Around the area October 31

VANCOUVER

Emergency homeless shelters open Saturday

A volunteer-powered effort to open churches to homeless people during winter nights kicks off on Saturday.

The 6-year-old Winter Hospitality Overflow program hosts up to 24 single men per night at St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Vancouver and up to 42 women or family members at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Orchards.

To find shelter, call the Emergency Shelter Clearinghouse at 360-695-9677.

To support the program — either by volunteering or by contributing food, soap, clothing or paper products — contact the Council for the Homeless at 360-993-9571.

The homeless council cooperates with Share and the two churches to run the annual program, which draws an estimated 1,400 volunteers annually.

VANCOUVER

Big Brothers, Sisters seeks mentor schools

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vancouver will be among 20 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies nationwide to pilot “school-based mentoring.” Twenty-three Portland area schools will be evaluated, including Vancouver Public Schools’ Minnehaha Elementary and Evergreen Public Schools’ Marrion, Mill Plain, Burton and Sunset elementary schools.

School-based mentoring involves pairing volunteers with students. It was developed by Big Brothers Big Sisters and is based on concepts by Public/Private Ventures. Data from the evaluations will be examined by Carla Herrera of Public/Private Ventures and Professor Thomas Keller of Portland State University. Donors include the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation.