William Penn Life, 2000 (35. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-02-01 / 2. szám
V olunteerMatch Makin IMPACT WHY IS IT THAT MILLIONS OF willing, potential volunteers, who would like nothing better than to help their community, sit at home while thousands of charitable organizations remain short of help? Much of the problem boils down to two considerations: skills and schedules. It's often difficult to match the skills of potential volunteers with the skills an organization needs. When a match is found, the problem is often one of scheduling: the volunteer either doesn't have the time or isn't available when needed. Bridging the Gap Now, an organization called VolunteerMatch is helping to bridge the gap between potential volunteers and charitable groups. Using the power of the internet, VolunteerMatch helps individuals nationwide find volunteer opportunities posted by local nonprofit and public sector organizations. VolunteerMatch's online database allows volunteers to search thousands of one-time and ongoing opportunities by zip code, category and date. Volunteers can sign up automatically by e-mail for those opportunities that fit their skills, interests and schedules. Organizations post their own opportunities, giving volunteers information about when and where they are needed and often providing detailed information about the work involved. As of the end of January, VolunteerMatch was posting nearly 2,000 volunteer opportunities, including walk-a-thons, beach cleanups, tutoring, home building, and meal deliveries. Virtual Volunteers Still, many people say they can't take advantage of such opportunities because they don't have the time. For those folks VolunteerMatch offers "Virtual Volunteering" opportunities. Virtual volunteering allows anyone to contribute their time and expertise without ever leaving their home or office. It eliminates the barriers which prevent good people from getting involved, such as work schedules, lack of transportation or disabilities. Even for someone not facing these challenges, it's a creative way to volunteer. Virtual volunteers can help organizations by performing such tasks as critiquing press releases, designing web sites, becoming a helpline telephone volunteer, or tutoring a child by e-mail, fax or phone. By posting opportunities for virtual volunteers, organizations can potentially recruit more volunteers and access volunteers' talents in new and different ways. This innovative approach to bringing volunteers and charitable organizations together was created by ImpactOnline. Founded in 1994, ImpactOnline develops public services on the world wide web. VolunteerMatch is its premier service. While VolunteerMatch lists volunteer opportunities coast-tocoast, most are found in the nation's largest cities. Teams of what the organizations calls "Frontline Fanatics" are working to launch VolunteerMatch in dozens of cities. Among those working in partnership with VolunteerMatch and increasing the number of volunteer opportunities available online are the American Red Cross, United Way, YMC A, Habitat for Humanity, Yahoo!, Excite, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. Charity Links Individuals can find volunteer opportunities to match their skills and schedules, and organizations can post opportunities they have available by logging onto: O www.volunteermatch.org If you’re interested in becoming a “virtual volunteer,” go to: 3 www.volunteermatch.org/virtual 6 Willi» Pm Lile, February 2000
