Volunteering from Home

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Volunteering Resources

There are many ways in which you can volunteer that involve little or no travel.

If you like to read, there are a couple of organizations that are looking for volunteers. LibriVox is working on having volunteers read and record chapters of books in the public domain (no longer under copyright), and make them available for free on the Internet. There's also Project Gutenberg - have you heard of it? They were the first to produce FREE ebooks, and are currently working on an audiobook project.

Have you thought about volunteering on-line?

Perhaps you could tutor on-line...

Or do some e-mentoring...

Or prepare information for (or build) a website...

Or assist in registering an ageny's website with search engines and directories...

Or register the ageny's volunteering opportunities with sites that match volunteers with opportunities.

These are just a few examples. Click on Virtual Volunteering on the Find an Opportunity page for more ideas.

What about organizing a collection?

You could organize a collection of...

hygiene items to be donated to shelters or the Red Cross.

gently used books for hospitals or shelters

note cards and calendars (at year's end) for residents of assisted living facilities

baby items, such as new bottles, teethers, rattles and bibs for shelters

gently used books, especially large print or audiobooks, for assisted living facilities

gently used toys for hospitals or shelters

new toys to be donated to Toys for Tots or similar programs

paper products, plastic ware, etc for soup kitchens

non-perishables for food banks

gently used bedding for shelters

pet supplies for animal shelters

stuffed animals for fire departments (to be given to children who have been displaced from their homes)

If you're proficient in needlework or other crafts, you could...

make (sew) pillowcases for shelters

crochet, knit, or even quilt baby blankets for shelters

crochet or knit hats, mittens, or scarves for shelters

crochet or knit slippers for residents of shelters or assisted living facilities

crochet or knit lap blankets for seniors in assisted living facilities

crochet, knit, or otherwise make items to be donated for sales to benefit church programs, libraries, etc

or share your love of crafting by teaching someone else

If you have a question, please post a message on

the Volunteering Message Board at Parentsplace