The Sebastopol Family Service Center, 477 Petaluma Ave. needs volunteer receptionists.

Help sought Monday through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

General administrative duties include operating office equipment and filing. Basic computer skills needed.

For nearly 35 years, West County Community Services has been helping youth, adults, and seniors in Western Sonoma County.

Contact Mary Northey, (707) 869-0654 ext. 1004 or fax 707-823-1642. www.westcountyservices.org

The Sonoma County’s Secret Santa Program combines the Volunteer Center’s Giving Tree holiday gift program with KZST’s Secret Santa Marathon & Letters program.

Numerous volunteer opportunities available to help with the Secret Santa program through the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County.

In 2008 Secret Santa delivered holiday joy to more than 13,000 underprivileged children, vulnerable adults and lonely seniors in Sonoma County.

For information, contact Marty Patton-Volz, via email holiday@volunteernow.org or (707) 573-3399 ext. 108.

SAS operates the Sonoma County Ombudsman Program which advocates for the dignity and well being for all residents in long term care facilities and investigates allegations of elder abuse; the agency also operates the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) for Sonoma, Marin, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Solano counties which provides information, counseling and advocacy on Medicare and related health insurance plans. All services are free of charge.

The Board of Directors meets monthly and provides overall guidance to the agency and the Executive Director. Board members are also asked to help with two fundraising events each year—the “Pick of the Vine” Winetasting Event in April, which we hold with the Wine Road Association Wineries, and our “Mother’s Day Flowers Project” which delivers bouquets to women in nursing homes on Mother’s Day.

To learn more, please contact Executive Director Susan Ziblatt at 526-4108.

Bergin University of Canine Studies — home of the assistance dog is searching for foster homes for dogs. If you can make a commitment of between 3 and 12 months to provide a puppy with socialization, family outings and time to mature, please e-mail Molly at molly@assistancedog.org or call 545-3647.

“In mid-October, Palm Drive Hospital admitted an out-of-town patient for surgery. The procedure was complicated, and required the patient to be hospitalized for several days. Her family wanted to travel here to be with her, but their finances were tight and they couldn’t afford a hotel room.

We talked to Shiva Emdadian, the manager at Fairfield Inn & Suites in Sebastopol, and she did something extraordinary: She decided to provide accommodations for our patient’s family at no charge. This locally owned hotel now gives us five rooms each month at no charge, to help our patients and Palm Drive Hospital.”

Jynessa is a foster youth who recently aged out of the foster care system. She was named the board’s youth representative in mid-October. Fellow board member Nancy Fastenau says Jynessa’s unique insight, along with her energy and creativity, will help SAY better serve Sonoma County’s at-risk children and families.

“I am excited to have Jynessa on the board because she has expertise about SAY’s programs and services that adult members do not,” Fastenau explained. “I truly believe an organization that serves primarily young people needs to hear from and work with young people to be relevant in the field. SAY will be better for including Jynessa in a leadership role.”

Jynessa sees her new position as a natural progression in her relationship with SAY.

A foster child for more than 10 years, Jynessa became involved with Social Advocates for Youth several years ago when she was diagnosed with depression and got help through SAY’s counseling services. She later found a job through its youth employment program. And a year ago, she moved into SAY’s Tamayo House for emancipated foster children, quickly becoming an ambassador for the transitional living center on Yulupa Avenue.

“A lot of the support I’ve received in the past few years came through SAY,” she explains. “They’ve made a huge difference for me. The people at SAY have really motivated me to be the best person I could be instead of giving up. Physically and emotionally, I wouldn’t be as far along as I am.”

For example, Jynessa believes that without Tamayo House, she’d be struggling with housing and other basics. She doubts she’d be happily juggling the busy schedule she now keeps: a part-time job, classes at Santa Rosa Junior College and volunteering to help other foster youth find their footing when they leave the system.

In addition to her work with SAY, Jynessa is a founding member and event coordinator of Voices, a nonprofit organization offering guidance to teens and young adults aging out of foster care. Run by foster children for foster children, Voices started in Napa in five years ago and expanded to Santa Rosa earlier this year.

As a SAY board member, Jynessa’s priorities are to get more young people participating in the discussions and decisions concerning the agency’s offerings and to consistently present the point of view of those who rely on Social Advocates for help.

“I think starting there is definitely a first step,” she said.

Jynessa’s also ready to make a case for the need for donors and volunteers. “I would really like to tell people that investing in young people is an investment in the world and the future. Knowing we’re the up-and-coming leaders, why wouldn’t you invest in us? I don’t think there’s anything more valuable than that.”

Social Advocates for Youth offers education, counseling, job training, mentoring and substance abuse prevention services for children, teenagers and their parents. Its Rev. James E. Coffee House Shelter provides crisis intervention for runaway and homeless youth. And SAY’s Tamayo House Transitional Living Facility houses young adults who have aged out of foster care or have serious mental illness. Social Advocates for Youth has offices in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, and Healdsburg.

The fair will be from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Sebastopol Community Church, 1000 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol.

The event will feature performances by the choir, appetizers and desserts from local restaurants and food artisans, crafts by community artists and drawings for prizes.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley seeks volunteers to assist at basketball games to be held at Maxwell Regional Park in Sonoma Valley. Scoreboard operators, scorekeepers and door monitors are needed from Dec. 7 through Feb. 9. Games start at 5 p.m. and end by 9 p.m. Contact Frank DeRaffele, Athletic Director, 938-8544 ext. 112, fax 938-8556 or fderaffele@bgcsonoma.org.

Wells Fargo Center for the Arts seeks volunteers to assist with its education and family programs. If you have classroom experience, enjoy children, and would like to visit local classrooms to provide students with information about performances and theater etiquette, then be a part of the Set the Stage program. Also seeking creative people to help children with art projects before family shows. Contact Candice Day, 707-527-7006 ext. 115.