Micro-Volunteering

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa, nun and missionary

When I ask friends and colleagues about what they plan to do when they retire (or if they win the lottery), I get a myriad of responses relating to travel and hobbies. But I also hear one common refrain: “I want to spend more time volunteering.”

The appeal of volunteering is obvious – It feels great to help others! And that gratification increases tenfold if you’re supporting a cause that is near and dear to your heart. But being able to devote a large chunk of time to volunteering can, at times, be challenging to those of us who juggle full-time work, family, and other commitments.

So it was with great interest that I participated in a “brown bag” luncheon on Micro-volunteering last fall. The event, hosted by JustVolunteering (a community of employees in my department who are interested in volunteering in Canada and abroad), was an excellent introduction to a new type of volunteerism that’s rapidly growing in popularity.

Micro-volunteering is volunteering that fits a volunteer’s schedule. Non-profit organizations break down volunteer tasks into bite-sized “challenges” that can be completed online. The challenges are posted to an online micro-volunteer network. Volunteers post their answers to a challenge and/or comments on other people’s responses. Volunteers choose which challenges they want to respond to, based on their available time, interests, and/or skills. Challenges range from tasks requiring no particular training (e.g. brainstorming, providing feedback, etc.) to tasks requiring specific skill sets (e.g. accounting, writing, web design, etc.). Challenges can be completed from the comfort of your home, on your desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Since joining a micro-volunteering network, I’ve been privileged to lend my skills to non-profit organizations who do work related to disabilities; poverty and homelessness; youth empowerment; youth cancer support; and international rescue and refugee relief. I’ve worked on things like French-English translations, online research, and video transcriptions.

What I like about micro-volunteering is that I can still support causes that resonate with me even though I may not be able to make a long-term volunteer commitment to any one organization. With micro-volunteering, a long-term commitment isn’t needed nor expected. I also like that I can hone some of my professional skills that I don’t necessarily get to utilize in the workplace everyday. And an added bonus is that I get to learn about some great organizations that I never knew existed!

While micro-volunteering doesn’t replace the need for, nor the satisfaction derived from in-person volunteering, it allows volunteers to contribute what they can, when they can. If micro-volunteering piques your interest, check out this micro-volunteer network: Skills for Change.

On a related note, National Volunteer Week takes place in April. Take a minute to thank those who volunteer their time to strengthening our communities. And if you haven’t already done so, consider dedicating a bit of your own time to volunteering.

Too often people forget that small actions can make a big impact.