Virtual Volunteering

Virtual Volunteering Opportunities and Resources

There are many opportunities to continue volunteering and serving your community virtually. The OSV has provided this collection of UT Dallas and local community needs, volunteer opportunities and web resources to guide your virtual volunteer journey.

UT Dallas and Local Community Needs

• Support the UTD Student Emergency Fund, for students facing financial challenges due to technology needs, elimination of jobs or reduction of income, housing and food insecurity, medical care and prescriptions, or other unplanned expenses.
• Donate non-perishable food items to your local food bank or the UTD Comet Cupboard.
• Write notes of thanks to healthcare workers.
• Write letters to or call individuals in isolation.
• Sew face masks for workers (healthcare, grocery stores, etc.).
• Sew face masks for UTD essential staff.

Virtual Volunteer Opportunities

• Missing Maps helps to map roads, buildings and more in places where disasters occur and that are missing from maps.
• Translators Without Borders allows those who are fluent in more than one language to translate content focused on health, crisis relief and education.
• LibriVox invites you to read and record public domains books, transforming them into accessible audiobooks.
• Zooniverse invites users to take part in people-powered research that wouldn’t be possible without volunteers.
• Project Gutenberg needs proofreaders for new eBooks.
• Be My Eyes connects you with blind and low-vision individuals to assist them through a live video call. Read expiration dates, navigate new surroundings and more.
• 7 Cups provides free, 24/7 emotional support to millions via online chat.
• Smithsonian Digital Volunteering lets you help make the Smithsonian collections more accessible by transcribing historical documents and providing better access to biodiversity data.
• Project Implicit asks you to take tests on your implicit associations and assist Harvard researchers working to determine the best ways to break down stereotypes.
• United Nations allows you to connect with organizations working for peace and development in need of skills like research, writing, art and design.
• Crisis Text Line offers free, 24/7 support for those in crisis. Training required.
• The Human Voicebank allows you to record and share your voice so those with speech impairments may also be heard.
• Reading Partners helps students who are behind to conquer reading fundamentals and meet their reading grade level.
• Operation Photo Rescue restores photos that have been damaged in disasters.
• In order to help healthcare workers and others, the OSV encourages sewing and donating surgical masks.
  How to Sew a Surgical Face Mask for Hospitals.
  How to Sew a Fabric Face Mask.
  Browse a list of addresses to donate your face masks.
• Adopt A Nursing Home sends letters and words of encouragement to seniors and the staff that care for them.

Virtual Volunteer Resources

• Catchafire is a search tool for online volunteer projects. Each has a timeline that ranges from an hour to a few weeks.
• VolunteerMatch filters and matches you to a volunteer opportunity in your area.
• Discover tools, resources and virtual volunteer opportunities from the Points of Light global network of affiliates.
• Idea List - How to Get Involved with Virtual Volunteering
• Do Something - 9 Places to Volunteer Online (And Make a Real Impact)
• Lifting Bridges - Looking for ways to be involved in community from your own home?
• Dallasites - Dallas COVID-19 Aid Opportunities to Support the Community
• United Way Dallas