In the current pandemic environment, you may find yourself stressed, have time on your hands, or feel a bit directionless. Have you thought about doing some virtual volunteer work?
Helping others can have a very positive effect on your overall physical and mental health. As a virtual volunteer, you can help an organization remotely from the safety and comfort of your home.
There are currently many virtual volunteer opportunities in Handshake. You can also find virtual volunteer gigs in Idealist, Points of Light (the largest global volunteer network), HireCulture, or VolunteerMatch. If you’re in the Boston area, check out Boston Cares. Just set your search parameters for virtual opportunities!
Why Virtual Volunteer?
As with an internship or job, volunteering can help you build valuable skills and knowledge. Volunteer positions may last anywhere from a few hours a week to full-time, a one-day-gig or a longer-term commitment. Volunteering can help you make important connections to potential employers. Volunteer positions may be added to your resume. We find that potential employers consider volunteer work to be an important piece of your overall experience and development.
Virtual volunteering can increase self-confidence and feeling connected to the community as well! While your work will directly or indirectly benefit others, you will probably have a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Volunteering is also a great way to find out more about some of your interest areas. Some examples of where people volunteer include education, health care, the environment, political campaigns, non-profits and non-government organizations. Tasks will vary depending on the position, but they may include research, writing, editing, data science, and marketing. Many organizations have pivoted their ‘in-house’ volunteer opportunities to allow volunteers to do them virtually. Even if you find an opportunity that is ‘in-house’, we encourage you to speak with the organization to see if you can do some or all of the tasks remotely.
If you’d like to chat with a Career Counselor to help you find, navigate or convert a volunteer position to make it a virtual opportunity, please make an individual appointment in Handshake.
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