Community Service & Volunteering for Groups

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Many people want to volunteer as part of a team or group, from five people to 500 - even more. They can be employees from a particular company, members of a club or association, members of a community of faith, a group of secular humanists, a group of friends who would like to spend time together at a volunteer activity, or individuals who wants to meet people via group volunteering. They may be adults, teens, or pre-teens. A group may also be a family.

People that want to participate in a group volunteering activity want the activity to take from two to six hours. If the group already knows each other, or if its a volunteer looking to meet others, then they want to work with others as much as possible, to socialize throughout the experience - they don't want to be isolated from each other individually (though they are usually willing to be broken up into smaller groups). And they usually don't want to have any obligation beyond that one-time volunteering experience; they want the experience to feel like they show up, they volunteer, they have fun, they make a difference, and then they leave and never have to help again (though they often welcome invitations for further involvement, as part of a group or regarding individual volunteering).

Volunteering opportunities for groups are very hard to find. That's because, while nonprofits, community programs and charities often have a lot of tasks that volunteers could do, they don't have much that a large group of volunteers can just show up and do in a few hours. Also, many of the things they have that need doing are best done by a few volunteers over several days or weeks or even months, like putting together a web site or mentoring a young person or taking care of animals or supporting people who are experiencing domestic violence. It's simple to create volunteering activities for individuals. It's much harder to create activities that an entire group can do together, all at once, that the organization really needs.

The larger the group trying to find an opportunity they can all do together, the harder it is to find opportunities.

The more people under 16 in the group, the harder it is to find group volunteering opportunities.

Finding a group volunteering opportunity for six people is much easier than finding a one-day opportunity for 150 people.

Finding group volunteering opportunities for a group of people over 18 who all work for the same company is much easier than finding opportunities for a group of students from different high schools who are under 18.

That's why it's hard to find group volunteering opportunities. But these activities do exist.

Some quick advice if you are seeking group volunteering:

If you want to participate in a group volunteering activity and you aren't already a part of a group - you are looking to volunteer as a way to address your loneliness, depression or other mental health issues, here is special advice especially for you.   

What Do Volunteer Groups Do?

Note that you should NOT do any of these activities without coordinating with the target organization several weeks, even months in advance!:

Do NOT show up unannounced to engage in any of these activities. Do NOT call an organization a day or a week in advance and ask to volunteer as a group -- you need to call at least a month in advance - two, three, even six months is better! And any activity you do, even at someone's home, at school, your own meeting site, etc., should be with permission of the nonprofit, NGO or other institution you are trying to assist, or the local government in charge of the site where you plan on engaging in a group volunteering activity.

Before you begin to search

If you are a part of a group that wants to volunteer - a group of volunteers, a group of students, a group of seniors, etc. - one person from the group will need to be the primary group contact and deliverer of information. This person will also attend any orientations required before volunteering, and communicate information from this orientation to other members.

Someone in the group needs to have the responsibility to fill out application forms, and ensure all individuals in the group have filled out appropriate forms; often, volunteer hosting organizations require the completion of such forms not only for the group as a whole, but for every individual that will participate. A representative of the group or just one member may be asked to complete a Waiver of Liability form.

The group's leadership needs to take an assessment of all group members' availability for, interests in and goals for a group volunteering activity. This will help you in choosing a group assignment, and ensure that everyone has a positive experience and that their expectations will be met. For instance, the group may interested in environmental issues and members may be available to volunteer only on Saturdays after 8 a.m.

Does your group want to be engaged in the same activities during the entire group volunteering endeavor? Or, would your group be willing to separate at the event or location to engage in a variety of tasks; for instance, at a community center, one person reads to an elderly person while others help at an activity for youth and others help re-organize the center's stock room.

What talents and experiences are volunteers interested in sharing in this group effort? For instance, the marketing director may not want to help with marketing efforts as a volunteer but, rather, share her talents at basic home repair.

Do members of your group want to bring family members along to volunteer? The nonprofit you assist will tell you if this is acceptable (it probably will NOT be; you may need volunteers to provide childcare for other volunteers in order for them to participate).

If you are participating in an employee-based group volunteering activity on company time, or if you are taking vacation time to volunteer on behalf of the company, make sure you have permission and support from your immediate supervisor.

If you are volunteering on behalf of an organization (such as a school) or company (such as your employer), you must make sure the organization or company supports the group volunteering activity and all the responsibilities such entails. Also, ask the organization or company how it wishes to be represented within the group volunteering activity. Sometimes, schools or companies don't wish to be represented officially, other than by their students or employees engaging in the group volunteering effort; others want their students or employees to wear the same t-shirt with an official logo on it while volunteering, and still others may want to publish a press release highlighting the volunteer activity.

Most people want to volunteer for nonprofit organizations. Registered nonprofits based in the USA have a federal tax i.d. number. If you aren't sure if an organization based in the USA is a registered nonprofit, ask if they have a federal tax id number, or look up the organization on Guidestar.org, a database of all registered nonprofit organizations in the USA.

Your group will be responsible for its own transportation to and from a site, and many sites have VERY limited parking. Start thinking about that now: will you take mass transit? Ride a bicycle? Walk? Car pool?

If any members of the group are under 18, each will have to get a parent or guardian to sign a permission slip that affirms he or she is permitted to volunteer. You will get this permission slip from an organization that wants you to volunteer.

Make sure all team members understand that they must be on time for a volunteering event, and that they understand that they must follow the policies of the organization.

Designate someone to take photos and to share photos with the nonprofit host.

Group Volunteering Is Expensive -- But Who Pays Those Costs?

If you are a part of an already-established group that is going to volunteer together, your group may be asked to cover some of the costs associated with your group volunteering experience, especially if this group volunteering experience is being created especially for your group. A staff person from a nonprofit, or more than one, may have to spend a lot of time coordinating this group volunteering event for you. Who is going to pay for that person's time to do all of the coordination needed? There may be equipment needs as well: bags, tools, gloves, trucks, gas for those trucks, etc. Who is going to pay for all that equipment and materials? Talk with the organization about how many hours they will spend coordinating this activity for you, and what equipment and materials will be needed, and consider how your group could cover some or all of these costs.

Where to Find Group Volunteering Opportunities

There are many web sites that post volunteering opportunities in the USA, and some of these assignments can be done by groups. This is NOT a comprehensive list of such sites:

VolunteerMatch

Idealist/Action Without Borders

All for Good

Do Something

HandsOn Atlanta

HandsOn Nashville

HandsOn Twin Cities, Minnesota.

HandsOn Virginia

HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

Habitat for Humanity affiliates in your area involve volunteers in home building and, in some places, in home repairs and yard cleanups for vulnerable homeowners. Habitat can accommodate groups. However,
Call your local or state historical society and/or the government department that is in charge of cemeteries and ask if there are rural cemeteries or neglected historical cemeteries your group could help clean up. There are thousands of such cemeteries all over the USA, and it's very likely there is at least one in your country. Do not clean up any cemetery without the express, written permission of the appropriate government office.

Contact your local volunteer center, if you have such serving your community; your local United Way agency, if you still have such in your community, may be able to refer you as well.

Ask group members to contact nonprofit organizations they have a relationship with to ask about potential group volunteering activities.

Use your favorite search engine and look for nonprofits in your area serving children, or refugees, or whatever group or cause you might be interested in. Look at their web sites. Look at what they do. As you look at what they do, do you see something you might be able to do as a group? Even if they are not recruiting groups of volunteers, or volunteers at all, they might be open to your proposal for a group volunteering event, especially if you have an activity in mind that is based on the services they provide / activities they engage in.

Go to a search engine such as google.com and type in:
how to volunteer in a group
You will generate a long list of group volunteering opportunities all over the USA. If you aren't lucky enough to be in the same city as the ones you generate, have a look at them and consider if local organizations in your area might welcome similar group activities, and call those local organizations and propose your idea.

Don't just look at faith-based organizations for group volunteering - there are also secular humanists and atheists that have volunteering groups

Nonprofit theaters and performing arts centers are often in need of ushers in the evenings and on weekends; you not only get volunteer hours, you get into a show for free! Call local nonprofit theaters, including community theaters, to see if they need ushers and when your group could participate. Local, non-professional/amateur theater companies welcome volunteers in a variety of roles, from selling tickets to performing on stage.

Volunteer as a group to support UNICEF. UNICEF's online Volunteer Center provides activity toolkits and speaker resources to help you conduct awareness-building and fundraising activities in your community.

Establish an American Red Cross Club at your high school or association to help specifically with emergency shelters, including emergency warming shelters for the overflow from homeless shelters on days and nights that are at or below freezing (and unlike most homeless shelters, these often allow the homeless to bring their pets). All members would go through the volunteer orientation for your local chapter of the Red Cross and the training to help with emergency shelters. Find your local chapter of the American Red Cross and look at their web site for information about volunteering.

Animals
If your group wants to volunteer with or on behalf of domestic animals or wildlife, look at the web sites of your local animal shelters, animal/wildlife rescue organizations, state fish and wildlife offices, and, if you live near such, a nonprofit zoo. But note that most credible organizations will NOT let your volunteers anywhere near actual animals.

Call nearby city, state and national parks and ask if there are volunteering opportunities for groups. Or visit your city or state park and look for something that needs to be done, and then contact the park to propose the idea (never undertake a volunteering activity without the park's permission!). State parks often have one-day volunteering opportunities throughout the year. Call your nearest state park for more information. You can also create your own volunteering activity and propose it at a state park. For instance, you could organize a large group of volunteers to remove invasive plants in a designated area, working with your county extension office or city or state parks officials (always get permission first!). Volunteers should receive a briefing on why invasive plants are bad and what they can do after the event day to help keep invasive plants out of the community. Another example: when I was at the Lewis and Clark Trail State Park in Washington state, I noticed an information panel behind the park's camping facilities, and on closer inspection, it turned out to be information for the start of a small hike to show the edible plants in the park. But the information was quite faded, and the information needed an update. What a great opportunity for a group of volunteers! And what about creating such a trail and display in a state park near YOU? Call or stop by your local state park and propose the idea.

Contact the Girl Scouts of the USA council office that serves your area and see if there is a Girl Scout day camp or single event in your area that your group could help with as volunteers. Each group member would need to register as a volunteer on the web site for your local council, and then you need to look for day camps or single events where you could volunteer. You need to sign up to volunteer at least two months in advance for many events -- sometimes more. Day camps need people to lead hikes, lead or help with craft-making (the crafts are usually already defined, but your recommendations would also be welcomed), lead singing, cook, make posters for the event (with song lyrics, directing girls to craft tables, telling them how to clean up after the event, etc.) and staff the registration table at the start of the event, among many other activities.

Your group could put together a "badge day" event so that Girl Scouts in your city could earn a badge in one day, in just a couple of hours. You would need to

Organize a food, clothing or book drive in your group, our office, your class, your community of faith, your association, etc. The items should be donated appropriately (to Goodwill, to the library, to a food pantry, etc. -- contact the organization for guidelines and permission BEFORE the drive).

Contact your local United Way or nonprofit support center, look through local newspapers and ask community leaders if there are any small nonprofits that are moving. Is the public library moving? Is a local theater company moving its costume collection from one place to another? Such an organization may need help moving their items to a new location and may want to move in just one day or one weekend.

Practice singing 5 - 10 short songs as a group, and when you feel you are ready to perform, then call your local hospital or senior home and see if you could perform there during lunch or supper for patients or residents. Don't only do songs related to a religion, as not everyone adheres to that religion; have a few secular songs that anyone would enjoy, including people who are not religious.

What could you do WITH residents of a senior home, with everyone out in the common room? Could you make Christmas ornaments? Could you make any sort of simple craft item (the Internet is packed with craft ideas for groups, for Vacation Bible School classes, for summer camps and more)? Engaging in an activity WITH seniors, not for them, is infinitely more valuable to the seniors.

Start a school-based, office-based or neighborhood-wide recycling and reuse program. It could be regarding electronics. It could be regarding plastic bags. You could organize the group to use plastic bags to make things: one very strong bag that lasts for many years, rugs, place mats, mug rests, ponchos, toys, laptop case, etc. -- anything that can be knitted or sewn, and sell them, with the money raised going to an environmental program. There are a number of web sites that have free patterns for these crafts and many others.

Look into Adopt a Soldier programs that allow you and your kids to send letters and items to soldiers. Plenty of info on the Internet. An example: Adopt a Soldier, where volunteers send letters and items to soldiers.

If your group sews, you can work together to create items for these charities

  • Call your local humane societies, ASPCA chapters and animal shelters, and ask if your group could: You can also contact nonprofits and community programs in your area to see what opportunities they might have. Call early - don't wait the week before or even the month before an event: City, state and national parks are good places to look for group volunteering activities, but you need to reserve your places very early. You may be able to book your group to provide all of the ushering services for one evening at a nonprofit theater in your area but, again, you need to book your places far in advance.
  • You can explore these volunteer "vacations" and see if you could book an entire group, but note that some require you to pay your own transportation, accommodation and food costs, plus a service fee:

    If your group includes children under 16, review these ideas for family volunteering, which includes suggestions for activities that allow for the participation of people under 16.

    For the Group Volunteering Experience

    After the Experience

    A few days after completion of the group volunteering endeavor, ask all group members about their experience. Bring them together for lunch for an informal discussion, or have all group members complete a survey on SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang. What did they like? What did they learn? What do they wish they could have done that they didn't get to do? What do they wish had been different? What do they hope for the next time? Share these results with the organization that hosted you, as well as the organization or company that sponsored you. Again, if you are volunteering to earn a particular amount of hours, post-event meetings and activities such as this count as part of your volunteering hours.

    If you are an organization or program looking to create group volunteering activities, see this detailed resource on Creating Group Volunteering Activities.

    If you feel mistreated as a volunteer, here is advice for volunteers on how to complain.

    Also see


     
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