(ARA) – No matter how much you want to volunteer and find ways to give back to your community, for most people, it seems difficult to find the time. With everything that needs to get done each day, it rarely seems like your schedule can accommodate a moment to relax, much less taking on a big volunteer commitment.
Nonprofits know just how packed the average person’s schedule is, and they’re trying to make it easier for you to make a difference. And with new ways to give and some creative thinking, you really will be able to find the time to give back.
Consider these great ways to make a difference that won’t interfere with your schedule:
* Go online. Everyone – including nonprofit organizations – knows the power of the Web. That means that nonprofits are making it easier than ever for you to interact with them via their websites. For instance, when you visit JoinMyVillage.com, 60 seconds of your time releases corporate donations that make a real impact for girls and women in Africa. By visiting the site and watching a video or going through a photo story for just 60 seconds, you’ll be releasing dollars from General Mills and Merck that go toward the work CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization, is doing in Malawi to help empower girls and women living in poverty to make lasting change in their lives.
* Make “doing good” part of usual activities. Look for creative ways to add volunteering or supporting a program to something you already have planned. If you’re going to host an event like a book club meeting or a party, consider it an opportunity to raise money or awareness for causes you support. You can either discuss it with friends, and encourage them to get involved, or turn a party into a fundraiser. If you plan to hold a fundraiser, contact the nonprofit you want to support and they can often give you tips and materials to help with planning the event. Or, if you have a weekend (or even a weeknight) set aside for family time, make it a charitable effort. You could go as a group to a soup kitchen, lend a hand to clean up a local park, or volunteer to help walk animals at a local shelter.
* Use the power of social networking. Word of mouth is as important today as it has ever been, but now it’s your digital voice that carries farthest. Using social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter allow you to reach a lot of people with little effort – and little time. Tweet about a nonprofit you support and what their newest initiatives are, and your 140 characters have the potential to reach countless other users, through re-tweets from your followers. Thousands of nonprofits can be searched on www.causes.com, which connects directly to Facebook, making it easy for you to “like” organizations and get updates on the work they’re doing. You can even find Join My Village on Causes and unlock more money to fight poverty in Africa when you “like” the page. Plus, when others see you interacting with an organization on a social networking site, it can build their curiosity and encourage them to get involved as well.
In about the same amount of time it would take to refill your coffee cup, you can make a real difference in a massive effort like fighting global poverty. There are two important things to keep in mind when you think about giving your time to a nonprofit. The first is that you don’t need to skip it because your schedule is hectic – 60 seconds is sometimes all you need to do good. Second, and perhaps most importantly, remember that small efforts, coming from many people, can have a profound effect.
