Become a Virtual Volunteer: 10 Ways to Give Back

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a challenge for many businesses. That’s why it’s more important than ever to come together for the good of others. With National Make a Difference Day on October 24, it’s time to focus on our communities and donate time to those who need our help.

In the COVID environment volunteering may not look the same…

…but that doesn’t mean we can’t pay it forward in the virtual world. If you want to give back—while keeping employees safe—here are a few ways you and your staff can become virtual volunteers.

Virtual Volunteer Opportunities:

• Join the VolunteerMatch Community

  Explore hundreds of virtual volunteer opportunities like Virtual Dog Training, Toy Drives, English as a Second Language Instructor and Crafting for Alzheimer’s Patients all from your home or location of your choice.

• Help a Teacher in Need Through DonorsChoose

  With teachers and students facing the toughest learning challenges in a generation, you can help provide the supplies to keep kids learning. Visit DonorsChoose to fulfill classroom project requests that range from butterfly cocoons and robotics kits to books and more.

• Download the ‘Be My Eyes’ App

  Working hard to make the world more accessible for blind and low-vision people, Be My Eyes is a mobile app that operates in more than 100 countries. Becoming a difference maker is simple. Just download the app and wait for a video call from a low-vision or blind person and help them with anything they need—from reading street signs and providing directions to navigating a room and cooking food.

• Create an Amazon Wishlist

  Winter is coming and food banks/homeless shelters are counting on your donations to support the less fortunate. If you’ve ever been a part of a canned-food/clothes drive, you know there are a lot of people involved. But an Amazon Wishlist can make the entire donation process virtual and contactless.

  Simply reach out to a nonprofit you’d like to support, find out what supplies they’ll need for the next few months, create an Amazon Wishlist and promote the link! You can even set the nonprofit/charity as the direct recipient of the goods. Here are step-by-step instructions for creating an Amazon Wishlist for charities.

Traditional Volunteer Opportunities:

• Create “Take Away Bags” for your local Ronald McDonald House
• Create cards/support letters for folks in your local nursing homes or hospices; consider visiting the website of a local Long Term Care client to see how you can help, or check out Letters of Love or Golden Living
• Landscape/clean up through your local YMCA
• Send encouraging cards to people fighting Cancer through Phil’s Friends’ Cards of Hope program
• Create Audiobooks for students with learning differences
• Write letters to Service Members through Operation Gratitude or a Million Thanks

Keep in mind that your contributions—big or small—can go a long way. Whether you choose to become a virtual volunteer or provide words of encouragement to someone in need, you can make all the difference in someone’s life.

At Paycor we believe in Taking Care of Each Other and Doing the Right Thing, especially in times of uncertainty. We celebrate all those difference makers who are going above and beyond to give back to their local communities during this year’s National Make a Difference Day.