The group Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment is asking for volunteers to help keep the green in St. Patrick’s Day. Well, not exactly the Irish green — but the environmental green.

On March 17, ACE is holding its third annual Green Living Expo from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School. The event focuses on helping residents find practical ways to “green up” their lifestyles. Visitors will find green living seminars, a variety of local and national exhibitors, children’s activities, a raffle, sustainable eating food sales and cooking demonstrations.

The expo is free and open to the pubic, but the event is still short on volunteers. Extra help is needed from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., organizers say. Anyone who wants to lend a hand can get more information by calling 703-228-6427.

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season?

The county’s Volunteer Arlington program lists several holiday-related volunteer and donation opportunities that are open to interested members of the public.

• Thanksgiving Meal Delivery — The Arlington Knights of Columbus chapter is feeding some 2,000 needy people on Thanksgiving, and they need volunteers to help deliver meals or serve food in their North Arlington facility.
  
• Angel Tree Program Setup, Sorting and Distribution — Help the Salvation Army provide gifts to needy children and elderly citizens who would otherwise be left out on Christmas.
• Gift Wrapping at Pentagon City Mall — A gift wrapping service provided to shoppers at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City by Arms Outstretched Ministry. Proceeds benefit wounded warriors, deployed military personnel and their families.
• Secret Santa/Adopt-A-Family — Help provide gifts to needy families via the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing.
• Arlington DHS Secret Santa — Donate gift cards to the Arlington Department of Human Services to make the holidays “a little happier for some of Arlington’s most vulnerable residents.”

Arlington is seeking volunteers to scour the streets next month and find the county’s most vulnerable homeless citizens.

The effort is part of the county’s 100 Homes Campaign, which will try to cut “chronic homelessness” in Arlington in half by July 2013. The campaign will place some of Arlington’s most medically-vulnerable homeless individuals — described as “those most likely to die if not housed quickly” — in permanent supportive housing.

The county is looking for volunteer surveyors, data entry personnel and headquarters staff to work from Oct. 17-19. Surveyors will be asked to go out in teams and interview homeless individuals from 3:30 to 7:30 a.m., while data entry will be done between 6:30 and 9:00 a.m. More information on volunteering can be found on the 100 Homes Arlington web site.

“We have made great strides in addressing homelessness in Arlington, but our work is far from complete,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in a statement. “The 100 Homes Campaign brings important focus to helping some of the most vulnerable members of our community – those living on the streets.”

Arlington’s campaign, co-chaired by County Board member and state Senate candidate Barbara Favola and Shooshan Company president John Shooshan, is based on the national 100,000 Homes campaign.

Arlington’s Parks Department is seeking volunteers for its annual Dogtober Day celebration at Lacey Woods Park (1200 N. George Mason Drive).

On Saturday, Oct. 8, dogs will compete for prizes in categories like best kisser, best tail wagger, cutest costume and fastest pooch. The day will also feature dog training, grooming, treats and rescues.

Arlington is seeking up to 25 volunteers to help with set up, registration, ribbons and prizes, dog games, judges’ paper work and end-of-program break down. Anyone interested should contact volunteer coordinator Rhonda Nibert online or at 703-228-4724.

Although information for this year’s event hasn’t been placed online yet, the info page from last year’s Dogtober Day is still available.

Students in Arlington Public Schools head back to the classrooms on Tuesday.  Not all of them are fully prepared for the school year, but you can help.

AHC Inc., an affordable housing developer, needs several dozen volunteers to tutor middle and high school teens. Tutors get paired with a student for the academic year and meet up once a week for 90 minutes at one of the program’s six locations. Several of the locations are Metro accessible.

More help is needed this year than in the past because the program has expanded the number of nights per week that tutoring is available to the teens.

The Teen Tutor orientation takes place on September 14 and 15. To get involved with the program, click here for the registration form. To request more information, contact Jennifer Cavaliere, cavaliere@ahcinc.org or 703-486-0626 x 154.

We’re one month away from the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and Arlington is planning several events to commemorate the solemn occasion.

On Saturday, Sept. 10 Arlington County will host a special 9/11 tribute event to honor the 184 people who perished during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

“The event will be held at the Air Force Memorial and will be emceed by ACFD Lieutenant Dave Santini, with an invocation by ACFD Chaplin Reverend Leonard L. Hamlin, live instrumental music and a vocalist to lead attendees in singing ‘America the Beautiful,’” according to the county web site. “This event is free and open to the public.”

Also on Sept. 10, Arlington’s public safety personnel are hosting a 9/11 memorial 5K race in Pentagon City. Registration for the race, which benefits several 9/11-related charities, is still open.

Another annual public safety-sponsored commemorative event, the First Responders Cup softball tournament, will take place Sept. 9 to 11 at three separate South Arlington fields.

For anyone interested in giving back to the community to honor the memory of 9/11 victims, Arlington County is compiling volunteer opportunities for the 9/11 Day of Service. Among the options is a Sept. 10 and 11 grocery store food drive to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center.

More information on 9/11 events in Arlington can be found on the county’s “Arlington Remembers September 11, 2001″ web page.

Registration for the Arlington Police, Fire & Sheriff 9-11 Memorial 5K Run will get more expensive after today.

The annual race will be held on Sept. 10 this year. Registration is $25 today, $30 from Aug. 5 to Sept. 9 and $35 on race day. Teams (including firefighter, law enforcement and military teams) need to be registered by Sept. 1.

The race will kick off at 6:00 p.m. from the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City (300 Army Navy Drive). Runners will follow a course that will take them past parts of the Pentagon. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trader Center and the Pentagon.

Proceeds from the race will benefit 9-11 related charities, including the Fisher House Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project, Operation Purple, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

Organizers are looking for volunteers to work on race day. Volunteers will be asked to pass out food and water and assist with other race duties. Anyone interested in volunteering can find more information here.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

The Arlington County Fair is fast approaching, and organizers are looking for volunteers.

Help is wanted from August 10-14.  Volunteers are asked to attend an orientation session to learn about the fair and what opportunities are available. The first orientation is tonight and the other is next Tuesday. Volunteers will have the chance to win a door prize of tickets to a concert at the 9:30 Club.

If you’d like to volunteer, click here for the application, or email  arlingtoncofair@gmail.com for more information.

The Arlington Food Assistance Center is asking local gardeners and farmers to donate extra produce to bolster AFAC’s food pantry.

“Each week, over 1,300 client families visit AFAC to pick up supplemental groceries,” the organization said in a statement. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are in high demand among AFAC clients, especially as fuel prices drive up food prices.”

Produce donations can be made at the following locations:

• AFAC (2708 S. Nelson Street) — Monday though Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Master Gardeners Help Desk at the Courthouse Farmers Market (N. Courthouse Road & 14th Street N.) — Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon
• Rock Spring United Church of Christ (5010 Little Falls Road) — Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to noon

For more information on donating, and to learn about other ways to help, contact Puwen.Lee[at]afac.org or call 703-845-8486. The produce donation drive is part of AFAC’s Plot Against Hunger program.

It’s sort of like the “Adopt-a-Highway” program, but without the corresponding road signs.

Arlington has launched an “Adopt-a-Street” program that allows civic-minded residents and organizations to commit to picking up litter and debris along a road of their choosing. After signing up, volunteers receive safety and cleaning supplies, a five gallon collection bucket and scheduled pickups of collected debris.

Adopters are asked to perform their cleaning duties on a quarterly or as-needed basis, with a minimum one year commitment.

The program, which is run by the county’s Solid Waste Bureau, is intended to reduce storm water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed with minimal cost to taxpayers. Supplies for the program have been purchased through sponsorships, the county says.

A local non-profit is looking for energetic volunteers to help out with their summer camp program.

Affordable housing developer AHC Inc. hosts “educational and fun” summer camps for low-income youngsters “to help ensure they don’t drop behind over the summer months.” The camps — held at six community centers throughout Arlington — start on July 11 and run from noon to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, until Aug. 18.

AHC is seeking chaperones for its off-site swimming trips on Mondays and its field trips on Thursdays. They’re also looking for volunteers who can help with the art activities, literary activities and outdoor games that are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

“Enthusiastic volunteers are critical to the program and mean so much to the young people we serve,” said AHC spokeswoman Celia Slater.

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Jennifer Cavaliere at cavaliere@ahcinc.org or 703-486-0626 x154.

Patch.com’s two Arlington sites are seeking a few good bloggers, part of an initiative by parent AOL to recruit 4,000 to 8,000 unpaid local contributors in 800 communities nationwide.

AOL, which recently purchased the Huffington Post, is using the blogging engine from its new acquisition to power the new Patch blogs.

“The introduction of blogging on our sites is far more than just the release of a new feature,” said Patch Editor in Chief Brian Farnham, according to Paid Content. “It is a full-on course correction heading Patch in the direction we want to go. It’s going to unlock community and engagement and thread us even deeper into the fabric of the communities we’re serving.”

The Ballston-Virginia Square Patch and the Clarendon-Courthouse-Ballston Patch are taking two different approaches to recruiting bloggers.

Ballston Patch is emphasizing the fact that they’re not looking for news reporters.

“This isn’t a reporting job. It’s blogging,” the site says. “Be interesting. Be provocative. Be yourself.”

Clarendon Patch is emphasizing their specific expectations for unpaid contributors, in list form.

The list includes: “1. You Need to Know What It Takes To Be Relevant,” “2. You Need to Know What Kind of Blogs We’re Looking For,” “3. You Need to Know What We Consider Responsible,” and “4. You Need to Know We’re Paying in Gratitude.”

“Up until now, we’ve primarily been a news operation, written by our staff and freelancers,” Clarendon Patch said. “But soon, very soon, we’re hoping to add a new voice to the site: Yours.”