Virtual Volunteering Options
Here are digital volunteering sites with some very broad reach. Please note: as you explore these sites, please keep in mind that faculty emails only should be used in these sites. To minimize privacy risks, please do not provide personal information, including email addresses, of any students.
United Nations Volunteers (Find Opportunities/Find Volunteers)
https://www.onlinevolunteering.org/en
If you’re looking for options to serve a global workforce, UN Volunteers connects you with humanitarian and development organizations in need of skills like research, writing, art, and design. Opportunities from 1 hour per week and up, including 22 COVID-19 projects.
Amnesty Decoders
Operated by Amnesty International, this network of digital volunteers helps conduct research into global human rights violations. Volunteers have used their phones and computers to find evidence of drone strikes, and flag abusive tweets to women politicians.
Project Gutenberg
Do you have great writing skills? Project Gutenberg aims to create the largest digital library, and so far, they’ve amassed 59,000 free eBooks. Volunteer by donating eligible materials, transcribing books into a digital form, recording audiobooks, or proofreading others’ work. Current proof-reading titles include John Oakesmith’s "The Religion of Plutarch" and John Stoughton’s "Ecclesiastical History of England: Volume 1."
Translators Without Borders
https://translatorswithoutborders.org/volunteer
If you speak a second language consider this option to put your language skills to good use. Volunteers provide translations to international organizations that focus on crisis relief, health and education. It includes a link for translating COVID-19 information https://translatorswithoutborders.org/twb-tackles-covid-19-infodemic-ap…
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, but even they could use a little help sometimes. Help make their collections more accessible by volunteering online to transcribe historical documents, edit Wikipedia articles related to their artifacts, or improve our digital records for the United States National Herbarium.
Missingmaps.org
Many of the places where these disasters occur are literally 'missing' from any map and first responders lack the information to make valuable decisions regarding relief efforts. Missing Maps is an open, collaborative project in which you can help to map areas where humanitarian organisations are trying to meet the needs of vulnerable people.
Zooniverse
Zooniverse is a platform for people-powered research that literally wouldn’t be possible (or practical) without the help of online volunteers. Spend as much or as little time as you’d like identifying endangered animals, classifying galaxy systems, or transcribing Shakespearean manuscripts.
Crisis Text Line
https://www.crisistextline.org/become-a-volunteer
Volunteer to help the Crisis Text Line continue to offer free, 24/7 support for those in crisis. If you’re at least 18 and can commit to volunteering four hours each week, you can apply to be trained for free. This site is in the U.S. and came about through DoSomething.org
Be my eyes
A platform that allows volunteer helpers from around the world to “be the eyes” of someone visually impaired via live video chat.
Adapted from: Katherine V. Smith, ENGAGING EMPLOYEES THROUGH DIGITAL VOLUNTEERING, Fri Mar 20, 2020 Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship