Volunteering in NYC
December 21, 2013 7:48 PM
I'd like to possibly do some volunteering. Specific requirements inside.
Hello. I'd like to possibly do some volunteering if there's a good fit for me out there.
Here are my requirements:
1. I like things that are genuinely needed and useful. Right now my primary community service is donating blood regularly. I like it because it fulfills a concrete need, and it really matters. (There's no substitute for human blood and without donors people would die.) When I donate, there are often other volunteers there working the canteen. It's nice when they're there, but if they're not, it's no big deal - I just get my own cookies and juice. "Nice but not necessary" is not the type of volunteering I am looking for.
2. In NYC. I might consider a special short trip on the East Coast, but certainly none of those international trips where you go away for three weeks and shell out a couple grand to volunteer.
3. No on-going administrative, office-type work. I feel like this takes away paid work from people who need it.
4. I would like to meet other interesting people my age (early 30s).
5. I prefer causes that are as inclusive as they can be. (Inclusion is limited by the type of population served, of course.) For example, I'd rather work a soup kitchen open to all than a food bank that has eligibility requirements and thus turns some people away.
6. My social skills are medium. I can talk to strangers, but I don't think I have the finesse to handle very difficult populations.
Any ideas? Thanks.
Hello. I'd like to possibly do some volunteering if there's a good fit for me out there.
Here are my requirements:
1. I like things that are genuinely needed and useful. Right now my primary community service is donating blood regularly. I like it because it fulfills a concrete need, and it really matters. (There's no substitute for human blood and without donors people would die.) When I donate, there are often other volunteers there working the canteen. It's nice when they're there, but if they're not, it's no big deal - I just get my own cookies and juice. "Nice but not necessary" is not the type of volunteering I am looking for.
2. In NYC. I might consider a special short trip on the East Coast, but certainly none of those international trips where you go away for three weeks and shell out a couple grand to volunteer.
3. No on-going administrative, office-type work. I feel like this takes away paid work from people who need it.
4. I would like to meet other interesting people my age (early 30s).
5. I prefer causes that are as inclusive as they can be. (Inclusion is limited by the type of population served, of course.) For example, I'd rather work a soup kitchen open to all than a food bank that has eligibility requirements and thus turns some people away.
6. My social skills are medium. I can talk to strangers, but I don't think I have the finesse to handle very difficult populations.
Any ideas? Thanks.
Are you looking for something regular/ongoing? What days and times are you free?
posted by the twistinside at 7:56 PM on December 21, 2013
posted by the twistinside at 7:56 PM on December 21, 2013
Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific - I'm looking for suggestions of specific organizations or types of activites that are worthwhile. The problem with big databases like New York Cares is that I have no way to evaluate the opportunities.
Something regular/ongoing would be good if no more than a few hours a week/month and there would be no dire consequences if I had to miss. Once in a while things would be good too.
I work a standard 9-5, M-F job.
posted by unannihilated at 8:01 PM on December 21, 2013
Something regular/ongoing would be good if no more than a few hours a week/month and there would be no dire consequences if I had to miss. Once in a while things would be good too.
I work a standard 9-5, M-F job.
posted by unannihilated at 8:01 PM on December 21, 2013
If you haven't already, I recommend checking Idealist.org. I have similar requirements for volunteering, and have found several great opportunities on Idealist. I'm in DC so don't have NYC-specific recs.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:02 PM on December 21, 2013
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:02 PM on December 21, 2013
Idealist is a great resource for this.
I volunteered at the Housing Works bookshop for a while, and it was pretty great. I don't know that the specific gig of staffing a bookshop is "necessary", but the shops accept donations which are sold to make money for the Housing Works organization, which works to help HIV-positive homeless people. So your shift in the store helps homeless people get homes, pays the medical bills of indigent people who are HIV-positive, and also funds various other initiatives on the issues of both homelessness and HIV.
It's a pretty easy way to translate basic regular person skills into help for people who need it. There may also be other volunteer opportunities with Housing Works that are more hands-on with their mission. Working in their shops is a great way to meet interesting people, and realistically speaking it doesn't take paid jobs away from others.
posted by Sara C. at 8:18 PM on December 21, 2013
I volunteered at the Housing Works bookshop for a while, and it was pretty great. I don't know that the specific gig of staffing a bookshop is "necessary", but the shops accept donations which are sold to make money for the Housing Works organization, which works to help HIV-positive homeless people. So your shift in the store helps homeless people get homes, pays the medical bills of indigent people who are HIV-positive, and also funds various other initiatives on the issues of both homelessness and HIV.
It's a pretty easy way to translate basic regular person skills into help for people who need it. There may also be other volunteer opportunities with Housing Works that are more hands-on with their mission. Working in their shops is a great way to meet interesting people, and realistically speaking it doesn't take paid jobs away from others.
posted by Sara C. at 8:18 PM on December 21, 2013
Your question makes your interests sound human-specific but have you considered your local humane society? One of my best volunteer gigs was walking dogs at our local society. I went in Sunday mornings and walked/played with dogs before they opened for adoptions. The goal was to get the pups exercised and calmed down a bit before people came in to meet them so they'd be on their best possible behavior. And, at least on our humane society's website, I could look the next day to see if any of the dogs I'd walked had been adopted. It was cool to see that I might have helped re-home some of those pups. And that helped mitigate the "OMG I want to take them all home!" feeling.
Their contact page is here.
posted by Beti at 12:37 AM on December 22, 2013
Their contact page is here.
posted by Beti at 12:37 AM on December 22, 2013
One situation that worked very well for me was volunteering at the NYCACC. This is essentially the pound, and it is a kill shelter, but if you are an animal person and you want to be truly needed, I can't think of any shelter animals that need human interaction more.
One of the reasons it worked so well for me is that after an initial orientation, they were very flexible with scheduling, so much so that there really wasn't any scheduling, you just went in whenever you had time. They would make suggestions as to the best time to be there as there was a dearth of people volunteering certain shifts, but they were pretty desperate for volunteers whenever they would show up.
You can also interact as much or as little with people as you like. I would on occasion talk to prospective adoptees, but mostly I just exercised the dogs and gave the other animals attention and tried to relax them.
It is not for the soft hearted, as an animal you may have bonded with one day might not be there the next, and you know that chances are it did not get adopted, but I did feel as if I gave at least a little comfort. There is also a huge benefit in getting to know an animal slightly (they aren't there long) but well enough to understand it's general character traits and be able to have a conversation with potential adoptive parents about the dogs (I'm a dog person so that was my main focus). I facilitated several adoptions like this while I volunteered.
There are people of all age ranges volunteering, and generally speaking an overall positive and very worthwhile experience.
posted by newpotato at 6:01 AM on December 22, 2013
One of the reasons it worked so well for me is that after an initial orientation, they were very flexible with scheduling, so much so that there really wasn't any scheduling, you just went in whenever you had time. They would make suggestions as to the best time to be there as there was a dearth of people volunteering certain shifts, but they were pretty desperate for volunteers whenever they would show up.
You can also interact as much or as little with people as you like. I would on occasion talk to prospective adoptees, but mostly I just exercised the dogs and gave the other animals attention and tried to relax them.
It is not for the soft hearted, as an animal you may have bonded with one day might not be there the next, and you know that chances are it did not get adopted, but I did feel as if I gave at least a little comfort. There is also a huge benefit in getting to know an animal slightly (they aren't there long) but well enough to understand it's general character traits and be able to have a conversation with potential adoptive parents about the dogs (I'm a dog person so that was my main focus). I facilitated several adoptions like this while I volunteered.
There are people of all age ranges volunteering, and generally speaking an overall positive and very worthwhile experience.
posted by newpotato at 6:01 AM on December 22, 2013
I have volunteered with Everybody Wins and am thinking of signing up again now.
It is a program where you read with a public school child at lunch to help him or her with literacy skills. It is important to really commit to programs that involve seeing a child regularly, so I would only recommend it if you can be sure to follow through. I have found it very rewarding to have a relationship with the mentee and the program pairs you with a school close to your workplace so you can pop over during lunch.
posted by rmless at 8:37 AM on December 22, 2013
It is a program where you read with a public school child at lunch to help him or her with literacy skills. It is important to really commit to programs that involve seeing a child regularly, so I would only recommend it if you can be sure to follow through. I have found it very rewarding to have a relationship with the mentee and the program pairs you with a school close to your workplace so you can pop over during lunch.
posted by rmless at 8:37 AM on December 22, 2013
New York City Inner City Outings
If you like the outdoor, this is a great organization. It is a community-based volunteer organization within Sierra Club with the believe that the outdoor needs to be accessible to everyone, even those without resources and know-how can benefit greatly with a few hours spend outdoors. You will be helping your local community.
If you are an environmentalist it's a great way to spread your passion to the younger generation. The thing is to awaken the younger generation of the great environmental challenges they will face in the future is to make them appreciate and participant in nature. It's the only way for them to make a connection. Connection requires participation.
If you are not outdoorsy or adventurous but have always wanted to learn, it is a hands-on organization that everyone is learning by doing. And you will be learning along the way with the kids. At the same time, it provides you an opportunity to explore the natural area you reside.
You can pick and choose the age group you spend your time with or/and pick and choose what type of outings you volunteer on.
posted by gloturtle at 10:54 AM on December 23, 2013
If you like the outdoor, this is a great organization. It is a community-based volunteer organization within Sierra Club with the believe that the outdoor needs to be accessible to everyone, even those without resources and know-how can benefit greatly with a few hours spend outdoors. You will be helping your local community.
If you are an environmentalist it's a great way to spread your passion to the younger generation. The thing is to awaken the younger generation of the great environmental challenges they will face in the future is to make them appreciate and participant in nature. It's the only way for them to make a connection. Connection requires participation.
If you are not outdoorsy or adventurous but have always wanted to learn, it is a hands-on organization that everyone is learning by doing. And you will be learning along the way with the kids. At the same time, it provides you an opportunity to explore the natural area you reside.
You can pick and choose the age group you spend your time with or/and pick and choose what type of outings you volunteer on.
posted by gloturtle at 10:54 AM on December 23, 2013
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posted by NYC-BB at 7:55 PM on December 21, 2013