meet their skills and interests. The website, www.handsonbayarea.org, is a great resource for anyone looking to volunteer in the Bay Area, she said. Those interested can select events by interest, location and/or skills. "Hands on Bay Area has over 120 projects a month all across the Bay Area--from San Francisco to the East Bay to South Bay," she said. "We're involved in child literacy programs, we volunteer with seniors and we have environmental projects."

Pottorff said the organization's volunteers are diverse, ranging from seniors to working professionals to high school students.

"A lot of times with high school students, they volunteer because of a school requirement, and they end up liking it so much that they come back," she said, adding, "My favorite volunteer activities involve working and interacting with people and children."

For more information on volunteering with Hands on Bay Area, visit www.handsonbayarea.org.