A clarion call went out to members of the Del Webb at Woodbridge residential community asking for volunteers to support as many as six public service groups in Manteca.

Some 60 residents of the retirement community attended an informational session Friday afternoon in the main club house where they learned of the opportunities to help throughout the community.

Del Webb’s Linda Hausser welcomed representatives from Second Harvest Food Bank, the Manteca Chamber of Commerce, Doctors Hospital of Manteca Auxiliary, Manteca Police Department’s Seniors Helping Area Residents and Police unit, Manteca Fire Department’s SAFE unit, and the Manteca Right to Life Pregnancy Help Center.

Food bank director Mike Mallory explained the positive difference volunteers have made in supplying food to the less fortunate.  Headquartered in the Manteca Industrial Park,   the food bank supports both San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, he said.   None of the goals in meeting the needs of the homeless and others could have been reached without those who have dedicated countless hours to the program.

The food bank volunteers are mostly asked to sort and label cans and sort produce.

Doctors Hospital Auxiliary volunteers Bea Lingenfelter and Rose Dambrosio told of the support roles they provide in the everyday operation of the 73-bed medical facility from delivering flowers and mail to caring for small children.

Lingenfelter told of the gift shop at the hospital that is run by the auxiliary members – both male and female – where the net profits go toward scholarships in the medical field.  It has been only in recent years that their ranks have included men from the community.

One member of the Del Webb audience asked if men have to wear the same pink colored smocks as the women members do and was told that was the uniform, but it could be just a pink shirt.

The auxiliary also takes on the receptionist duties at the front desk and guides visitors to the rooms of friends and family members who are hospitalized.  Formerly known as the “Pink Ladies,” they were first formed at the opening of the hospital in 1962.

Two representatives from the Manteca Right to Life Pregnancy Help Center, Cecily Ballungay and Laureen Tomlinson, asked for help from the Del Webb community in meeting their needs at the North Main Street facility.

“Our goal is to get them (the young women) to stand on their own two feet,” community relations director Ballungay said.  Both women told of their need for office help that includes posting with bookkeeping experience.

Tomlinson interjected that she would be the one who would provide the initial orientation to new volunteers coming into their office program.

Manteca Police SHARP Captain Marty Maldonado went to the lectern with Sgt. JoAnn Stellman telling the group they have a need in their corps for everything from office work to patrol activities.  She noted that the only thing members have to purchase when they join is their shoes as the uniforms are provided by the department.

The captain further noted that Manteca’s senior volunteer group was one of the first of its kind to organize in support of a local police force.  San Clemente was actually the first to put senior volunteers on the street. Now many others have copied the Manteca program throughout the state, she added.

Duties include a variety of assignments from directing traffic to writing parking tickets for vehicles out of registration and for motorists parking in handicapped zones.   SHARP also takes on the duties of painting out the graffiti found on sound walls at the entrances to the city.

Sgt. Stellman told of the “Are You Ok?” program, where the police volunteers oversee retired members of the community who fail to answer their electronic telephone checks on a daily basis.  She also explained the value in SHARP coordinating vacation checks for home owners who are out of town for any period of time.

The senior patrols are on four-hour shifts where seniors are told to avoid any serious crime activities in the community – only calling officers to respond – and to leave the area.  The senior SHARP officers also direct traffic around traffic accidents and crime scenes.

Manteca Fire Chief Kirk Waters introduced his Seniors Aiding Firefighting Effort (SAFE) program – seniors volunteering to support the efforts of firefighters.  The SAFE members – like those in the SHARPS unit – also spend time with the Give Every Child a Chance tutoring program.

Waters explained that SAFE is a relatively new concept, being first formed in Manteca several years ago for seniors to help where the need exists and being given jobs that they enjoy.   They are given assignments in non-hazardous areas where they have a lot of fun, he added.

“They’re really a blessing,” Waters said.  “We treat them just like family.”

Mel Picanco – a SAFE member and resident of Del Webb – followed Chief Waters at the lectern and invited his neighbors to join him in the fire department’s program.   He noted that the SAFE volunteers first began to gather together in March of 2006.

Manteca Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debby Moorhead welcomed Del Webb residents to strongly consider volunteering for her group’s long list of activities throughout the year.

She said there is always a need not only in the office but also at the chamber coffees and other special events.  Preparations for those many events require hours of volunteer effort for the business community.