Service Seeks Volunteers With Limited Time to Give

As a full-time marketing consultant, Jay Zaltzman found his hectic schedule left him little time for community service.

“I was looking for a way to volunteer,” Zaltzman, 37, said, “but it seems a bit intimidating to [volunteer] for something where they need you for an ongoing basis.”

To meet the needs of Zaltzman and other busy working professionals, the Volunteer Center Assistance League of Southern California has developed a new program called Helping Others Together, or HOT, which will hold an introductory brunch Sunday.

HOT offers one-time or short-term projects for individuals with little time to volunteer.

“They are people that want to give back to the community, but they don’t have the time,” said Joan Kagan, director of volunteer services in the Panorama City center.

The center, a private nonprofit that matches volunteers with agencies in need, plans to start the HOT volunteers with a project once a month, Kagan said. The first two on the schedule are a Valentine’s Day visit to a convalescent home and the landscaping of Cohasset Street Elementary School in Van Nuys on March 5.

“It’s unbelievable the needs that are out there in the community,” said Kagan, who emphasized that of the 1,000 agencies the center works with, some with the greatest needs are those specifically helping children.

“Right now, there’s a need for reading tutors for children [in kindergarten through third grade],” she said. “At a lot of the schools in the Van Nuys area, the children . . . cannot read up to grade level.”

To Zaltzman, who is helping set up the program, HOT sounds promising because it will allow people to help the community despite limited time.

“Even if you do a one-day project, just having all these people together doing something, you can make a difference,” Zaltzman said.

For further information about HOT or to sign up for the kickoff brunch, contact Kagan at (818) 908-5040.