Coyote Helps Volunteering Focused on
Reddit
Note: Coyote Helps does not yet exist as a
nonprofit. All of the information on this web site is PROPOSED.
Please see the home page for more information about this idea
for a nonprofit.
Reddit is a web site made up of online communities and, altogether,
Reddit is one
of the most-visited web sites in the world. The platform
contains more than 100,000 active communities (subreddits) covering
nearly every niche topic, with contributions from well over 100
million people. The content on Reddit is used to train AI agents
because of the site's authentic, not-AI feel.
Coyote Helps is in no way formally affiliated with Reddit. But the
founder of Coyote Helps is an active Reddit member, and is the
primary moderator of several of Reddit's communities, known as
subreddits, and is the creator of Reddit4Good,
a comprehensive list of subreddits focused on some aspect of
volunteerism, community service, philanthropy, humanitarian or
environmental causes or otherwise doing good.
Getting started.
If you wish to focus your Coyote Helps volunteering on activities on
Reddit, you need to:
- Create an account on Reddit that you will use for this
volunteering, or to use an account you already have. You will
submit this account name to Coyote Helps when you enroll as a
volunteer. Note that this account must be public, with all of
your posts and comments viewable by anyone who clicks on your
account name: you may not set this account to private.
- Join one or more of the following subreddits:
- Inclusion.
the practice or policy of providing equitable, meaningful
access to opportunities & resources for people who might
otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as people
needing child care, folks who have physical or mental
disabilities, or members of minority groups. Why is
inclusion a good idea? What are the challenges to inclusive
policies & practices? Share questions, advice &
resources. Keywords: Equity. Inclusivity. Fairness. Justice.
Diversity. Accessibility. Accessible. DEI.
- Habitat
for Humanity. This is NOT an official Habitat for
Humanity subreddit. But you can post a press release or link
to a new video from Habitat for Humanity International
(please make sure such has not already been posted by
someone else), or post information from your own local
Habitat for Humanity. If you post here, always add the line,
"I am not affiliated with habitat for Humanity."
- communityservice.
For resources, questions and discussions regarding
court-ordered community service, or school-required
community service. Look at the group to get a sense of what
kind of information should be posted.
- Volunteerism.
For resources, questions and discussions regarding
volunteerism. Links and summaries to articles by people
focused on volunteerism would be great here.
- OregonVolunteers.
For opportunities regarding volunteering in Oregon, as well
as testimonials from Oregon volunteers.
- Philanthropy.
For resources, questions and discussions regarding the
donating of funds, items or time to support nonprofits,
communities and causes. Look at the group to get a sense of
what kind of information should be posted.
- ICT4D. ICT4D
stands for Information & Communication Technologies
(ICT) for Development. ICT4D refers to the application of
ICT to economic development, humanitarian aid &
development, & to causes that help empower a particular
demographic or all people to address challenges, have
greater access to education, protect their environment, etc.
It is a term popularized by various United Nations
initiatives. ICTs include artificial intelligence (AI).
- Tech4Good.
Tech4Impact (social, human). ICT Tech Ethics. Discuss
examples resources & ideas for computers, applying apps
& online tools to activities supporting causes that help
humans & the environment. Discuss hackathons /
hacks4good, apps4good, community tech centers, ethics
regarding such, etc. Discuss how a nonprofit, NGO or
community program you work or volunteer with is leveraging
ICT - computers, smart phones, online communities, apps,
special software, AI - in its work. Some overlap with
ICT4D.
- probono.
"Pro bono" is a Latin phrase, short for "pro bono publico"
meaning "for the public good". It's mostly associated with
legal pros donating expertise free of charge to people or
causes. There are plenty of subreddits to ask for free legal
advice - this subreddit is NOT one of them. Instead, it is
focused on how & why legal pros donate services (pro
bono) & the value of such to society. It's also a place
to discuss pro bono ethics & how pro bono engagement can
affect law school admissions.
- the subreddit that is focused
on your local neighborhood, community, city, etc.
Once you have done all of this, you provide the information to
CoyoteHelps. Please do NOT do so until you have formally enrolled
in our program, and have been asked to provide this information.
Please do NOT start on any volunteering tasks
until you have received written notification from Coyote Helps
that you are now an official volunteer.
Next Steps.
Once you have created your Reddit account or chosen what account you
will use and have chosen which subreddit or subreddits you want to
support with content, and communicated this to Coyote Helps, we will
send you specific next steps. These will include detailed guidelines
for you to:
- Post new, on-topic news or conversation starters on one or
more of these subreddits (no more than once a day, please). This
means you need to research or simply be on the lookout for
appropriate content to share on one or more of these
communities, as appropriate.
- Comment on posts by others, as appropriate (no "me too"
comments - please make your comments substantive).
You will be welcomed to post your own questions to a community, or
communities, or to offer your own opinions or testimony, so long
as it is on-topic and comes from a place of sincerity.
Look at a subreddit and read several posts over at least a few weeks
to get a sense of what kind of information should be posted.
Please see these guidelines for posting
information to locally-focused subreddits.
Volunteers are welcomed to cross post from these subreddits to
different subreddits, as appropriate, but please make absolutely
sure the cross post is on-topic and fits the rules of the subreddit
you are cross-posting to - otherwise, not only might your post be
deleted, but your account could be BANNED from Reddit. Volunteers
can also cross post FROM other subreddits to those that Coyote Helps
is targeting, so long as the cross post is on-topic and fits the
rules of the subreddit.
More detailed guidance will be provided once you choose which
subreddit or subreddits you want to focus on.
Proposing more subreddits to focus on.
Right now, Coyote Helps is focusing on only those subreddits that
the founder of the organization moderates, with one specific
exception and with the exception of whatever
subreddit(s) serve your local community. This is to ensure
that posts by Coyote Helps volunteers are appropriate and welcomed.
If you would like to suggest an additional subreddit to focus on,
one that, in posting information to it, it would be fulfilling
Coyote Helps purpose to help make the Internet a kinder place and to
encourage more local community awareness and participation, we
welcome your suggestion for consideration.
Advancement.
High-performing volunteers may be asked, or can ask, to take on
additional moderation and facilitation duties for a subreddit (and
possibly multiple subreddits). These tasks can include reading posts
held by Reddit filters for possibly violating rules and answering
messages sent to the moderators,
Volunteers also make a commitment to provide information about
volunteerism, volunteering, civic engagement, and philanthropy on their own social media channels
via BlueSky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Information about
local volunteering in a volunteer's own community is HIGHLY
encouraged. These activities are done via the volunteer's own social
media accounts.
Always Remember the Goal.
The primary goal of Coyote Helps is simple: to help make the
Internet a kinder place, one that is filled with opportunities and
information to help people engage with their communities and engage
in causes that are important to them, or to learn about causes that
help bring people together or build understanding among people.
Please do NOT start on any volunteering tasks
until you have received written notification from Coyote Helps that
you are now an official volunteer.
Reporting.
Reporting your activities each month
to Coyote Helps leadership is part of your commitment as a
volunteer.
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