VOLUNTEERING
The following comes
from 'The Teenager's
Guide to the Real World Online'
Homeless
Shelters
If you live in a city
of any size, then there is at least one homeless shelter that helps homeless
people with meals, beds and other services. Most homeless shelters welcome
volunteers and have a variety of programs through which you can get involved.
You might help prepare or distribute meals, work behind the scenes in the
business office, help organize a food drive to stock the pantry, etc. You
can learn more about the problem of homelessness and ways you can help
by looking at this site.
Look in the phone book for a local homeless shelter if you are interested.
Food
Banks
Food banks often work
with homeless shelters, but they also serve poor people living in the community
(especially around the holidays). Food banks collect food, manage their
inventory and distribute food to those in need. The following link shows
you the different volunteer opportunities available at food banks around
the country:
Gleaners
Food Bank of Indiana
Any food bank will offer
similar opportunities in your area. Look in the phone book for a local
food bank if you are interested. Click
here for the Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.
The
Guideposts Sweater Project
If you would like something
to do in your spare time at home, one innovative way to volunteer is to
get involved in The
Guideposts Sweater Project, sponsored by Guideposts
magazine. People around the country knit sweaters that are then sent
to needy children around the world. This
article gives you a description of the project and a pattern for the
sweaters. Don't know how to knit? Not a problem, because the article also
links to sites that teach you how!
Ronald
McDonald House
There are Ronald McDonald
Houses around the country - almost every major city has one. The idea behind
all Ronald McDonald Houses is very important. When a child is seriously
ill, the child is frequently treated for long periods of time at a hospital
or university medical center. Many families have to travel long distances
to get to the hospital, and "where to stay" becomes a problem. Staying
at a hotel becomes extremely expensive, and a hotel can be a lonely and
sterile place. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a low-cost "home-away-from-home"
for parents and children to stay during treatment. Volunteers help prepare
meals, talk to families, take care of the house and so on. The programs
offered at the Dallas Ronald McDonald
House are typical, and you can read about volunteer opportunities there.
Then call the Ronald McDonald House in your area to find out more.
Special
Olympics
As described on the
web site for Special Olympics
International, "Special Olympics is an international program of year-round
sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with mental
retardation." The site also describes a wide variety of volunteer activities,
including sports training, fund raising, administrative help, competition
planning and staffing, etc. Look in the phone book for a local office or
search the Special Olympics Web
Site for more information.
Habitat
for Humanities
Habitat for Humanities
builds and gives houses to poor people in local communities. Volunteers
not only help others, but can learn a great deal about building houses
by getting involved. See the Habitat for Humanities web site for more information.
Call the national office or your local office for information about volunteer
programs in your area.
State
Parks
Many state parks offer
volunteer programs, and in these programs you can try anything from educational
programs to trail construction and maintenance. This
site for the North Carolina State Park system shows some of the possibilities
available. Contact a state park near you and see what options are available
if you are interested.
City
Programs
Most large cities offer
a wide range of volunteer opportunities. Look in the phone book and call
around to see what might be available where you live. [Do not be discouraged
if your first few calls seem to hit a brick wall. Many city governments
are large and fairly disorganized. Keep calling around until you find someone
who understands what you are talking about and who is willing to help.]
Helping
Others Learn to Read
When you think about
it, reading is one of the most important skills an adult can have. Many
adults, however, have never learned how to read. Literacy volunteers act
as tutors who help illiterate children and adults learn this important
skill. There is probably a literacy program in your area. See also Reading
Is Fundamental (RIF).
Hospitals
Many hospitals have
volunteer programs to help patients both inside and outside the hospital.
This
page for the Summit Medical Center is typical. The volunteers programs
allow participants to explore medical careers and gain work experience.
Contact local hospitals to learn more about opportunities in your area.
Libraries
Many libraries need
help reshelving books, running children's programs, making books available
to the community, and so on. This program specifically for teens at Phoenix
Public Libraries trains teen volunteers to assist library staff and
the public during the Summer Reading Program. Contact a local library for
volunteer opportunities in your area.
Senior
Citizens Centers
Many senior citizen
centers offer volunteer programs to provide friendship and community activities
to senior citizens. If you would like working with senior citizens, call
a senior citizen center in your neighborhood and see what kinds of volunteer
programs they have available.
Animal
Shelters
Many animal shelters
are non-profit or government organizations, and therefore they welcome
volunteers to help take care of animals, keep facilities clean and work
with the public. Call a local animal shelter for more information.
United
Way
The
United Way is a nationwide umbrella organization for thousands of charitable
organizations. The United Way raises billions of dollars and distributes
it to these charities. There are local United way affiliates across the
country and they need volunteers. Contact your local affiliate for more
information.
Red
Cross
The
American Red Cross helps people in emergencies - whether it's half
a million disaster victims or one sick child who needs blood. Volunteer
opportunities exist across the country. Contact your local Red Cross for
more information.
Salvation
Army
The
Salvation Army provides social services, rehabilitation centers, disaster
services, worship opportunities, character building activities for all
ages and character building groups and activities for all ages. Volunteer
opportunities exist across the country.
Environmental
Organizations
The
Sierra Club (and numerous other environmental groups) encourages volunteer
support to help with environmental activities. You can help in many ways:
by helping lobby on conservation issues, by leading hikes and other activities,
or by lending a hand at the Chapter Office. Contact the local office of
an environmental organization near you. See also the
Earth Day site.
Political
Campaigns
If it's an election
year, there are thousands of opportunities to volunteer in political campaigns
around the country. You can learn more than you imagine by helping a candidate
win election. We talk about some of the options. Pick a candidate whose
ideas you believe in (either on the local, state or national level) and
volunteer to be a part of his or her campaign.
800
Number Volunteer
Many 800 help-lines
rely on volunteers to staff the phones and handle other tasks. If there
is an 800 phone bank in your area, you may be able to volunteer to help
out.
Web
site creation
Many small charities
and organizations do not yet have web sites. You can help by learning how
to create a web site and volunteering your services. You could also raise
money to pay for the web site, or seek help from a local company in the
form of a donation. When creating a web site for a charity, you will
want to take care to listen very carefully to the people who work
for the charity to understand exactly what they want their web site to
look and feel like. This will be extremely important to them, and you
should be willing to change and improve the site to match their mental
image. See this
page for information on creating web sites.
The following is
from 'The City of Garden Grove'
site
(This incidentally,
mostly applies to doing things for the environment and will in part be
found on my Earth
Day and The Earth Summit Page)
Ways to Volunteer
"It’ll Only Take
a Minute"
1. It is simple
to save a tree. Put your old phone book back into the paper production
chain.
2. Urge neighbors
to participate in the Neighborhood Pride beautification program, by keeping
yards clean and beautiful.
3. Return an abandoned
shopping cart. It is illegal to take a cart from a store parking lot and
expensive to have them retrieved. Stray carts are blight in streets and
yards.
4. Prevent limited
drainage and flooding; report an obstructed catch basin to the Public Works
Department.
5. Recycle used
motor oil.
6. Properly dispose
of your household hazardous wastes such as pesticides, cleaning products,
solvents, and automotive batteries.
7. Donate blood.
8. Stop vandalism
in action.
"Make It a Regular Event"
1. Protect your
home, start a Neighborhood Watch Program.
2. Be a VIP (Volunteer
in Policing). Work with the Police Department in activities such as school
crossing guard, child fingerprinting, emergency traffic and crowd control,
language translation, and vacation home checks.
3. Help neighborhoods
be free of cars parked in yards, excessive garage sales, accumulations
of trash, overgrown weeds and unauthorized business activities.
4. Adopt a park.
As an individual, group or business you can donate labor, materials and
funds to maintain a local park.
5. Adopt a tree.
For $55, the City will plant a tree in the parkway areas in front of your
home, if you will water it and assist in monitoring its care.
6. Coach, referee,
or provide general support for youth sports.
7. Prevent a fire.
Conduct fire prevention inspections and serve as general support for the
Fire Department.
8. Participate
in the City’s decision-making process. Apply for appointment to a City
Council advisory group: Administrative Board of Appeals, Neighborhood Improvement
and
Conservation Commission,
Parking and Main Street Commission, Planning Commission, Traffic Committee,
and Water Committee.
9. If you are
14 to 20 years old and interested in a law enforcement career, sign up
to be a Police Explorer, an extension of the Boy Scouts of America.
10. Provide both "hands
on" service and financial support as a member of a community service organization.
11. Be a Girl Scout
Leader or help coordinate one-time events.
12. Become involved
in the assistance programs coordinated by your local church.
13. Be a Boy Scout Leader.
14. Make a difference
for a child from a single-parent home. Spend 3 to 6 hours a week in the
Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
15. Be an American Red
Cross volunteer in disaster services, health and safety, public affairs
or youth services.
FUNDRAISING
Fundraising
in your community
from Rethink
Here are some ideas
for how to raise some money for Rethink!
Get sponsored to do
something for 24 hours, such as playing darts or snooker, or get a hairdresser
to do a 24 hour demonstration in a shop window.
Get sponsored to do
something silly or extraordinary. Get sponsored to stop smoking,
nail biting, go on a diet etc...
Offer your services
for a fee. For example, babysitting, washing windows or cars, gardening,
ironing, walking a dog etc...
If you are an expert
in a particular field, organise a lecture or a slide show and charge for
your presentation.
Auction promises to
friends or to your family, e.g. Promise that you will do the washing up
every night for a month...
Organise a party at
home. It could be a barbecue, a dinner party, a pot luck supper (everyone
brings a dish), a black tie party, a garden open day, a garden party, a
story telling evening, a children's party, a Halloween party or a 70's
party and charge people to attend. You can add games, a raffle or a tombola
to make it even more fun and raise more money.
Organise a wine and/or
cheese tasting evening or hold a tea party or coffee morning.
Organise a murder mystery
evening, buy one of the games from a toy shop, then charge your friends
to attend. You might want to decorate the room to create an atmosphere...
Hold a 'bring and buy'
sale or host a sale in your home. You can sell donated goods.
Make cakes, jams, toys
or anything else yourself and sell them in your home or at a fair.
Organise a concert,
a disco, a ball, a barn dance, a salsa night, a medieval banquet, an international
evening or a carnival.
Organise a karaoke or
a quiz night in your local pub. Hold a tombola or a raffle.
Organise a contest:
a bulb growing contest, a dance contest, darts, bridge or chess competition,
a fishing tournament or a talent contest.
Organise a football
(etc...) match. You can turn it into a fancy dress match — charge those
who dress up £1, and those who won't £2.
Organise a sponsored
walk. Make it attractive by choosing a special place e.g. the Thames Valley
or the Malvern Hills. It could also be a historical walk. Try to make it
as fun and attractive as possible so that more people want to take part.
Organise a car wash,
a treasure hunt or a wacky race: pram race, lawn mower race, supermarket
trolley race, the list is endless...
Hold an arts & crafts
sale, an art or photo exhibition, a fashion show or an auction.
Organise or take part
in a car boot sale, jumble sale, garage sale, hat sale, plant sale, flower
show, fruit and vegetable market (home grown), antique fair. Get your neighbours
and friends to donate things they don't need anymore.
Organise a sponsored
bike ride in your local park or a balloon race, ten pin bowling, rally.
Carol singing, fireworks,
pantomime.
Organise a street collection
or house to house collection (some collections require permission, please
check first by contacting the fundraising department - see contact details
below).
LINKS
FOR VOLUNTEERING AND FUNDRAISING CHARITIES
SERVEnet
- http://www.servenet.org/
Every day, brings thousands
of volunteers and community organizations together online.
Idealist
- Action without Borders - http://www.idealist.org/
Idealist is "global
clearinghouse of nonprofit and volunteering resources", offering a directory
of volunteer opportunities and other resources.
2001
- International Year of Volunteers - http://www.iyv2001.org/
The primary source
for information on the International Year of the Volunteer. Visitors are
also encouraged to offers their own ideas and suggestions.
The
United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) - http://www.unites.org/
Aims at creating a
worldwide program for information technology volunteers.
Virtual
Volunteering Project - http://www.serviceleader.org
Encourages and assists
in the development of online volunteering opportunities/experiences, and
helps service leaders use the Internet in the management of all volunteers.
Dept.
of State, International Information Programs - http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/volunteer/
Volunteerism in the
United States.
Volunteer
Ministers - http://www.volunteerministers.org/
Profiles group that
has assisted in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods, fires and explosions,
helping disaster relief efforts world wide.
National
Centre for Volunteering - http://www.volunteering.org.uk/
Information and advice
for those who manage volunteers and for people considering doing voluntary
work.
Kids
Care Clubs - http://www.kidscare.org
Kids working together
to help others in their communities and world. Youth community service
projects for kids, schools, churches, synagogues and community centers.
Advice
for Volunteers - http://www.serviceleader.org/advice/
Deciding to volunteer,
finding the right opportunity and having a positive experience are covered
in this comprehensive site.
@grass-roots.org
- http://www.grass-roots.org/
At Grass-roots.org
tells the stories of the most innovative grassroots organizations, in the
U.S. and around the world, that are changing their communities by building
individual self-reliance.
FamilyCares
- http://www.familycares.org/
Ideas for families
who want to volunteer together in their community. Step-by-step kid-friendly
projects, activities for children, hints for parents about teaching compassion,
expert interviews, profiles of caring families.
Institute
for Volunteering Research - http://www.ivr.org.uk
The Institute aims
to develop knowledge and understanding of volunteering. The site contains
summaries of recent research and information on the journal, Voluntary
Action.
Volunteers
Week - http://www.volunteersweek.org.uk
The UK's annual celebration
of volunteering. An opportunity for organisations to recognise reward and
recruit volunteers.
FavorsUnlimited.com
- http://www.favorsunlimited.com
A community based web
site designed to help people help others.
Volunteerism
- Suite101 - http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/volunteerism
Includes pertinent
links and discussions as well as biweekly articles on volunteerism.
Community
Services Council - Newfoundland and Labrador - http://www.csc.nf.net/
A social development,
research, planning and service organization, dedicated to citizen engagement
and the promotion of volunteerism.
Volunteer
Sales - http://www.volunteersales.com
Recognition catalog
filled with thank you gifts for volunteers.
Team
Discovery - http://www.team-discovery.com/
Volunteer your PC to
help process molecular research. The research will be used to create new
drugs to fight cancer. Includes news, team statistics and files.
Volunteer
Today! - http://www.bmi.net/mba/
Monthly web-zine by
nationally-known trainer and consultant, Nancy Macduff of Macduff-Bunt
Associates. Regular sections include News, Recruitment and Retention, Training,
and Links You'll Love. MBA also provides an online catalogue of their books.
National
Association of Volunteer Bureau - http://www.navb.org.uk/
With information on
where to volunteer, how to find local Volunteer Bureau's and other volunteering
information. UK.
On
Site Volunteer Services - http://www.osvs.org
A student managed community
service agency.
Single
Volunteers - National Website - http://singlevolunteers.org/
A way for single folks
to meet other singles and volunteer their talents to worthy organizations.
eVolunteer.co.uk
- http://www.evolunteer.co.uk
This site allows charities
and voluntary organisations to advertise for volunteers. It is free, secure
and easy to use.
IAL
- http://www.algonet.se/~ial/
The Swedish branch
of Service Civil International (SCI).
International
Volunteers for Peace - http://www.ivp.org.au/
IVP is the Australian
contact for Service Civil International (SCI), a world wide organisation
promoting peace and justice through voluntary work.
Virtual
Lady's Aide Society - http://www.virtuallady.net
An online community
service coalition promoting computer literacy, camaraderie and good works.
Volunteer
Centre Tameside - http://www.tamesidevb.care4free.net/
Offering 100s of voluntary
opportunities in the Tameside area. England.
Extend
Your Hand - http://www.extendyourhand.com
Devoted to helping
volunteers to strive to make the world a better place through their volunteering.
Voluntaria
- http://www.voluntaria.com
Points at ways you
can use time online to help voluntary organizations.
Revolutionary
Compassion - http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~millerg/csmart.html
A quiet revolution
- a revolution of compassion - is taking place on college campuses across
the country. At Lafayette College, more than 700 of our 2,000 students
are active in 25 programs of sustained voluntary service. In 1975, there
were only two community service programs here.
Volunteers
for Development Association - http://muisne.org
Helps NGO's looking
for volunteers with programs in developing countries such as Ecuador.
Peace
Corps - http://www.peacecorps.gov/indexf.cfm
Information site for
anyone with an interest in the Peace Corps.
Impact
Online - http://www.impactonline.org/
Helping people get
involved in their community - information about volunteering and database
of opportunities.
Kiwanis
Club of Oroville - http://oroville.net/kiwanis
Includes a needy children
project, scholarships, hooked on fishing and a sheltered workshop.
Hearts
and Minds Network - http://www.change.net
Portal to over 300
volunteering, self-help and inspiration resources, USA & worldwide.
Addresses poverty, the environment, democracy, human rights, addictions
and other important issues.
EMAIL
ACTIVIST LINKS
(These will be links
to find out how to be an email activist, I'm not going to put actual email
addresses because it would take way too long.)
The
Email Activist
Email
Activism
The
Role of Email Activist
Volunteer
Activism Via the Internet
Electronic
Activist
Progressive
Secretary
Web
Activism
Send
E-Mail to Congress and Editors with Just One Click
ACTIVIST
FORUMS
Sierra
Activist Forums
Conservative
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GO HOME!
Email Me - krobarts@lightspeed.ca
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