Have you ever felt like spending a morning helping a shut-in resident with yard work? Cleaning up your town of trash? Visiting a lonely elderly resident of a convalescent hospital? Maybe washing a car of a senior citizen who doesn't have the energy? Organizers of the twice-per-year "Love Ceres" event would like you to join them in performing such tasks.

The Saturday, April 27 event is over a month away but volunteer jobs are already being advertised at the www.loveceres.com website.

Love Ceres was started in 2011 by members of Modesto and Ceres churches as a way of demonstrating kindness, meeting needs of the community and impacting the lives of people with the love of Jesus Christ through Christian action. The volunteer effort was not limited to just the faith-based community members and in 2011 the Love Ceres event drew others like school groups, Boy and Girls Scouts and veterans groups. An estimated 500 turned out for the first annual event in Ceres. The effort has spread to other communities as well.

Most of the jobs that need to be filled with volunteers only will require work from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

An estimated 40 persons are needed to provide car washes to senior citizens that morning at a location that will be determined later.

Visits to a convalescent and retirement home will be set up to encourage, visit, listen to and/or pray with a lonely resident. About 25 people are needed for the task.

Approximately 40 people are being sought to bring yard tools to help people in need with home and yard projects from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Others are being asked to walk neighborhoods for food items for local food banks and toys for the Children's Crisis Center of Stanislaus County.

Those who cannot find the time are asked to donate a bag of groceries for those who are in need. The Love Ceres organizers are seeking just 40 persons for the donation.

Or persons may contribute baby items to the Children's Crisis Center, and the Turtles and Ducks program that helps teen moms at Argus High School.

The Ceres Library will be visited by approximately 14 volunteers who will organize shelves of books, general cleaning and dusting. Training will be provided.

The Hatch Road commercial district will be cleaned of trash while some trim bushes and remove other debris. About 50 persons are needed for the job that runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The clean-up will concentrate on the area between Herndon and Richland.

Clean-up efforts will also be extended to parks and neighborhoods, including trash pick-up, painting and graffiti removal. Organizers would like 80 persons for the job.

Another 30 are being sought to do downtown clean-up, including alley clean-up and sidewalk clean-up. Thirty persons will be solicited to help clean-up residential properties in the downtown area.

An unlimited group of adults are being asked to consider attending a mentor orientation and training session so that they will be equipped to volunteer at a local school. Training will be offered from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

About eight persons are needed at the Ceres Community Center to provide free lunch and encouragement to anyone in need.

About 100 jobs are available for a Truck Show and man a kids information booth.

Those who would like to help but are physically unable to may wish to be a part of a prayer team. Individuals may pray from their home or travel to places in Ceres that are deemed in need of prayer.

Children are welcome to participate in projects that are kid friendly.

To sign-up for jobs, visit www.loveceres.com.