Although COVID-19 presents some physical and social challenges when wanting to volunteer, fortunately technology provides another modality for people to connect, investigate, give time, and serve their communities, locally, nationally, and globally. See below for some ways you can volunteer from the comfort of your own home.

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Please visit the NAAHP resource list for a running list of virtual learning and volunteering opportunities.

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Medically related options:

• Glide Year Job Option: Telescribe with https://www.scribeamerica.com/telescribes/ 

• Become an emotional support person through https://www.7cups.com/

• Lend your eyes to solve tasks for low-vision or blind people through https://www.bemyeyes.com/

• Train to volunteer with the Crisis Text Line  (requires 30 hours of training) www.crisistextline.org/become-a-volunteer

• Support LGBTQ young people through text/chat: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/volunteer/

• Volunteer to translate with https://translatorswithoutborders.org/volunteer/ (may or may not be medical)

• Send a card, letter or note once a week to someone undergoing chemotherapy. You can apply at https://www.chemoangels.com/angel-pre-app

• Support the American Cancer Society virtual events through https://www.cancer.org/involved/volunteer/society-second-life.html

• Participate in crowd-sourcing research projects: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects?discipline=medicine&page=1&status=live 

• Take quizzes/assessments to participate in implicit bias research:

  •           Health-related topics: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/user/pih/pih/index.jsp

  •           Social Attitudes topics: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

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Non-Medically related options:

• UVA Volunteer Tutoring Network: K-12 Program: The COVID-19 pandemic has required elementary, middle, and high schools to transition to online learning for the remainder of the semester. This major shift in education has required many parents/legal guardians to take increasing roles in their child's education, potentially leaving gaps for families with essential jobs who have increased working hours. Students at the School of Medicine in partnership with Madison House have created the UVA Volunteer Tutoring Network, a free virtual tutoring service for children of healthcare workers at UVA Hospital and other clinics/nursing homes in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Graduate students and faculty volunteers within the University of Virginia community are matched with K-12 students based on their indicated subject needs and meet through online videoconferencing with periodic follow up by program coordinators and teachers. Please circulate this sign up form: https://forms.gle/NK6x6JErfY4xVrqY8 to active medical employees at UVA Hospital for free volunteer tutoring in K-12 subjects. For more  information please contact uvavolunteertutoring@gmail.com​

• Tutor disadvantaged students online with https://upchieve.org/volunteer

• Volunteer digitally to research and expose human rights violations: https://decoders.amnesty.org/

• Use your technical and creative skills to help organizations across the world through Catchafire.org:  https://www.catchafire.org/volunteer?name_filter=&type_filter=1&type_filter=2&page=1

• Become a Digital Smithsonian Museum Volunteer through https://transcription.si.edu/

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Engage in free online learning opportunities:

• Class about pandemics from Harvard 

• Class about community change in public health from Johns Hopkins 

• Essentials of global health from Yale

• Ivy League free courses list via freecodecamp.org

• Class “An Examination of coronavirus-COVID-19”  from St George’s University

• Linkedin Learning, Coursera

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For other ideas, see this comprehensive Google doc with virtual volunteering opportunities curated by the NAAHP

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