Volunteer Opportunities for Every Interest Area

No matter what your thing, volunteering doesn’t have to be boring or feel like work. It can also be empowering and fun. Our friends at DoSomething.org know that there are plenty of ways to use your talents and interests as a way to give back while expanding your horizons, networks, and experiences, building your resume, and having a good time. Below you’ll find 11 ways to volunteer while still having fun to give you an idea of the kinds of opportunities out there. You may find you haven’t even considered these ideas yet, and that the range of interest areas you’re able to find volunteer work in is even broader than you thought.

• Lead after-school programs in middle or elementary schools in your community. You could play board games with the kids, teach workshops in skills that aren’t offered at that school, or help out with a club that already exists.
• Help out the millions of homeless pets out there by working at a shelter. If you want more time with the animals, think about becoming a dog walker or pet sitter. Lots of people need these services, and the fact that you’ll be volunteering will only place you in higher demand.
• Provide a helping hand at a hospital. Volunteers there provide what doctors or nurses often don’t have time to provide—comfort. You can make patients feel better when you bring gifts, food, or just conversation to their rooms.
• Start or join up with a collection drive. Lots of schools are constantly running drives for organizations, including local food banks and charities gathering donations for the poor and homeless. Add a helping hand by getting the word out or collecting goods yourself.
• Go green by starting a club that plants trees, cleans up parks, tends to a recent natural disaster, or promotes an environmental cause that you feel is important. There is no shortage of green causes out there for you to explore.
• Coach a youth sports league. If you’re already on a sports team, gather up your teammates and find a program that you could help out with. If you’re unaffiliated, pick up the phone and find youth teams and organizations in your community.
• Help out at a soup kitchen, where the homeless and hungry get free hot meals thanks to volunteers like you. Soup kitchens are busiest around the holidays, but help is needed year-round.
• Put your knitting and crocheting skills to use and show soldiers far away from home you’re grateful for their service. A number of groups collect handmade scarves and blankets to provide comfort, warmth, and protection from wind and sand to those overseas.
• Start a neighborhood assistance program. You and a few friends can help babysit, mow lawns, shovel snow, and do other odd jobs for elderly neighbors or others in the community who may need help but be unable to afford it.
• Become a tutor or start a peer mentoring program at your school. You don’t need to be a straight-A student to help a student struggling academically, and you certainly don’t need a stellar GPA to work to provide those students with a mentor.
• Take your school band/chorus/orchestra on a local tour. Play at the local senior home, police department event, or charity benefit to share your talent and offer an organization the opportunity to liven up their local community.

Like what you see? For more volunteer ideas specific to your interests, visit DoSomething.org. There are opportunities out there for you no matter what your thing that will not only help you feel better about yourself and better your community, but will be fun to pursue as well.