A huge part of the Citizen Scholar program is being an active and supportive community member, but the ways we normally did this are not all currently safe options. However, we know our students still want to give back and find joy from helping others at a time when so many people need a bit of extra support.
For that reason, we’ve made a list of some great virtual service opportunities that can all be done from the comfort of your dorm room, your apartment, or your home—wherever you are!
- Be My Eyes
- Be My Eyes is a free app that connects you, a sighted volunteer, with people who are blind or low-vision. You’ll video chat with them in real time to answer questions or help them navigate a new place. You can choose when you’re available for calls and the app handles the rest.
- Mozilla
- Do you know how to code? Mozilla is a non-profit organization aiming to make the internet more accessible and accommodating. You can contribute to the Mozilla codebase to fix the bugs that they’ve identified, and they’ve got projects for all kinds of coders (Java, HTML, C++, you name it).
- Don’t know how to code? Mozilla also uses translators for their support articles to make help accessible to everyone. If you speak a language other than English, this is a great project for you.
- These opportunities can give you great experience to bring up in an interview one day!
- Best Buddies
- If you are passionate about inclusion and disability representation, sign up to be an E-buddy! The best buddies program fosters relationships between volunteers and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. E-buddies send an email at least every other week, making life a little less lonely for both participants.
- It’s a very flexible, less-time consuming opportunity if you have a very full load this semester.
- Trevor Project
- The Trevor Project is committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ community by providing crisis communication. Although this opportunity requires a more extensive commitment, the impact is huge. After completing a 40-hour remote training, volunteers can serve either as a digital chat or phone crisis counselor.
- Both require a minimum one-year commitment. A digital chat crisis counselor requires one 3-hour shift per week, whereas the phone counselor requires two 4-hour shifts per month.
- Must be 18 or older to apply.
- Smithsonian Digital Volunteers
- The Smithsonian has many different areas for volunteers to contribute, whether you are interested in art and history or animals and the environment! One of the easiest ways to get involved is with the transcription center, where volunteers transcribe historical materials so that they are available digitally to the general public. Other opportunities include contributing content to Wikipedia or classifying photos of algae (with a guide!) to help track environmental changes.
- Requires little to no preliminary training depending on the project and no time obligations!
- Translators without Borders
- Many of our students are bilingual or studying a language, and for these students, this is a perfect opportunity! You must be fluent to apply, but this position is very important, allowing volunteers to translate medical text, crisis response documents, or other text.
- Also a great resume addition!
- United Nations Volunteers
- With nearly 100 different opportunities updated frequently, the UN shares important volunteer projects that appeal to students with a variety of skillsets, whether that is technology, design, writing and editing, or translation. Positions vary from 1-10 hours a week, but they require an application and may be competitive.
- Many opportunities that would strengthen a resume while making a difference.
- Instant Wild
- Passionate about animals, conservation, and the environment? You don’t have to have any experience or prior knowledge to participate in these projects that use everyday people to identify animals in photos taken by motion-activated cameras. Don’t worry, they give you all the resources you need to easily tag animals!
Didn’t find a project you like? Don’t worry! There are lots of other ways to get involved, including Volunteer Match, where you can filter through thousands of virtual opportunities to find the perfect project for you. We love to see our Citizen Scholars find the things they’re passionate about and go do something!