What is Virtual Volunteering - Zvi Feiner - Thrive Global

What better time to consider virtual volunteering than now? Many people are isolated in their homes as they wait out COVID-19. While some are working from home, others have nothing productive to do. However, there are still many who need help. So what can be done? It turns out this is an excellent time to reach out to those who are suffering.

It might be surprising to learn there are many opportunities to volunteer remotely. Organizations like the Smithsonian, Red Cross, and United Nations rely on virtual volunteers. Idealist.org is an excellent resource for identifying remote volunteer positions. They maintain a list of non-profits and the services and skills needed.

Volunteering can let people turn their hobbies into a chance to have fun while helping others. Some work requires education and specific skills. Other tasks are simple but are vital to a charity’s success. Many charities maintain an entry in Wikipedia and need someone to edit the pages and keep them current. They also need people to sort and respond to email. Most organizations reach out to those who are interested in their work by maintaining a presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, to name a few.

Research and writing can help a charity communicate with its supporters and clients. Almost every cause maintains a website. Designing graphics like logos and icons can be valuable. Professionals can provide expertise in law, finances, medicine, database or programming support, counseling, teaching, foreign language translation, or by serving on an advisory board or board of directors. Monitoring media coverage or, even, managing other volunteers can help a charity function more efficiently.

Spending some time doing research on the Internet will help people learn how to become a virtual volunteer. The Balance is a charity that explains how to find a place where people can share their talents. If there is a cause or specific charity that interests people, the charity will have challenges that will be able to be met by volunteers. For those who have no preference, there are websites that list organizations looking for volunteers, including volunteerMatch.org, idealist.org, catchafire.org, and serve.gov. All that is needed is a smartphone or a computer to get started.