Are you looking to volunteer from home? I have long been a volunteer for the American Red Cross (ARC). As a retired Registered Nurse I wanted to offer a service where I could use my knowledge and skills as a nurse. I am not ready to give up my nursing license and with the ARC involvement I had a good reason to keep my license current. In the ARC there are so many different roles to play that almost anyone wanting to volunteer can find an opportunity here.
The hats I currently wear within the ARC are as a Disaster Response Team member where I respond to local disasters, most common are home fires where the individuals need some immediate assistance for shelter and basic needs. Then I also help with Health Services within shelters when they are needed. Here in California almost every year we set up shelters for large scale disasters such as when people are evacuated for fires, gas leaks, floods. The other two functions I have are Case Management, where I do follow up with the victims of disasters, and I am a Youth Adviser for the young people volunteering with the ARC.
But, there are many opportunities to volunteer from home within the ARC and others. Read On:
Want to Volunteer from Home?
But what about those people who want to volunteer from home? For some of us in our retirement years, we may not be physically able to go out and volunteer. Or maybe transportation is an issue. We still want to help even though we need to do so from our homes. Yes, it is still possible to volunteer from home. I have researched these nine opportunities to determine what their needs are at this time.
Check on Your Neighbors
For many of us, leaving home to help others may not be an option. Yet, we want to help, we need to help. Staying connected with our neighbors and family is essential to both their well-being and our own. Call or video-chat with those close to you, neighbors, and even people you have not connected with in a while. This doesn’t cost anything but your time!! Technology has made this even easier today. I am most familiar with Facebook, Zoom, Whatsapp, email, and the “Old Fashioned” telephone, and use them regularly.
Can you share a meal with a neighbor in need or one who lives alone? You could invite them over, if not possible, have the meal taken to them. This little gesture can be so uplifting. Or, if not a meal, how about a small treat such as cookies, muffins, or one of your family favorites?
Using the Internet to Connect & Volunteer Virtually:
I was truly amazed at the volunteer opportunities available. Many you can actually Volunteer from Home. It wasn’t until I was stuck at home during the “Stay at Home” mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking for opportunities that did not require me to leave the house that I started a search. Here are three that spiked my interest:
- Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens is an Internet collection of thousands of images located in the Smithsonian’s Collections Search Center. As a volunteer, you would accurately tag an image noting the types of plants in the picture, and the people, objects, structures, or other details you notice. By doing this, you help to make that picture more useful to the museum, libraries, and archive professional catalogers. Now, doesn’t that sound really cool?
- VocaliD: I REALLY love this one!!! Here you help to provide personalized voices to those with speech impediments or who cannot talk at all. By providing your voice, it becomes synthesized and people with a speech impediment can use a voice that fits them personally. Share your voice through VocaliD with this innovative voice technology to help others.
- Learning Ally. Another amazing find!! I had no idea these types of home volunteering opportunities were out there until I started to research them. I have a cousin who has limited sight and she listens to audiobooks all the time. However, many audiobooks are created with text-to-speech software that simply scans the text from computer files and then uses synthesized human voices to read the text aloud. In these computer-read texts, the illustrations or figures in the books are not described. Online volunteers type those figure descriptions into the text, enabling students to receive ALL book material, not just the text.
Donate Blood
OK, I know you have to leave home to donate blood. But I bet you don’t have to go far to find a donation center near you. Blood is LIFE-SAVING. There is NO substitute; if someone needs blood to save their life, they absolutely need your help. Did you know that less than 10{a231dbac2fc60cf90cd6a035f7decf859e34f530e8688eca6327032cebb5df9d} of those who can donate blood do so? There is ALWAYS a need for blood. Every day there are trauma victims who depend on that blood just as much as they need a good surgeon! Maybe you know of someone in your life who has benefited from blood donations from others.
The World Health Organization notes that “Blood is the most precious gift that anyone can give to another person – the gift of life” (who.int). Need to find a place near you to donate? Put in your location here to find a licensed blood donation center near you. Or to find an American Red Cross bloodmobile location, check here. Truly there are people you know and can encourage, to provide this gift of life to others.
Make a Donation
There are so many critical needs in our world, and you can probably find a charity needing support for many of those causes. How do you choose? Where do you put your resources to help others? Here are a few I have researched and you may find one that speaks to your heart:
- Feeding America is the largest U.S. hunger relief organization. Their network of food banks and meal programs serves nearly every community in our country. — 40 million people, which includes 12 million youths and 7 million seniors. They provide both food boxes and grants to local food banks in dire need of support. This organization continues to need our donations to help feed those who have lost their jobs and their livelihoods and those in disaster areas where food is scarce.
- Support for our military. There are many highly-rated charities for our military. But be careful of scams or poorly run organizations looking to take your money and give little, if anything, to our military families or veterans. Two of my favorite, and highly rated are the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Wounded Warriors Family Support. The Gary Sinise Foundation provides support for the wounded military and their family. In addition, this foundation provides support to those who sacrifice on our behalf: active duty, veterans, first responders, and their loved ones. . Check out the website for specifics and information on the great work that has been done.
The Wounded Warriors Family Support is an amazing organization whose mission is “to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. The families of our casualties suffer in many ways: some financially, some psychologically.” Your donations here help to support the programs in places such as caregiver respite, veterans job training, family retreats, and the Dunham House (a combat wounded care residence). - Help Save Animals. Many people want to help with animal rescues, spaying, health care, and feeding for pets. Again there are many different organizations dedicated to the wonderful creatures (domestic and wild). If this is your charity of choice, choose wisely. I suggest you first check out the organization’s mission statement, then dig deeper to learn how your donation is put to use. The choice of an animal charity is very personal for most, so it is hard for me to make any recommendations. So rather than select one or two for you, I found this excellent site, Charity Navigator, that lists many credible animal charities in three different categories: Animal Rights, Welfare, and Services, Wildlife Conservation, and Zoos and Aquariums. If any of these are your charity focus, this is a good site to see what is available.
Local mutual-aid network;
You may already know or even be involved in a Mutual Aid Network. A simple description of a Mutual Aid Network is “cooperation for the sake of the common good”. This is where people come together to meet each other social needs. It emphasizes solidarity instead of charity. You build trust and common interest with your neighbors. I think of a Neighborhood Watch as an example of a Mutual-Aid-Network. In your neighborhood who are the individuals who live alone, have mobility problems, or are a caregiver for another person in their home? From your home, you could organize your neighborhood to share this information so that in time of need you can help each other. Neighbors helping neighbors.
Your Mutual Aid Network can start out small; if you want to formalize it, check out this tutorial.
Take Care of Yourself
Why am I including this in my post on Volunteering from Home? Because, if you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot help others. Right? I call this Self-Care. Self Care is so important, not just in times of crisis, or in isolation such as during the “Stay-at-Home” when COVID-19 pandemic hit us, but also during times of calm and seemingly stress-free times. Here are some of the recommendations for Self-Care:
- Create some personal quiet time; read a book, listen to your favorite music without doing another activity at the same time
- Read a book to a small child
- Spend some 1:1 time with your pet
- Look through your photographs
- Take that long hot bubble bath…KEEP EVERYONE OUT!!!
- Call your best friend
- Meditate
- Furthermore…get a good night’s sleep, 7-8 hours is ideal
Crisis Counselor, Volunteer from Home
- The Crisis Text Line is a valuable, nonprofit, 24/7 crisis intervention service, staffed exclusively online. This service is provided to people in the United States who text in for support during times of stress. Volunteers go through a screening process and an extensive online self-paced learning program. Skills are developed in active listening, safety planning, and problem-solving. Once completed, the volunteers commit to taking at least 4 hours per week until they reach 200 hours. The Crisis Text Line asks that only those able to make that commitment apply. In addition, the training does not cost you anything but it does cost the Crisis Text Line about $1008 per person.
If you find this counselor role is a good fit for you, there are Crisis Text Line career opportunities for you after you complete your 200 hours commitment. - Crisis Connections is another online counseling site staffed by volunteers. This service has been in place for over 50 years and has an excellent reputation for helping people in need of emotional support. They have national recognition as a leader in suicide/crisis intervention and mental health. There are a variety of opportunities available to provide support to adults and children. There is a 24-hour hotline, where you would sign up for shifts that fit your schedule. They are particularly in need of weekday coverage. Veterans in need find emotional support through this connection also. Training is provided for these volunteer positions.
American Red Cross (ARC)
As I mentioned in my introduction, this is where I spend the majority of my volunteer time. Volunteers provide over 90{a231dbac2fc60cf90cd6a035f7decf859e34f530e8688eca6327032cebb5df9d} of the humanitarian work within the Red Cross. The ARC is always in need of virtual volunteers as well as front-line workers. Opportunities are many. Here are some I am aware of:
- Setting up Fundraisers
- Re-posting ARC social media content
- Monitor Internet discussions for disaster victims
- Share important disaster-related communications
Many Opportunities to Volunteer from Home
As shown above, the opportunities presented here are just a drop in the bucket of what is available. Now is as good a time as any to take stock and decide what you would like to do to improve our world. Meanwhile, it can be as simple as checking on an elderly person in your neighborhood to contributing to a cause that speaks to our hearts. In short, together, even while at home, we can make our world a better place to live….for today and the future.
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Updated 10/22/24