Volunteer Match
Once in a while, it's nice to see the Internet being put to a noble use. We have worlds of information available at the click of a button, but what cause are we serving if the only thing we ever bother looking up is who made the corsets in The Rocky Horror Picture Show? (Sue Blane's to blame.)
Not that this sort of information isn't important. But traditional do-gooders are out there. Take Volunteer Match. This organization is dedicated to connecting people to community opportunities all across the country. The Web site is well organized, easy to navigate and painstakingly maintained. They've received Webby Awards for service, and President Bush recently named them an organizing partner with the USA Freedom Corps Network.
Corny kudos and slightly sketchy hype aside, this concept actually works. For anyone who's familiar with job-search Web pages, the forms are a snap. Simply type in your zip code and Volunteer Match finds all the opportunities in your area. You can search by your preferred level of commitment (one time, occasional effort, regular gig) and the realm in which you'd like to work (health, environment, hunger, child advocacy, etc.). You can find volunteer opportunities for the whole family by clicking "Kid-Friendly," or fill those empty retirement hours by choosing "Senior-Friendly." Don't spend another wasted evening with your friends in front of the TV or trolling through Ybor City — simply search under "group activities" and up your karma level by about 50 points.
Regular volunteers build up "volunteer resumes" to send to the nonprofit and public sector organizations that have jobs posted on the list. You can even create a profile of your preferred options, and Volunteer Match will e-mail you with the latest potentials. Entire companies access the power of "Corporate Volunteer Match" to provide employees with community opportunities. Yes, that sounds scary, and it gets even creepier when you realize that one of these corporations is Philip Morris. But when you consider their huge debt to society, it's easy to understand why they want to give something — anything — back to the community. So don't delay, lest the cancer hounds get all the good spots on the soup kitchen line.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2002.