Top Non-Profit Careers

April 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You may have always pictured yourself as someone who wanted to help others, not just in a volunteer capacity but as your life’s work. For you, working in any of the top non-profit careers may be the answer.

You may have found your love for a certain charity or cause by doing volunteer work. You want to continue to give of your time, especially now that you’re out of high school, but you know it’s important to get a college education. You can do both if you earn a degree online.

Attending an online college means you have more flexibility in planning your course and class schedules. You can go to class in the morning and do your volunteer work in the afternoon. Or, if you’re at your best in the morning, you can volunteer in the morning and earn a degree online in the afternoon and at night.

You have almost as many options of how to earn a degree online as you do the types of degrees you can earn. You can find the one that will provide the education which will allow you to pursue your goal of working in one of the top non-profit careers.  Because you can choose when to attend college, you can devote your spare time to your education.

When you explain to those at the organization at which you volunteer that you are going to earn a degree online, you may be surprised at the encouragement you receive. You may find that they are more than willing to work around your class or course schedule.

Filed Under: Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Avoiding Jail With Community Service

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For misdemeanor offenses, those who commit crimes are sometimes sentenced to community service instead of going to jail. Jails are overcrowded as it is and most agree there is no sense in filling the walls with those who commit minor offenses. Still, people who are found guilty of crimes must be punished. Often time these punishments will include some combination of probation, fines, or community service. A judge must examine the case and decide how likely the offender is to be habitual, and hat the best punishment is to suit the crime. Some examples of the punishments include:

1.) Hours of unpaid work- The amount of community service a person is sentenced to has a lot to do with how much trouble they have been in in the past. For example, a judge is likely to be far more lenient on a first time offender then someone they have repeatedly told to clean up their act.

2.) Training- If a judge sees an opportunity for an offender to obtain job skills in addition to helping the community, that is most likely the path his sentencing will take. On the site job training could be as simple as learning to fix cars and at the same time, repairing cars of people in the community who can really use the help.

3.) Cleaning up: Whether it is the city park or the neighboring area of the local high school, it is likely there is litter to be picked up. A popular form of community service by criminals is to help remove trash from the area in order to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood.

Obey the judges sentence and be sure to learn from the experience.

Filed Under: Community, Society Tagged With: , ,

Benefits of Volunteering in Your Community

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most people want to be involved in volunteering but need a push to get going. The majority of us do mandatory volunteering at one time or another but as we enter adulthood, anything that isn’t paying a competitive wage tends to end up on the back burner. There are many benefits to volunteering people never even consider. While the focus tends to be on the job you will do and who will benefit, it doesn’t hurt to look at the ways it will help you as well. For instance, you can get your focus off of yourself.

Most of us lead busy lives and are so focused on our own issues that we don’t take time to consider those who are in a worse position than we are. Indeed. volunteering allows you to gain perspective into people who don’t have a place to live or who have substance addictions that negatively affect their lives. The perspective one gains by volunteering cannot be learned in  a book or classroom, but the face to face interactions will serve as a far more valuable learning tool.

Volunteering also allows you to develop leadership skills on your own time. Potential employers want to know that you have been tested and the right volunteering allows you to do just that. Take a challenging assignment and see it through regardless of what you have to do to achieve the goal. You will come out on the other side a wiser person.

Regardless of your reason for volunteering, there’s no denying the multi-faceted benefits. Personal growth and resume boosting are just two reasons to get out and volunteer.

Filed Under: Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Have More Family Time As Volunteers

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are many benefits to volunteering but perhaps none better than a chance to unite the family. Parents today are busy with careers, personal life and each other. It is easy to let a distance grow between the parents and children. This does not need to be the case however. Volunteering as a family teaches valuable life lessons and the best part is you are learning them together. Here are a few reasons to volunteer as a family.

1.) Sense of community- Feeling disconnected from your community is normal but not necessary. There are many projects that would just love to have an entire family involved and working together such as building homes for disadvanged people in the community.

2.) Sense of humility- Given the ease of life with technologies of today, it’s easy to see how kids lose perspective. Volunteering in the community for now pay and helping people who are not as well off as themselves have children to learn that some people really struggle and that they should be thankful for what they have,

3.) You get to spent time together- Spending any time together as a family is great. However, spending time together in front of the television isn’t nearly as productive as spending time helping out in the community. The time spent together problem solving and helping will be a foundation to grow as a family unit.

There really is only positives to getting out in your community and volunteering. You will not regret the opportunity to grow together while also helping others.

Filed Under: Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

How a Cell Phone Gave the Homeless a Voice

February 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the United States there are plenty of problems that Americans face. From the education system, to threat of terrorism there are plenty of problems that permeate the social consciousness. Of course there are problems that often get forgotten in the face of new and more media-spotlighted problems. One of those problems is homelessness.

These days homelessness is a problem that is often forgotten about because, among many reasons, those who are homeless don’t have a voice or a platform to tell their story and to talk about their struggle. All that changed, however, with the Underheard project in New York city.

Three interns at the BBH New York, Rosemary, Willy and Robert, decided to give the homeless something they had never had: a voice. With prepaid cell phones they gave four homeless men unlimited text capability and equipped them with a Twitter account. These men were given the chance to tweet about their life and the struggles they faced every day.

The initial response was slow, but the idea, being as good as it is, started to pick up steam. The reality of their situation was clear: living on the streets was tough. And it wasn’t just because living on the streets was emotionally draining, but the act of surviving was harder than anything.

Twitter also gave these men a chance to talk with thousands of other people. Other people can hear their stories and share their encouragement and support. Being homeless often leaves men and women without a voice. They have no way of telling their struggles. This has been revolutionary for the men without voices.

The interns were given one true directive for their project: Do something good…famously, and they have accomplished that mission. The truth of the matter is that there are plenty of men and women who are homeless without a voice, this might be the best start.

Filed Under: General, Society Tagged With: , ,

What Exactly is a Halfway House?

January 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A halfway house is a facility (sometimes it’s an actual house) where people who have been in a drug treatment facility, such as MichaelsHouse.com, go to complete their treatment. The halfway house serves as a “step” between leaving rehab and re-entering the “real world.”

The benefits of a halfway house are many. These include giving residents a safe place to return to each day after working or going to school so that they are not tempted to remain in situations where the temptation to drink or use drugs may occur. For those residents whose addiction caused them to become homeless, a halfway house provides them with a temporary place to live while they finish treatment and start taking the necessary steps to once again become a productive member of society.

Halfway houses are staffed by counselors who continue to provide support while the residents are coping with leaving rehab and re-entering society. For some, this may be a very stressful transition, and knowing that a counselor is waiting at the halfway house when they return can help them handle the stress better.

Counseling at a halfway house is one way in which someone who is qualified to do so can volunteer his time and services. Offering to serve as a volunteer counselor may alleviate some of the financial strain on the halfway house, as it is not necessary to pay for counseling services since they are being donated.

Other opportunities for volunteering at halfway houses include providing transportation, especially for those residents who have lost their driving privileges and have not yet had them reinstated, or providing meals. Some halfway houses require the residents to prepare meals as part of their preparation for becoming self-sufficient once more; however, this does not mean they would not welcome already prepared meals, particularly on special occasions, such as holidays.

Filed Under: Community, Society Tagged With: , , ,

A Halfway House Can Help People Succeed in Life

January 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are plenty of options if someone’s in trouble with drugs or alcohol. A lot of people don’t get the help that they really need, but others turn to rehab in the hopes that they’ll get clean and stay that way. If they aren’t in as serious of a position with their drug and alcohol problems, they might consider a halfway house. This is basically an in-between step between the real world and a rehab facility, and it can help people get and stay clean if they’re committed to feeling better and conquering their problems. These halfway houses all operate in basically the same way, in addition, so anyone who reads up on them or has been to one should basically know what to expect from one, no matter where it’s located.

Halfway houses help people adapt to the real world once again, and they offer counseling and support for people who are struggling, especially on those rough days when things just don’t feel right and a little extra help is needed. If you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity and a way to help other people, a halfway house can be a great choice. You can find out about ways to help at TheCyn.com.

There are plenty of ways to help people there, and keeping previous drug users clean and sober is a great feeling that you can really be proud of. Some of these people have mostly been shunned by society. By showing them that you care, and that you aren’t there because someone’s paying you to help them, you can start to restore their faith in humanity and make them see that there are good people in the world. They still have a lot of great experiences ahead of them, but they aren’t going to get to enjoy those experiences if they don’t stay clean.

Filed Under: Contributing, Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Where There Is A Need There Is A way

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The strength in any community is its people. A strong community is often driven by volunteer efforts. Supporting local volunteers is an integral part of any community. That all sounds nice, but how do we implement a successful volunteer project? How do we take what is little more than good intentions and turn them into useful projects that benefit members of a community that are in need?

Volunteerism must start with the desire to help or to aid. The need can be anything from homeless women to illiterate adults, but recognizing the need is often the spark that determines the form a volunteer effort will take. Once a need has been recognized, one must next determine how to best meet that need. Is it better to set up shelters for the homeless as a temporary measure or are volunteer efforts better suited at helped homeless people become productive members of that society? Meeting the need will help to determine who can best help meet that need?

Finding volunteers is often the most difficult part of any volunteer effort. By first determining how to meet a particular need, you may find it easier to locate specific community volunteers to help meet that need. “Advertising” your need for volunteers may sound crass and expensive, but remember that advertising can be viewed as a volunteer effort as well, so ask local businesses, churches and newspapers to donate advertising to your cause.

Volunteer efforts are one of the most effective ways to develop a strong sense of community. Helping those less fortunate, filling a need or cultivating our youth are honorable efforts and should be applauded. The most amazing thing is that most volunteers don’t want to applause or the press, they simply want to help.

If you are interested in developing a volunteer project for your community start by finding what is needed, how to best fill that need will soon follow.

Filed Under: Community, Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Volunteering to Help Your Community

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When you volunteer you help yourself, other people, and your community as a whole. It’s a great way to improve the world around you, and it’s something you can do as opposed to giving money. A lot of people don’t like to give monetary gifts to charities because they aren’t really sure where the money is going. Instead, they’d rather give their time – they can see where it’s going and how it’s making a difference. It’s also a good choice for someone who doesn’t have a lot of money but who still wants to do something nice for others.

There are all kinds of ways to get involved in what other people are doing and help them out. You can teach them about things they need to know, feed people who don’t have homes to go to, or read to children in a local orphanage. So many choices are available to you, so don’t assume that you can’t find something that you want to do, can do, and feel good about. Look around and see all the things that need doing. Pick one, and move forward. You could even teach a class to people in a local school or college if they want to learn about something like cooking, classic auto insurance, sewing, woodworking, or almost anything else.

You can do a lot for your community and the people around you. In the era of tough economical situations, people seem to be stressed and struggling to pay their loans. Often people don’t know how to deal with their debt problems. If you have good knowledge about dealing with debt problems, tax issues etc then you can voluntarily guide people the ways to deal with their debts so that they could solve their problems through debt consolidation or bill consolidation loans.

People who have specific skills or a specific knowledge base are in high demand, but there aren’t always paying positions available for them. Even when the economy is good, it can be difficult. If the economy is struggling, even more problems can arise resulting in increased stress in our lives. You don’t have to be part of the problem, though. If you volunteer to teach a class or do something else for free, you help the people who need the class and take the strain off the people who are trying to find some way to help those people learn.

Filed Under: Society, Volunteering

Daytime Volunteers

December 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Rumor has it that nonprofit organizations are struggling to find volunteers that able to help during traditional business hours. It may seem as if it is more difficult to find volunteers for daytime activities because more women are going into the workforce and less are staying at home, but nonprofit organizations are finding volunteer recruitments by thinking outside of the box.

Many people in the workforce do not keep regular business hours, so find volunteers during business hours is becoming easier. With the work from home craze in full swing, it is easy to find volunteers who have the flexibility to volunteer at all hours of the day. People who work from home can change their schedule as they please to volunteer for nonprofit organizations. The organizations that need more daytime volunteers just need to look for individuals who work at home in the right place to hang a recruitment flyer. Coffee shops and Internet cafes are a good place to start because most people who work at home will get out of the house at least once a week to work.

Although there are still millions of people who work regular jobs that does not mean they keep regular business hours. Many people work during the weekend and in the evening. Many businesses like gas stations, hospitals, and fast food establishments are open 24-hours a day, which mean some of their employees are available during the daytime hours to pitch in a helping hand. Individuals that work during the evening hours have their mornings and afternoons available.

Some businesses require their employees to work some weekends, which offers their employees a day off during the traditional business week. Many service-type businesses that are open for operation seven days a week are the same way, they give days off during the week, which gives their employees a chance to volunteer during daytime hours.

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Filed Under: Society, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,
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