Volunteering from Home
May 7, 2020
Like me, I know many Sertomans are wanting to help people in this challenging time. We want to be of SERVICE TO MANKIND but are stuck in our houses. It can be difficult to find ways to help people while maintaining social distance. The wonderful news is there are many ways to help people around the country and around the world, without leaving our house.
I have found twenty-nine different places with very diverse volunteer opportunities, that you as an individual or as a club can volunteer and make a difference. There are sites that you can help a student make sound career decisions, comfort a cancer patient going through chemotherapy, or send a care package to a member of our armed forces. If you are more into books, you can edit eBooks, or transcribe a piece of history. If science is more your thing, help map our galaxy, map birds in your area, or help Harvard searchers. There is someplace to volunteer for just about any interest or skill level.
Use the list below to make a difference during this challenging time!
| 7Cups | Be an online support person |
| Amnesty Decoders | Use your computer to help our researchers sift through photos, information, and documents |
| App to Succeed | Develop video games to help teach youth in need how to make good financial decisions |
| Ark of Hope for Children | Help people victimized as children by human trafficking, child abuse, and bullying |
| Be My Eyes | A free app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers for visual assistance through a live video call |
| Binky Patrol | Sew emotional support blankets |
| BookShare.org | Contribute your skills and passions to help people with print disabilities read |
| Career Village | Help students make informed career choices |
| Catchafire | A website that matches professionals with nonprofits needing their assistance |
| Chemo Angels | Send a card, letter, or note once a week for someone undergoing chemotherapy |
| Crises Text Line | After training, you will be able to answer texts from people in crises |
| Cyclone Center | Look at satellite images of storms and help researchers predict cyclone behavior |
| eBird | Track the bird populations in your area |
| Granny Cloud | Provide learning and encouragement to children around the world |
| Hearing Aid Project | Do a hearing aid drive or personal fundraiser to help low income people get hearing aids |
| LibriVox | Record audiobooks for the visually impaired |
| National Park Service | Test, evaluate, and develop elements of the National Park Service’s online presence |
| Points of Light | A volunteer clearing house that offers many different volunteer opportunities |
| Project Gutenberg | Proofread eBooks |
| Project Implicit | Help Harvard researchers learn the best ways to break down stereotypes by taking tests |
| Right Here at Home | Train others in technology to help overcome poverty |
| Smithsonian Digital Volunteer Program | Transcribe historical documents |
| Soldiers Angels Treats for Troops | Send well-deserved treats for troops |
| Talking Masks | Help make masks, with clear panels, so deaf and hard of hearing can read lips |
| Translators Without Borders | Use that second language you know to help the world communicate better |
| United Nations Volunteers | Has many volunteer opportunities to help create peace around the world |
| VocaliD | A human Voicebank celebrates the diversity and power of voice |
| Warm Up America | Crochet or knit afghan squares that will help build blankets |
| Zooniverse | Identify wildlife, map our galaxy, or assist researchers in many other ways |