Charity Volunteering Ideas?

This might be something worthwhile to do in my free time.

Do you guys got any good ideas of what to volunteer for? Or how I even find a decent list of local charities?

Check the website of the county/ city where you live. They will have a section on volunteer opportunities; and a wide range of them at that.

Originally Posted by Razare

This might be something worthwhile to do in my free time.

Originally Posted by Razare

Do you guys got any good ideas of what to volunteer for? Or how I even find a decent list of local charities?

You could do community gardening, picking up trash, volunteering at an animal shelter, at an old folk's home, or with children. I've also done my co-op, which is kind of like volunteer work, at an art school.

I think you could volunteer potentially anywhere. At a newspaper, or in science departments... It depends on what your interests are, but if you're willing to work for free, people will happily take you on. Free workers means more money, and more gets done. It's a win-win for everyone, so the sky's pretty much the limit.

I'd suggest volunteering in an area where you'd see yourself working in the future.

You might find a few ideas on google or look in the phone book for charities that you'd be happy volunteering at ...

You can start either with your favorite causes OR a list of activities that you want to do. So if you are interested in helping out kids start there, Big Brother/Sister comes to mind and there are lots of tutoring and mentoring opportunities especially during the summer. Or, if you (for whatever reason) want to be handy and rehabilitate a building you can start there - Habitat for Humanity comes to mind and many organizations are always looking to revamp a school or abandoned building.

Also what may be important to you is how "non-profit" the actual group you are volunteering with is. Some volunteer opportunities are with huge, well funded national organizations, others are just a rag-tag bunch of locals who get together regularly. Some people prefer helping out the smallest, poorest organizations while others like big, well-organized endeavors.

How much time do you have for volunteering? Do you want to commit to a regular schedule or just lend a hand when you can? Do you want to help just with big efforts (like cleaning up a park) or even mundane tasks (like sorting mail).

Finally, ask yourself if you want to volunteer with a religiously-affiliated group or if that is not a concern for you.

Good luck. Hope you enjoy your volunteering :D

I enjoyed volunteering as a docent at a museum.

Great advice everyone, I'm still not sure what I want to do... I want to do something, but at the same time, I'm not very outgoing toward other people, and that's probably my biggest aversion to doing this.

Originally Posted by MaWhip

How much time do you have for volunteering? Do you want to commit to a regular schedule or just lend a hand when you can? Do you want to help just with big efforts (like cleaning up a park) or even mundane tasks (like sorting mail).

I'd probably need to figure out a regular schedule, or maybe focus on one-time events.

Originally Posted by Razare

Great advice everyone, I'm still not sure what I want to do... I want to do something, but at the same time, I'm not very outgoing toward other people, and that's probably my biggest aversion to doing this.

Don't worry! A lot of volunteering you are basically a cog in the machine - but in a personable way. :P You are told what station to stand at and what to hand out in food pantries, given driving directions for delivering meals, etc. The social interaction is all plugged in for you so it's not as intimidating if you are on the shyer side.

It's actually a great way to work on being more social/outgoing/comfortable in groups. Since everyone has a shared goal and your own task is so narrowly defined, and generally people are feeling good about themselves and what you're all doing together, it makes for unscary small talk, etc. The more social/outgoing positions are if you are a group leader, public speaking, etc. It's not a very different premise from meeting people over pool or at a sports game. You are all engaged in a shared activity so it's not as if you're staring deeply into a strangers eyes, grilling them on their life's story. :)

I think you will find you enjoy it. And if you don't, there are lots and lots of organizations and groups looking for volunteers.

I'm not doing it to be more outgoing. I'm not shy, I just don't like talking usually. :)

This might sound weird, but, I think going up to talk to strangers, and working at a regular job where you are perhaps underpaid, are very good volunteer opportunities.