Vermont needs volunteers! The state of Vermont is putting out a call for volunteers to help on a variety of fronts with COVID-19 emergency response. They are looking for medical volunteers such as nurses, pharmacists, EMS, physician assistants, veterinarians, and mental health workers. 
They also need people with experience in other roles, such as childcare, grocery workers, public works professionals, drivers, and more. Learn more and add yourself to the volunteer corps.
What’s your Vermont trivia IQ? Join the Vermont Historical Society for Vermont Trivia live on Facebook every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in April. Visit their Facebook pages or go to their website for more info
Write a letter to an elder. Vergennes Residential Care Home (VRC) can accept cards and letters for their residents (they will hold them for several days before sharing with the residents in addition to their stringent hand washing routines). Like many senior communities since the outbreak of COVID-19, VRC has stopped allowing visitors, which includes outside volunteers and entertainers who help to keep residents engaged in a variety of activities. 
With the reduced interaction, there is concern for maintaining a healthy psycho/social attitude among the residents. Write a note card, color a picture or send other thoughtful greetings and messages to be shared by the residents. VRC will post the sharing of these messages on their social media sites as they receive them. Address the letters to: Residents of Vergennes Residential Care, C/O Kristen Salter, RN, 34 North Street, Vergennes, VT 05491.
Go to the eMakery. Since makers can’t come to them right now, the Makery is coming to the makers. Their staff and mentors are teaming up with guest instructors to present the eMakery. Learn new skills in an online format with the same great community. Stay tuned for more info. The eMakery is opening in mid April. You can check the calendar anytime as the eMakery starts to add events over the next week or two here. Have questions? Contact [email protected].
Online COVID-19 relief benefit concert. Molly Gray brings together Vermont musicians for Vermonters at home with a family-friendly concert streaming on the campaign’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram from 7-8:30 p.m., Saturday, April 11. The concert will include performances from artists hailing from around Vermont, including Noah Kahan of Strafford, Caitlin Canty of West Rutland, Pete Bernhard of the Devil Makes Three of Putney, Patrick Ross of Newbury and Bow Thayer of Stockbridge. Viewers tuning in live will receive messages of hope and support along with music from the performing artists, and be encouraged to make donations in lieu of admission to the Vermont Foodbank’s COVID-19 Hunger Relief Fund. 
To find the livestream, head online for the link. Viewers will be able to contribute by phone or online as they enjoy the concert.
Learn a slip jig. Need to move while stuck at home? Gerlisa Garrett of the Garrett School of Irish Dancing has the answers  beginning ceili dances. No one can see you practice at home. Streaming here.
Zoom a scientist. Over the next few weeks the Lake Champlain Sea Grant team will be hosting “Zoom a Scientist,” focused on watershed and aquatic science. This virtual webinar series features scientists from the University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, SUNY Plattsburgh, the Lake Champlain Research Institute, and our partner organizations. Sessions are open to all participants from school age to adults, some sessions that are more technical may be marked as more suitable for middle and high school students. 
Organizers plan to run this webinar every Tuesday and Friday for the remainder of this school year of long distance learning. See what’s being offered and register here.
Zoom a dance class. Vermont Dance Alliance is streaming dance classes every Saturday from 10-11 a.m. All participants will join via Zoom (please note Zoom now requires passwords!), hosted by Vermont Dance Alliance. VDA will offer an optional pre-class hangout/warm up on your own from 9:45-10 a.m., and an optional post-class hangout/cool down on your own from 11-11:15 a.m. The class is free for anyone to join, with the option to make a donation to Vermont Dance Alliance. More info and zoom login info here.
Online Library and more. Universal Class is available to all Vermonters online via their public library barcodes. The site offers hundreds of free online classes — from cooking, to sewing, to poetry, classes on learning disabilities, autism, classes on many educational topics, fundraising, how to deal with difficult people, instructions in algebra, guitar, budgeting, computers, and many, many more topics to choose from. As well as choosing your topic(s), you can decide the pace at which you would like to learn. 
The Learning Express Library site offers many license prep tests, including many of the components of CDL, nursing and medical testing, SAT, LSAT, and GRE prep. It also offers a wide range of skill building in reading, writing, math and science, career exploration, scholarship searches, and how to create effective resumes. Additionally, Learning Express Library has a computer skills center where you can learn the basics of using a computer and more with self-paced, easy to-use tutorials from beginner to advance levels.
For younger kids, try Dolly Parton’s Bedtime Story Read, or Harry Potter.
Celebrate National Poetry Month. Poetry Spoken Here is an online poetry reading site where you can listen to poets from all over the U.S. and other countries read their work. The show can be found online, on iTunes and on Facebook. 
And consider submitting. The hosts say “We also encourage you to have your poet friends and colleagues submit their work for future Open Mics of the Air.” Link and guidelines are here.
THT’s Quarantine Sessions. Watch live or see archived performances on Facebook at @townhalltheatervt, on Instagram at @thtmidd or here. This week’s offerings include:  Monday — Lindsay Pontius, THT Education Director; Tuesday — Glendon Ingalls, master trumpeter and music educator; Wednesday — Bill Bickford, Star of MCP and THT musicals; Thursday — Lisa Mitchell, THT General Manager; Friday — Christal Brown, Middlebury College Dance Professor; Saturday — Nathaniel Rothrock, 12 THT productions, with Ray Rothrock, his Dad; Sunday — John Riesen, OCM’s Cendrillon and next year’s Maid of Orleans. MCTV is broadcasting the sessions as well. 
Give your opinions (remotely) at a Fish & Wildlife hunting hearing. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is holding a series of electronic hearings this month on deer hunting and the proposed 2020 moose season after it postponed the in-person hearings to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The conference call hearings are accessible by smart phone and computer by downloading the Zoom Cloud Meeting App and entering the numbers for the particular meeting. They will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on April 13, 15 and 16. 
The department is encouraging the public to review online the information that will be discussed before the hearings. The department will take questions over the computer or phone and questions also can be sent anytime to [email protected].
See a puppet show. Vermont Family Network’s (VFN) Puppets in Education (PiE) program has produced a COVID-19 version of their PreK through Grade 4 Anxiety program, which is available online for any family needing support during this time. The program, which was developed and piloted starting in January 2020, features two kid puppets and several octopus puppets. It provides tips and tools for parents and children to use when worry feels big. 
Families can watch the video together, talk about worry, and discuss what tools to use. Access the show here or directly on YouTube.