Dear Sun Spots: We got a great response from your column recently when we were looking for volunteers for our nutrition program, so we’re again asking your readers for assistance.

Volunteers are urgently needed to provide transportation to the grocery store, doctor’s appointments, dialysis and other related services. The weekly time commitment depends on the volunteer’s availability. One can spend as little as two hours a week or we can keep you busy for as much time as desired. Mileage reimbursement is available at 34 cents per mile. To be a volunteer driver, a person needs to be reliable, enjoy older people, and have a clean driving record.

To also meet the needs of the 37,000 Medicare beneficiaries in our tri-county area (Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties), we are looking for qualified persons to assist with the new Medicare prescription benefit. Volunteers are needed to do one-on-one counseling, answer phone calls, and help people choose a plan and to fill administrative positions in our office, such as data entry, photocopying, and preparing packets. After an appropriate training period, the time commitment for these positions can be as little as two hours a week or as many hours as one can give.

Won’t you please help?

Volunteers at SeniorsPlus enjoy such benefits as recognition events, nominations for special awards and the personal satisfaction that comes from helping others. To learn more about our volunteer opportunities, please call Connie Belaire, Community Recruitment Coordinator, at 795-4010 or 1-800-427-1241, ext. 145. – Barbara Livingston, Lewiston.

Answer: As it’s coming upon the season of giving, Sun Spots would like to also include the following list of those seeking volunteers in the community and surrounding areas:

• Community Concepts needs volunteers for the area’s Operation Keep ME Warm program. Teams of two or three people head out to homes in Oxford and Androscoggin counties to insulate them against winter’s icy drafts. For more information, people can call Sandy Albert at 743-7716 or go to www.volunteermaine.org.

• Contact the Iris Network which needs volunteer readers for the blind as well as volunteering in the residence or community recreation program. FMI, call Nancy Bennett at 800-715-0097.

• Conversation partners for Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin are needed. Please call Mary, Literacy Volunteers program coordinator at (207) 344-6540.

• Nancy Greene at Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice, (207) 795-9581 or 1-800-482-7412. Bereavement volunteers provide one-on-one and phone support to caregivers, family members and others after a hospice patient has died.

• The Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, Kathi Levesque at (207) 795-6744, ext. 22 or e-mail at [email protected].

• Montello Manor’s Activity Department at (207) 783-2039.

• The BookReach program of the Auburn and Lewiston public libraries is often looking for volunteers to share about an hour per week, morning or afternoon time, reading aloud to young children in Lewiston and Auburn. Call Kathleen Demers, BookReach coordinator, at 784-0135, ext. 213.

• Joyce Paradis, director of Sisters of Charity Health System Volunteer Services, at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center about volunteer opportunities at (207) 777-8369.

• Beacon Hospice and Palliative Care, Lewiston, (207) 784-4242, offers free 21-hour training for volunteers to work with its patients and families. Contact Donna Rousseau, volunteer coordinator.

• The Auburn Police Department needs volunteers to help with such services as data entry, clerical work, telephone answering, traffic control during special events, school crossing, and sign or foreign language assistance. Contact Patrol Officer Laurie Barrett at 784-7332 for more details.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to [email protected].