No more slacktivism!
June 13, 2016 4:12 PM Subscribe
Looking for volunteer opportunities in Oakland, SF, and/or Berkeley
I'm going to be a full-time PhD student soon, and want to take advantage of having the flexibility a 40 hour work week + commute doesn't provide. That said, I'm aware that grad school is very time consuming, and many of my prior endeavors were at badly-run places that had no idea what to do with their volunteers. So! Does anyone know of awesome Bay Area organizations that could efficiently use a couple hours of my time per week?
I'd be particularly interested (and may have a few shreds of experience) in organizations with a focus on LGBTQIA+ issues, the Bay Area housing clusterfuck, HIV/AIDS, human rights issues here and abroad, and adult education. Would be open to other suggestions!
A car is probably going to be at my disposal, so there might be some supplies-delivery possibilities. I'm good with animals, but kids under 12 are a challenge. Mindless tasks and grunt work like addressing envelopes and lifting things would be totally cool. Generating written content is most always a pleasure. I don't have a law degree, a second language that's useful in California, amazing tech wizardry, or anything similarly practical.
While I'll certainly explore this issue through university channels, I'd like to find places that don't get as much attention from undergrads with a lot more energy than I have. Oakland would be best, but Berkeley and San Francisco are also good.
Thanks!
I'm going to be a full-time PhD student soon, and want to take advantage of having the flexibility a 40 hour work week + commute doesn't provide. That said, I'm aware that grad school is very time consuming, and many of my prior endeavors were at badly-run places that had no idea what to do with their volunteers. So! Does anyone know of awesome Bay Area organizations that could efficiently use a couple hours of my time per week?
I'd be particularly interested (and may have a few shreds of experience) in organizations with a focus on LGBTQIA+ issues, the Bay Area housing clusterfuck, HIV/AIDS, human rights issues here and abroad, and adult education. Would be open to other suggestions!
A car is probably going to be at my disposal, so there might be some supplies-delivery possibilities. I'm good with animals, but kids under 12 are a challenge. Mindless tasks and grunt work like addressing envelopes and lifting things would be totally cool. Generating written content is most always a pleasure. I don't have a law degree, a second language that's useful in California, amazing tech wizardry, or anything similarly practical.
While I'll certainly explore this issue through university channels, I'd like to find places that don't get as much attention from undergrads with a lot more energy than I have. Oakland would be best, but Berkeley and San Francisco are also good.
Thanks!
The Ella Baker Center For Human Rights in downtown Oakland does good work and is deeply rooted in the community.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 4:56 PM on June 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 4:56 PM on June 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'll give a plug to Reilly Center/W.O.M.A.N., Inc., if you are interested in domestic violence issues. The two organizations run an excellent, extensive domestic violence advocacy training program (40 hours of training is required to work with survivors of domestic violence in CA), which I recommend.
posted by reren at 5:19 PM on June 13, 2016
posted by reren at 5:19 PM on June 13, 2016
East Bay College Fund provides scholarships and matches low income college bound students from Oakland with mentors. They are always looking for mentors (4 year commitment, but only a few hours per month, plus 2 retreats per year). Disclosure: I'm a mentor for a Dreamer and first generation college student at Cal.
posted by ch3ch2oh at 9:36 PM on June 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ch3ch2oh at 9:36 PM on June 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks so much, everyone! I'll most definitely be looking into all of these!
posted by knuspermanatee at 12:03 PM on June 15, 2016
posted by knuspermanatee at 12:03 PM on June 15, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MonsieurBon at 4:21 PM on June 13, 2016 [1 favorite]