Remote Volunteers Needed: 53 Easy Ways To Volunteer From Home
If you’re looking for meaningful yet easy ways to volunteer from home, then you’ll love this list of opportunities for remote volunteers.
While offering time to in-person and volunteer abroad projects can be worthwhile, there are also ways to make a difference without leaving home.
Below is a list of virtual volunteer opportunities that allow you to have a positive impact while sitting on your couch in your pajamas.
53 Easy Ways To Volunteer From Home
1. Use your crafting skills to provide comfort to shelter pets
The Anti-Cruelty Society has a DIY Donations page listing opportunities to create needed items like pet toys, beds, kitty sachets, and more.
Don’t worry if you don’t have crafting experience, as they offer a number of tutorials to help you create the perfect project. It is one of the best volunteer from home ideas.
2. Proofread to make books accessible to the masses
Distributed Proofreaders uses the power of proofreading in large groups to quickly and effectively turn Public Domain books into e-books for everyone to enjoy.
Finished works are submitted to the Project Gutenberg archive, which currently has over 61,000 free e-books.
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3. Help create jobs in communities where they’re needed
An easy online volunteering project is Bpeace. You can use your business skills to help entrepreneurs (particularly women) in underserved communities create and grow their small-to-medium-sized businesses and become financially independent.
4. Expose human rights violations through virtual volunteering
The human rights NGO Amnesty International offers virtual volunteer opportunities through their Decoders program.
Anyone with a smartphone or laptop can get involved by helping researchers go through photos, data, and documents that can help lead to justice.
For instance, Decoders helped to analyze hundreds of thousands of Tweets sent to female Indian politicians. This effort led to uncovering an appalling scale of abuse.
5. Add your voice to the meaningful volunteer work of climate change fighters
NRDC is on a mission to protect the earth, and you can help them through virtual volunteering by joining their Activist Network, which is linked on this page along with current online opportunities.
Some sample actions might be contacting congress, opposing bills that are harmful to the environment, and sharing important messages on social media.
6. Use your creativity to help at-risk communities
Volunteering from home can’t be easier with Enchanted Makeovers. It has a number of community projects that allow remote volunteers to create hand-sewn items that would benefit women and children in shelters.
Some of their current projects include sewing pillowcases, capes for kids, dolls, and patches.
7. Lift the spirits of a child with cancer by sending an e-card
St. Jude is a world-renowned children’s hospital.
One way you can take part in virtual volunteer work while supporting their mission to help children battling cancer and pediatric diseases is to send an e-card to a patient.
Their online card maker allows you to easily choose a design based on artwork created by children in their care. From there, choose a message or enter your own and send it in.
8. Help people in need by crocheting garments
Add this to the list of awesome volunteer opportunities!
Warm Up America! is a nonprofit that has been helping people in need to stay warm since 1992.
Those looking for ways to volunteer at home can support their mission by crocheting and knitting blankets, clothing, and accessories.
9. Use your voice to protect the earth
Friends of the Earth is committed to changing economic and political policies and systems that lead to injustice and that harm nature.
You can check this page for easy ways to volunteer by taking simple actions, like telling congress to save the bees and contacting food companies to demand natural ingredients.
Friends of the Earth makes it easy to add your voice to a cause, too, as each campaign features a form with a built-in message that you can edit if you’d like and send with one click.
10. Virtually mentor high school kids
iCloudBe’s mission is to empower at-risk middle and high school students to stay in school and reach their goals with the help of an online community of mentors.
You can take part in meaningful volunteer work online by becoming an eMentor, which entails mentoring a student and helping them prepare for their dream career for one hour per week during the school year.
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11. Scan & proofread books to make reading accessible to all
Bookshare, an e-book library dedicated to making reading easier for all, is always on the lookout for remote volunteers to scan and proofread books for their collection.
Their library features books that are customizable for people with reading disabilities.
12. Help a family in need to buy holiday gifts for their children
Camp Dreamcatcher offers complimentary therapeutic and educational programs for youth whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
Along with their in-person camp, which also recruits volunteers, those looking for ways to volunteer from home can take part in the Adopt A Family program.
This program involves adopting a family and assisting them in purchasing holiday gifts from their child’s wish list. You’ll be able to see the wish list before signing up.
13. Record bird sightings to benefit science and conservation
eBird, which is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is “the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project” — with over 100 million bird sightings recorded by their community annually.
Their site offers numerous resources for spotting and identifying birds, as well as making bird-watching more enjoyable.
You can contribute to their project by submitting your own bird sightings here, whether you see them at a park, in your own backyard, or somewhere else.
14. Offer virtual support to help end sexual assault
RAINN, the USA’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, offers virtual volunteer opportunities through its web-based hotline.
You’ll be trained to offer support to sexual assault victims and help intervene when there is a crisis using The National Sexual Assault Online Hotline’s instant message-style chat.
15. Set a portion of your shopping spend to benefit a cause
If you’re looking for easy ways to volunteer from home, it doesn’t get much simpler than swapping your regular Amazon browser for AmazonSmile.
AmazonSmile has the same inventory and pricing as Amazon.com; however, the difference is that when using AmazonSmile 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products gets donated to the charity of your choice.
16. Send a care package to a solider
Through Soldiers’ Angels, you can send a care package to a deployed soldier, either as a one-time gift or ongoing through their deployment.
Moreover, on their Deployed Support page you’ll see other opportunities, as well, like sending cards, writing letters, and more.
17. Use your talents to empower women through virtual volunteering opportunities
InHerShoes works hard to help women feel more courageous at all stages of their journey through life.
There are numerous ways to get involved with this non-profit, from teaching workshops to mentoring to helping with social media and beyond.
18. Use online volunteer opportunities to advocate for children
The American Society for the Positive Care of Children works to improve the lives of children in the United States.
In terms of volunteer opportunities from home, there are a number of ways to take action, like being a child advocate on social media using the #ItsTime hashtag to help their message go viral.
Moreover, if you have a story that may help others stand up against abuse, neglect, and injustice then you may consider sharing it on their platform.
19. Take a quiz to help end hunger
Talk about easy ways to volunteer from home!
World Hunger Education Services’ Hunger Quiz opportunity definitely deserves a spot on this easy ways to volunteer from home list.
In fact, you simply need to read some educational material about world hunger and then answer a series of questions. When you complete a quiz, the organization donates $0.02-$0.10 to help feed hungry people.
20. Join remote volunteers in knitting to help children in need
Project Linus is a non-profit keeping children warm with quilts and blankets of all kinds.
In terms of volunteer opportunities from home, you can get involved by donating your knit, sewn, and crocheted creations. Their website has loads of patterns and inspiration, too!
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21. Virtually volunteer to support cancer patients
ZERO, whose mission is to end prostate cancer, has a MENtor program where they invite cancer survivors to virtually support cancer patients.
Through the program, volunteers offer support and guidance via phone or video communication.
22. Donate your voice to people with speech impairments
For a long time, those living with speech impairments who relied on synthetic voices to help them speak had very limited options when it came to the sound of the voice they could choose.
Not anymore, thanks to VocaliD’s Human Voicebank, which champions the diversity and power of the human voice with over 25,000 individuals contributing their unique vocals.
Donating your voice is as simple as recording yourself saying sounds and sentences to be used by VocaliD’s technology.
23. Find a virtual volunteer project that suits your unique skills & schedule
Catchafire.org is a platform listing numerous awesome volunteer opportunities showcasing different projects posted by nonprofits and social enterprises.
Each project has its own unique time and talent requirements, so you can choose what works best for you, whether that be helping with social media auditing, brand asset creation, website development, analyzing data, or something else.
24. Donate your vision to those with impaired vision
Be My Eyes is a free app that allows people who are blind or have vision impairments to connect with others who can help them see.
As a volunteer, you’ll provide visual assistance through the app’s live video call feature. Some examples of ways you may help others include assisting with reading instructions or expiration labels, choosing grocery items, or getting around an unfamiliar place.
25. Help humanitarian organizations overcome language barriers
Do you speak another language fluently?
Then this virtual volunteer opportunity is for you.
Translators Without Borders is a nonprofit working to bridge language gaps that can keep humanitarian organizations from doing important work.
Once approved as a volunteer, you can search through the open virtual volunteering opportunities to find where you can best help. A few opportunities may include doing a voiceover in Tigrinya, translating a document into Tagalog, offering medical interpreting support in Italian, and more.
26. Plant a row to feed the hungry
If you have gardening skills, this simple volunteer from home opportunity allows you to use your talents for good.
Plant A Row For The Hungry (PAR) is an initiative started by GardenComm. Simply put, you can plant an extra row of food in your garden and donate the produce to your local food bank.
27. Support people with cancer by being an Angel
Chemo Angels is an organization of volunteers that support people with cancer in a variety of ways.
For instance, Traditional Chemo Angels are assigned a patient and are encouraged to offer emotional support through giving small gifts, cards, and uplifting messages.
Other opportunities include being a Card Angel and sending weekly cards and notes to your paired patient, or a Prayer Angel to help serve the spiritual needs of patients and volunteers.
Note: As these remote volunteer opportunities revolve around building supportive relationships, you should be ready to make a long-term commitment.
28. Offer emotional support to those who need it
Become a virtual volunteer for 7 Cups, an on-demand emotional health service and online therapy provider, and lend your ear to those needing support via online chat.
Once accepted as a volunteer, 7 Cups will train you to ensure you’re fully equipped to help people.
29. Help those going through a crisis
Crisis Text Line volunteers offer emotional and psychological support to those who need it via text message.
Volunteers go through a 30-hour training in reflective listening, collaborative problem solving, and crisis management — which, by the way, are also valuable skills in general life.
Their service is offered across the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
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30. Take simple but urgent actions to save lives
Amnesty International is committed to ending human rights abuses, and you can help them right from your couch.
Simply head to their Act Now page to view ways to take action through sending letters, signing petitions, sharing on social media, and more.
For instance, you might urge your local senator to support background checks or demand investigations of child detention facilities, just to name a few examples.
31. Help protect animals without leaving home
The Humane Society works hard to protect animals around the world from abuse and mistreatment.
On their Volunteer page, they list a number of in-person and at-home opportunities, from being in charge of the phone bank to animal nutrition outreach and beyond.
32. Help students find their perfect job
CareerVillage is a platform where students can get complimentary career advice from professionals.
Volunteering is simple:
Fill out a profile, and then get matched with relevant student questions you can answer via a forum-style format.
33. Help people around the world find housing through virtual volunteer work
On their website, Shelter The World notes that “…housing can reduce disease, improve education, generate an income, protect women and children, and build relationships and communities.”
Their mission:
To help provide people around the world with safe and secure housing.
They have a number of virtual volunteer opportunities (click here), like using blogging and social media to spread their mission, donating frequent flier miles, assisting with website development, helping to raise donations, and more.
34. Help refugees by offering translation services
Tarjimly — which means “translate for me” — is an organization committed to helping refugees have better lives and improving the abilities of humanitarian efforts by eradicating language barriers.
If you’re multilingual, you can offer up your language skills. After being trained, you’ll start receiving notifications when your skills can be of service.
35. Help the United Nations’ efforts online
Help the United Nations reach its goal of achieving international peace by volunteering online.
In fact, this page shares its work from home volunteer opportunities, which span a wide variety of categories like writing and editing, translation services, art and design, research, admin work, project development, and more.
36. Become an ally for women
Women For Women International helps women impacted by war and conflict.
One way to help from home is through their Sponsor A Sister program, where you support another woman through a $35-per-month contribution to help get her food, water, shelter, business skills training, and human rights education.
You’ll be kept up-to-date on your sister’s progress, and can send her uplifting messages.
37. Change the world through virtual conversations
Table Wisdom is dedicated to helping foreign-born Americans succeed through mentoring and conversation.
You can sign up for their platform as a mentor, helping immigrants with English and sharing your first-hand knowledge of American culture.
Moreover, to help older adults through the pandemic, Table Wisdom has added a program to help mentors provide meaningful virtual conversation opportunities to those negatively impacted by social distancing.
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38. Use your time at home to help end cancer
The American Cancer Society features a number of online volunteer opportunities on their website.
For instance, they’re always looking for people who can use their social media skills to spread the word about their mission and initiatives.
Additionally, emailing local politicians to encourage them to make cancer a main focus and participating in their virtual events are other ways to get involved.
39. Defend human rights through volunteer opportunities from home
PeaceGeeks — a nonprofit organization building digital tools to support communities seeking peace — is often searching for volunteers.
Check this page for current virtual volunteering opportunities. For instance, right now they’re looking for a blog writer to create content on technology, peace, and humanitarian response.
40. Use your crafting skills to help people preserve the memory of loved ones
Experiencing the loss of a loved one is often an extremely traumatic experience.
VITAS Healthcare, an organization dedicated to providing quality end-of-life care, helps to ease the pain through their Memory Bears program.
Volunteers create stuffed bears made from the loved one’s clothing or fabric item, giving them something meaningful to hold onto.
Moreover, volunteers can also help to make Memory Pillows, Blankets, and more.
41. Sign petitions to create change
One of the easiest ways to volunteer from home is through signing petitions related to the causes that matter to you most.
A few places to find and sign important life-changing petitions include:
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42. Combine the power of the internet with your own GoFundMe page
You don’t need to wait for the perfect virtual volunteer work opening to present itself. If there is a cause you care about, create a GoFundMe page for it, and start promoting.
Pro tip:
While many charities use walks, runs, and live events to fundraise, you can tweak this idea and go digital. That could mean livestreaming a free class, workshop, or dance party from your living room, hosting a free challenge on social media, or something else.
For example, my friends Alex and Ian started the @Meditation4Medicine Instagram account to raise money for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for NYC hospitals. To help raise money, they lead free yoga classes on Instagram Live and ask people to donate to help the cause.
43. Advocate on social media
If you’re looking for easy ways to volunteer from home, simply raising awareness about an issue and sharing positive action steps on social media can help create change.
For example, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America asks virtual volunteers to post on their social media accounts tagging their association, using the hashtag #MultipleSclerosis, and encouraging people to visit their website. They also provide sample messaging:
“#MultipleSclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system with varying symptoms. Learn more about MS & @MSAssociation: http://MyMSAA.org.”
44. Ask to get involved with work from home volunteer opportunities
Keep in mind that if there is a cause you’re passionate about or a charitable organization that you want to support you can always reach out to them to see if your talents might be a fit.
Just because a specific project isn’t listed doesn’t mean your gifts wouldn’t be of use.
45. Become a virtual scientist and help move research forward
Through Zooniverse, anyone can be a researcher and make a real difference.
They post research projects, which you can decide to take part in. For instance, right now they’re looking for volunteers to help discover why people become resistant to antibiotics.
46. Help make data accessible
As a part of the Smithsonian Digital Volunteers program, you help make historical documents and biodiversity data more publicly accessible.
Transcribe and review important works like diaries, ledgers, manuscripts, and more.
47. Take tests to add important data to Harvard studies
Harvard’s Project Implicit features 90+ assessment tests that give you insight into your conscious and unconscious inclinations.
Along with being an interesting look into your own mind, you’ll also be assisting Harvard researchers with psychological studies by adding to their data.
48. Mentor women in business
Through the Cherie Blair Foundation For Women, you can apply to volunteer through an Online Mentors Program, helping women become successful entrepreneurs to take their future into their own hands.
If accepted, you’ll be matched with a mentee whom you’ll meet virtually for two hours each month for one year. Their program also includes training for both parties!
49. Volunteer by sharing your knowledge
Many people use Wikipedia to get information, so if you have information to share, you might consider creating a page as a virtual volunteer.
Remember, knowledge is power.
50. Help solve real-world problems volunteering from your couch
DoSomething.org is passionate about creating positive social change in the world. Many of their online volunteer opportunities take just a few minutes to do, too.
A few current virtual volunteering examples on their site include sharing tips for managing stress, swapping stories with adult seniors, creating cards to remind your father to get his blood pressure checked, and making fun five-minute playlists to help friends take shorter showers.
51. Write to help people with depression
Through Letters Against Depression, you can write letters to those needing support.
On their website, you’ll find a list of current needs mainly focused on writing upbeat handwritten letters to those battling depression and mental illness.
52. Support disaster efforts using digital skills
Through the American Red Cross, an organization that helps people and communities during times of disaster and crisis, you can become a Digital Advocate.
This entails volunteering to work on projects related to marketing, data reporting, IT services, and more.
53. Help others discover their roots
Do you have a passion for genealogy? Volunteers can use that to help others discover their own roots through Ancestry.com’s free World Archives Program (AWAP), a free public database. As a volunteer, you’ll be provided images and documents to transcribe for the database.
FAQ about volunteering from home
Q) Is it possible to volunteer from home?
Yes, there are many easy volunteer opportunities available, from mentoring and tutoring to donating and knitting to help children in need.
Q) What are examples of online volunteering?
Some ways to volunteer online are translating documents, proofreading books, advocating on social media, and writing letters to help people with depression.
Q) What are the cons of virtual volunteering?
The main con of virtual volunteering is making personal connections can be more difficult.
Do you have any easy ways to volunteer from home to add to this list?
Any other opportunities where remote volunteers are needed?
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Thank you so much for these suggestions; I was in a pinch for some volunteer hours needed and this helped me find great opportunities that I can do!
This is a great list and very helpful! I have a nephew looking to get more volunteer hours for CCD requirements, and this list is excellent! I would also recommend Color A Smile. It’s great for people of all ages, and they have a form you can fill out to validate volunteer hours by simply downloading and coloring drawings. I believe you mail it back to them, and they send the pictures to senior citizens in nursing homes.
Outstanding info!! TY soooo much!
You could add abrightspot.org to your list. You make and write out uplifting greeting cards from home and then send it to them- they make the best match and it goes to people who need a boost. Maybe a senior alone in a home, a child in the hospital or a teen feeling the world isn’t a place to be.
Help make a difference in someones mental health all form home.
Please send more information on number 3 -small business counseling.
I was self employed for 32 years and volunteered at SCOREs for 16 years
I especially appreciate the way the article highlights the importance of virtual volunteering. With the advent of remote work and online connectivity, it’s great to see that we can still contribute to the causes we care about without the need for a physical presence. Offerings such as online learning, digital advocacy and virtual fundraising demonstrate the versatility of virtual volunteering opportunities.
I especially appreciate the way the article highlights the importance of virtual volunteering. With the advent of remote work and online connectivity, it’s great to see that we can still contribute to the causes we care about without the need for a physical presence. Offerings such as online learning, digital advocacy and virtual fundraising demonstrate the versatility of virtual volunteering opportunities.
How do I get involved. I want to volunteer.