INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Linwood E. Howe Elementary School in Culver City needs volunteers to tutor students in reading. A 11/2-hour-a-week commitment is required. Training and materials are provided. Information: Deborah Galambos, (310) 842-4338.

* Catholic Big Brothers/Big Sisters needs adults of all faiths to spend time with children, ages 7 through 14, in Los Angeles County. Information: (800) 463-4066.

* Cultural Academic Students Exchange Inc. needs host families for high school exchange students from countries such as Spain, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Thailand, Belgium, Mongolia and Macedonia. The students, ages 15 to 18, are fully insured, speak English and have their own spending money. Host families provide room and board and are eligible for a $50-a-month tax deduction. Information: (800) 458-8336, or visit https://www.exchangestudents.org.

* Children’s Nature Institute, which leads families with babies and young children on nature walks in the Los Angeles area, needs walk leaders. Training will be held Saturday, Nov. 3 and Nov. 17. Information: (310) 998-1151.

WISE Senior Services needs volunteers for its Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to help protect the rights and dignity of care residents in the San Fernando Valley. Volunteers must complete a 36-hour training program to become certified ombudsmen through the California Department of Aging. Information: Aileen Kroll, (818) 881-6460.

* Friends Outside, of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a program assisting inmates, ex-offenders and their families, needs volunteers to visit Orange County inmates. Volunteers are asked to commit to a six-month minimum term and must submit to a background check. Information: (714) 288-5600.

* City of Burbank Human Resources needs a volunteer to work at the front counter at Burbank City Hall from 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays. Duties include answering telephones, taking messages and greeting people. Information: Dee Call. (818) 238-5370.

* Happy Hats for Kids, which creates gaily decorated hats and distributes them to hospitalized children who have cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses, needs experienced seamstresses and donations of sewing machines. Call: Sheri Schrier (310) 326-8409.

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Information for this column should be submitted typed and double-spaced to Involvement Opportunities, SoCal Living, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st. St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.