When I was in eighth grade my history teacher told the class that there is rodent hair in peanut butter. Though I was an addict, I didn’t take another bite of it until my sophomore year of college.
Today, my cousin Alyssa and I spent three hours cutting up a full size pig at DC Central Kitchen and I’m not sure the next time I’ll have another bite of pork or bacon. Maybe 2018? Nonetheless, it was definitely a worthwhile experience. If you’re interested, here are some national organizations that coordinate volunteers.
- OneBrick.org: With opportunities in San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, DC and Minneapolis, One Brick is a volunteer run group that emphasizes “commitment-free volunteering.” As they say, and I can attest to after today, “There’s no paperwork. No orientations. No hassles. Simply check out our event calendar for upcoming volunteer opportunities. When you see something you’re interested in joining, just RSVP online.”
- Volunteer Match: This site connects “good people” with “good causes” by relying on “the power of community, relationships and partnerships” and allowing volunteers, and those in need of volunteers, to search more than 50,000 opportunities by zip code and interest area.
- Points of Light & Hands on Network (aka the “care” networks): Two large volunteer networks merged to form the largest in the nation. With a mission to “inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world,” this group helps individuals “create real-time community solutions which drive systemic change.” They really are everywhere: local affiliates include Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Greater DC, Philadelphia, Asheville (NC), Atlanta, and the list goes on. Find the link to your local chapter here.
- Idealist.org: Probably better known for their “do gooder” job board, Idealist also lists more than 12,000 volunteer opportunities. The best part about this site is the detailed search which includes keyword, age range and skills needed.
