Dear PoPville – Looking for Volunteer Opportunities

Photo by PoPville flickr user quemac

“Dear PoPville,

I have had a really hard time finding volunteer opportunities. I want to volunteer very much, but almost all of the sites I’ve found have restrictions that I can’t fulfill: they take place during the work day, they need certain qualifications, they require a commitment of five days a week, they’re located at places where people like me without a car cannot easily access, etc. One nonprofit I used to volunteer for has a waiting list for volunteers at the only site I have access to.

I’m sure issues like mine have arisen in different PoP venues, so if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them. But what I’d really love is to challenge the PoP community to come up with a site that allows you to select certain parameters– neighborhood, days available, type of volunteering– and then spit out opportunities. I don’t know if it’s possible to make a site like that, but it would be awesome. People like me wouldn’t give up so easily and think that there’s nowhere for us to volunteer.”