Community Contacts Inc. is recruiting volunteers for its new DeKalb chapter of Neighbor to Neighbor, a volunteer program which helps bring resources to people in the community.

The program is designed to offer people in the community the chance to sign up for services with which they need help and will match them with those who sign up to provide the services.

“We will act as a kind of matchmaker, enabling people, particularly those already receiving human services, to help each other,” said Troy Sherman, program director of Neighbor to Neighbor. “Our role is to bring these people together so they can help one another.”

Volunteers will not begin providing their services until January, Sherman said. However, people are able to sign up for the program now.

Sherman also said there are no specific requirements to be a volunteer, but responsibility plays a big role in the program.

“We are looking for volunteers who are capable of handling services and are dependable,” he said

Susan Schumpp, executive director of Community Contacts Inc., said there are advantages to having a Neighbor to Neighbor program in DeKalb.

“We have traditionally served our Energy Assistance and Weatherization clients through extensive outreach in DeKalb,” she said. “Now we have office space here in DeKalb, it will enable us to work even more closely with human service agencies in the county and also deal with emergencies.”

Sherman said Neighbor to Neighbor is unique from other volunteer programs because it allows people to sign up for services that relate to their own interests.

“That’s the great thing about this program,” he said. “You do things you like to do and when you can do it.”

Community Contacts already has received a positive response for

the new program, Sherman said.

“In just one day, 20 people signed up to join the Neighbor to Neighbor network,” he said. “Some people listed as needs such things as transportation and child care. Others listed child care and transportation as things they could provide.”

Sherman also said when he begins to work with Community Contacts’ own client base, he hopes to work on mutual self-help with other agencies.

“We shall be very sensitive to the issues of not duplicating other agencies’ services and not encroaching on their volunteers,” he said. “We recognize that many agencies already have extensive volunteer programs in place. It will not be our function to cover areas already being taken care of.”

The Neighbor to Neighbor program is located at 155 N. Third St.

For more information regarding Neighbor to Neighbor, call

Sherman at 748-2530.