More and more, Americans see the suffering online and in the news and want to do their part to help. Fortunately, with today’s technology, virtual volunteering is an actual cause you can be a part of to help those in need.
There are major groups like the Red Cross who have opportunities listed on their site, and they don’t require you to help in-person. Fundraising campaigns will always need call centers to reach out to community members so they can ask for donations, teams will always need a project manager to help delegate responsibilities, IT professionals will always be in demand to volunteer their services, not to mention a number of other supportive and managerial roles to play. In addition, there are always email marketing campaigns to help support or marketing materials to create and distribute.
The UNV online volunteering service is the United Nations portal for virtual volunteering. Sustainable development challenges all over the world are tackled from any electronic device by a consortium of users and corporations alike. The power comes from individuals joining forces with organizations with the same motivation – to make this world a better place. The partners who are eligible for volunteering for this initiative include governmental or other public institutions, UN entities, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
If you have transcription skills, the Smithsonian Institution is looking for transcribers of historical documents to add to their Smithsonian digital volunteer team. In addition, there is a Smithsonian Institution WikiProject that is always in search of helpers to increase the wealth of knowledge that is yet to be shared with the world. You can also help non-native language speakers improve their skills by being an online teacher through organizations like VIPKID or TeachAway.
If you want to help on a more personal level, sharing your own story of struggle and recovery can motivate an untold number of people. Many forums exist for people to share their personal journeys, with the purpose of helping someone else who may be in a similar situation.
Social Media has other options for digitally connecting with others. Reddit, Facebook, and Vocal are just a small handful of social media portals into the minds and hearts of others, and it’s possible to inspire people you will never meet, just by sharing your own hardships.