Volunteer Opportunities in Russell County, Kentucky

Living in a small farming community means having to deal with a small budget so volunteers are a valuable commodity. Many opportunities exist such as working in the local Russell County Hospital, being an on-call fire fighter and working in the local schools.

The Russell County hospital is a 25 bed critical access facility that treats everything from drawing blood, providing examinations, to much more serious treatments such as vehicle accidents trauma, and heart attacks. The mission statement of the axillary unit is " our volunteers to make a difference in someone's life, and the rewards of volunteering are just as numerous."

The Hospital Axillary volunteers provide the much needed patient visitations and assistance to the staff. Their main duties are running the gift shop, shredding documents, manning the reception desk and sewing pillows for the surgery patients. Staff can get some rest and a break when volunteers watch patients and bring them their meals if there are shortages in personnel. Contact the axillary at (270)866-4546.

The local fire departments operate on a strictly volunteer basis, relying on donations and a small budget, so anyone that wants to help out is appreciated. The Russell County Fire Departments work in conjunction with the EMS unit, which is a paid position. There are presently four fire districts located in the county. The Eli community in the eastern part, the main Russell Springs department in town, the southern Russell county location in Jamestown and the Jamestown volunteer fire department in the city's limits. These units are all manned by 10-20 people that accept help as long as they have the ability, and training. Even though it's a volunteer position, the trucks, equipment, training are all on par with larger, metropolitan city departments. The main departments phone numbers are (270)866-3188 and (270)343-4594.

A fire fighter in a small community is expected to come out in any weather, and time of day. Many times a barn, house or business fire will call them out in the wee hours and cold temperatures. People show their appreciation with benefit suppers, and free products in the local businesses. I suppose their unofficial mission statement is to serve and save lives, but they are big on action and not words.

The third local volunteer position is just as important and affects the young lives of all the children in the county. The school volunteers mission is to fill in the gaps in the local schools that require more assistance than staff available.

With shrinking state and local budgets, locals adults come to serve, and aid the staff in a number of ways. Watching the youngsters in the morning as they arrive to school, assisting in the cafeteria, or the playground is vital. Other opportunities that arise are helping with fund raising events, after school functions and working in the classrooms as tutors.volunteers may contact the main school board at (270)343-3191.

Well there you have my three local volunteer opportunities in Russell County, Kentucky. Small rural communities need volunteers as budgets shrink and demands rise. Volunteer today and make a difference in your local community.