Volunteer

Are you ready to volunteer?

The need for volunteers has never been greater, and the time to get involved has never been better. Finding the opportunity that best suits your skills, availability, and expectations can make all the difference in your experience. Volunteering can open your mind, your heart, your hands to helping your community and building a better future for all of us. Help out once, help out once a week. Be a part of a great community and a tremendous state!

To find or share a volunteer opportunity check out Get Connected, Serve Washington's online system for connecting volunteers to opportunities in their communities.

Questions to ask yourself

It is good to ask yourself some important questions about your interests, needs, and limitations before you begin searching for volunteer opportunities:

• Do you have a passion that can be pursued through volunteering?
• How much time can you give? Once a week, a few times a month, or every so often?
• What skills would you bring to a nonprofit or volunteer organization?
• Are there new skills or knowledge you would like to acquire?
• Where and how do you want to serve?

Examples of volunteer opportunities

It's also important to consider what kind of volunteering experience you want to have and what kind of environment you will feel most comfortable in. Examples of volunteer opportunities include:

• Tutoring children in reading and math.
• Helping to build houses with families in need.
• Participating in neighborhood watch programs.
• Serving as a Community Emergency Response Team member
• Mentoring a young person to help him or her achieve a personal goal.
• Joining a community environmental clean-up or recycling project.
• Delivering meals for elderly and ill residents in your neighborhood.
• Helping local nonprofits by fundraising, recruiting other volunteers, serving on their boards, or contributing other skills you may have.