5 Easy and Meaningful Ways to Volunteer

Personal recommendations to get you started.

It can take time to find the right volunteer opportunity. Here is short list of a variety of meaningful opportunities to help you dive in. You are needed! Give your time and expertise and you may gain something along the way.

1. Use your skills on a consulting project for an organization with a social mission.

I recently worked on a consulting project through Net Impact Service Corps. I learned about a new organization, utilized my skills and met the great people on my team.

Net Impact Service Corps provides an opportunity for students and professionals to use their business skills to help local nonprofits or businesses. Volunteers engage in short-term, part-time consulting projects that include marketing, business planning and operations, strategic planning and other needs.

If you’re interested in an individual project, Catchafire matches professionally-skilled volunteers with nonprofits and social enterprises.

2. Become a mentor.

I am an alumna of Oliver Scholars, which prepares high-achieving Black and Latino students from underserved New York City communities for success at top independent schools and prestigious colleges.

The mentor program helps scholars entering ninth grade to become more fluent in the unwritten, unspoken practices and habits that are often unknown, but that are critical to educational, career, and life success. These include interpersonal skills, relationship management, self-awareness, and self-management.

America Needs You (ANY) fights for economic mobility for ambitious, first-generation college students by providing transformative mentorship and intensive career development. Mentor or become a mentor or career coach to support this mission.

3. Serve on a board.

Join the Young Leadership Board at America Needs You if you are interested in leveraging your social and professional networks to support economic mobility for ambitious, first-generation college students.

Members commit to a two-year membership term and work collaboratively to fundraise, recruit new students and volunteers, help secure corporate partnerships and provide strategic support.

Get your employer paired up with Cariclub if you are interested in finding a potential associate board opportunity where you can help raise funds and plan events to support a nonprofit organization.

I am on the Junior Board of Oliver Scholars. Contact me if you are interested in supporting us in the mission of preparing high-achieving Black and Latino students from underserved New York City communities for success at top independent schools and prestigious colleges.

4. Adopt a school or business in a disaster affected area.

This entails working with the school or business to help in whatever their expressed needs are. This could be sharing information, expertise or fundraising to help them get back up and running in more sustainable ways.

In one of my previous posts, I highlight Con Calma, a Puerto Rican small business that could use your support.

They might also be able to recommend another small business in Puerto Rico that could use your expertise.

If you work in education, consider partnering with an educational organization, or a school in Puerto Rico to provide support through fundraising or mutual aid. This can be a great learning opportunity for students on building a fundraising campaign, civic engagement and more. Contact me if you are looking for a potential school to adopt and want some help getting started.

5. Prefer more hands-on opportunities? Participate whenever you can with organizations like those mentioned below.

The Bowery Mission updates their calendar with individual or group volunteer opportunities.

Most Holy Redeemer runs a soup kitchen on Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM between November and April. They feed over 100 people each week and it is a great community to be a part of. This was one of my first regular volunteer activities and I am still involved from time to time today.

Get trained to volunteer during emergencies when you join your local Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT).