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Show i Four, Section Three - The Springville Herald - December 25, zw)3 n n no ImBkHmj, Mk Do You Have Tips For Reducing Holiday Trash? Answer by: Kerry" Case, Utah House Program Coordinator, Coordi-nator, Utah State University Extension. Americans throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Ye-ar's than they " do at any other time or the year. This translates into an extra 25 million tons of garbage sent to landfills and incinerators; incin-erators; v 1 ' It takes valuable resources to dispose ' of the additional waste, and even more resources to make the materials in the first place. For example, according to The Use Less Stuff Report, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the United States each year. That is enough to fill a football field 10 stories high. If each person sent : one less card, 5Q,000 cubic yards of paper would be saved per year. Consider the. following fol-lowing tips to reduce holiday waste and save money. - Choose a living Christmas Christ-mas tree. When the holidays are over, plant it in your yard or donate it to a local school. Another option is to purchase an artificial tree that can be used each year. - Give movie or concert tickets, gift certificates or make a donation to a local charity in someone's name. Springville World A special thanks from the Springville World Folkfest Board of Directors, at this special time of year to the City of Springville, Host Families and those 1 who help with our festival! - Be creative when wrapping wrap-ping gifts. Look around the house for unusual wrapping materials. Old baskets, children's child-ren's art work and scrap fabric work well and can be reused on other occasions. Consider hiding children's presents around the house and leaving clues rather than wrapping die gifts. - Buy rechargeable batteries batter-ies for children's toys and home electronics. Forty percent per-cent of annual battery sales occur during the holiday period. Consider giving batteries bat-teries and a recharger as part of the gift. - Be a smart shopper. To from the avoid trips to the store, begin your shopping on the phone or internet, then organize shopping shop-ping trips so that driving time is reduced. Bring your own shopping bag or use one large bag for all purchases. - When sending gifts by mail, package them with reused boxes, bubble wrap or peanuts. Wrap boxes in brown paper grocery bags for mailing. - Use dishes and glass ware for parties rather than buying disposable paper goods. If your party is larger than you dish and glassware supply, try renting these items. - Cut the cards. Review Re-view and trim your holiday holi-day card list. Consider those on your list who might prefer an electronic electron-ic card instead. Save the cards you receive and use them as gift tags, decorations decora-tions and wrapping material. mate-rial. - Consider giving homemade baked goods or crafts as gifts. Get the kids involved in making holiday cards, decorations decora-tions and ornaments instead of buying them. - Remember what the holidays are really about. In the midst of all the pressure to buy the right gifts, get things mailed on time and prepare your house for guests, don't forget that giving and getting are the least important parts of the season. Visit http:extension.us-u.educooperativeaska http:extension.us-u.educooperativeaska to see other Ask a Specialist columns. col-umns. Folkfest January is National Mentor Men-tor Month and volunteers can change the lives of youth as they serve as part of Community Com-munity Action's Project Vision One to One Mentor Program. The mission of Project Vision One to One is to provide at-risk youth with the support and skills they need to prevent substance abuse, violence and poverty, while empowering them with a strong self-image and the necessary skills to become leaders and contributing members of the community. Volunteers spend one on one time with at-risk youth. Each youth and mentor attend an assigned Power Group every ev-ery other week. Power Groups consist of about 10 youth and their mentors men-tors who meet every other week and do activities that focus fo-cus on either learning, service or fun. During the weeks between meetings, the youth and their mentor meet one on one. Volunteers are required to give a one-year minimum commitment, be 18 years of age or older and have their own source of transportation. transporta-tion. : Additional volunteer opportunities op-portunities throughout Utah County are listed below. Develop friendships that last a lifetime. The Utah State Developmental Center in American Fork is looking look-ing for volunteers to interact with residents on an individual indi-vidual basis. "Spending one on one quality time with these individuals indi-viduals means somebody cares about them," comments com-ments Sherilyn Cant, volunteer vol-unteer coordinator for the Development Center. A variety of opportunities are available for volunteers to meet with the residents and make a difference in their lives. "It makes them feel so appreciated," Cant said. "If you've ever been lonely, you know hjaw jnuch it means to havejsomeone spend time wfcSu." " :'' ' " '"Individuals or groups ems mmnw Monday Might Special All You Can Eat Pizza, Salad, & Drink of volunteers are asked to take wheelchair-bound residents resi-dents for walks or to activities. activi-ties. Dances are held every Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. ev-enings. Since there are more than fifty children and adults in wheelchairs, volunteers who are able to spend time with these individuals are always welcome. Many residents enjoy being be-ing read to or sung to. They enjoy watching videos with volunteers or doing a simple craft. They appreciate the friendships that they develop with the volunteers, Cant said. Additionally, dental assistants, assis-tants, hygienists or students of dental hygiene are encouraged encour-aged to aid by both volunteering volun-teering their services and teaching personal hygiene. Residents who learn life skills such as washing dishes and personal care are further inclined to be more independent indepen-dent and able to help themselves them-selves and others. Many of the residents who have physical or mental disabilities may simply need friendship and a listening ear. In order to provide stability stabil-ity in the residents' lives, the center requests the volunteers visit at least once a month. Help local residents keep their New Year's resolution to start a new life. The Gathering Place, a non-profit agency dedicated to helping Utah Valley residents resi-dents overcome addictions, currently needs volunteers to assist in many different areas. The agency relies on volunteers to help keep the organization running smoothly smooth-ly and efficiently. From the Board of Directors Direc-tors to helping clean the playroom play-room used for child therapy, each volunteer contribution helps. Volunteers are currently needed to help in the Outreach Out-reach Program and with front desk needs fajbustsmw-. Vountecjr$ A are espe?, cially4iedmcw Outreach efforts;"- said'Riith'Busbee, FROM 0B0 IE! 09 Wlh SOU R D OUGHT 296 South Main Springville, Utah Special Served from 11-2 1 Slice Pizza, Salad & Drink Outreach Coordinator. "The outreach efforts help the agency let the community know about the services we provide to help people who are having problems with addiction." ad-diction." The Gathering Place has distinguished itself from all other recovering treatment centers with its unique Power of Gathering Approach. The Five Powers of Gathering Gath-ering include expert staff, individual attention, group therapy, family support and community resources. The Gathering Place has a unique approach to integrating integrat-ing these powers of gathering for recovery success. This approach works because be-cause of the expertise found at The Gathering Place. All clients are treated by a Masters Mas-ters Level, Licensed Social Worker or a Ph.D. Psychologist. Psycholo-gist. This expertise means The Gathering Place therapists can center on the "whole" person, not just the symptoms symp-toms of addiction. By treating the "whole" person, The Gathering Place clients feel the empowerment necessary to recover more successfully. The United Way of Utah County Volunteer Center is the only comprehensive source of information for volunteer . opportunities in our community, connecting connect-ing potential volunteers to opportunities where they will make the most difference according ac-cording to their skills and talents, tal-ents, as well as have a good experience while serving. The center serves all nonprofit non-profit organizations in Utah County, For further information infor-mation regarding these and other volunteer opportunities available in Utah County, contact the United Way Volunteer Center weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 374-8108. You may contact the United Way via e-mail volunteerunited wayuc . org or search more than .300 volunteer orpcjtunities on-lme4li&Waj3 on-lme4li&Waj3 trCounty Web sterna. www.unitedwayuc.org. Lunch |