16 ways to volunteer from home during the COVID lockdown

by March 26, 2020 Society
More often than not, volunteers are people who are lead from the front on ground zero, setting a trail for others to follow. However, with a lockdown imposed for 21 days, how can people still pitch in to volunteer for the causes they hold dear?

Volunteers are most often people who lead from the front, blaze the trail on ground zero and set the path for others to follow. And the others inevitably do follow, because goodness and giving have a ripple effect like none other. Chennai is no stranger to such phenomena and our citizens are not new to volunteering in times of normalcy and disaster, alike.

As a volunteer, I have been part of citizenship efforts in times normal and severely abnormal. In terms of the latter, we have volunteered through floods, water scarcity, cyclones and earthquakes. We have rallied thousands of volunteers for hundreds-of-thousands of hours, over almost hundreds of days to reach out to needy people with help.  We have cooked, served and sent thousands of hot meals to the hungry, sent lakhs of survival kits to the helpless and those rendered homeless, across boundaries. After all, that is what volunteers do, right?

But, what if you’re a volunteer caught in a situation where you can’t step out? When you know the situation is grim and demands volunteers, but you can’t be there on the field. This is the situation a lot of us find ourselves in today, given the nature of the pandemic Covid 19 we are facing. We are ready, want to help, are sincere and committed, yet are facing a new challenge – to serve, reach out and impact the needy, without being physically present.

In the volunteering world, this is called ‘Virtual Volunteering.” With technology at hand, mobile service, and WhatsApp being our strong ally, we can volunteer effectively yet virtually! In a normal scenario, this would seem absurd and farfetched but in the present situation, this is the norm and we need to adapt to it. In fact, many of us feel that the present quarantine has made us more efficient and innovative.

While most of us work from the confines of our home through the lockdown period till April 14th, not too many of us have used technology to volunteer with those who do not have the luxuries as we do or are in a shelter. It is possible for most of us to take out some time in a week to reach out to them online.

There are some volunteers who are doing so:

  • Dr. Anita Suryanarayan is Vice President Operations (South India and Sri Lanka) at Metropolis Health Care in Chennai. As a health worker, she is at her office all day. Yet she volunteers her afternoons on online virtual sessions with the staff and caregivers at NGOs to help allay their fears about the virus and educate them on best practices that should be followed. She finds it immensely fulfilling when they ask her doubts
  • Sonali Shah is an entrepreneur and an active volunteer who usually teaches Conversational English through sessions at various schools. These days, she is developing content for the coming year by creating new stories, worksheets, and charts. She is also going to start engaging with some children at an NGO to tell them a story or teach them an action song, online.

Here are some volunteering opportunities that await you if you are a computer-savvy kindred soul, with time on hand:

  • Create content for a new/updated website for an NGO, create their newsletter and maybe even their annual report.
  • If you are a medico, use your skills to volunteer online through awareness sessions on Covid 19 and steps that can be taken to help protect the beneficiaries from it.
  • If you are an accountant, help online with accounting consultancy with NGOs to help close accounts for the financial year. You could offer probono help if you were a lawyer, medical professional, business expert too.
  • Volunteer within your home by creating educational content (in modules) for Chennai Volunteer school sessions in the coming academic year, specifically in Conversational English and Computer Science.
  • Record an audiobook for visually challenged college students so they can study well.
  • Volunteer as a remote volunteer for a helpline that takes incoming calls from needy elders who need help from an NGO during the present lockdown.
  • If you are a psychiatrist or a mature volunteer, help by reaching out to homebound people who need counselling over the phone.
  • Be a good samaritan and reach out to the elders who live alone in your locality and help them by means of a call to cheer them up, sending a hot meal or getting them medicines.
  • If you can help by sponsoring some material relief, reach out to an NGO that is working for it and help out to whatever extent you can. Every drop counts!
  • If you are good at communicating, volunteer an online storytelling and singing session with a home for young children who are confined in a small space, with no school, no visitors and no recreation.
  • Create charts and other handmade educational material to be displayed in the classrooms of corporation school children in the next academic year.
  • Help an NGO create their presence on social media, by way of a defined project.
  • Translate a document as per the need of an NGO.
  • Edit or write proposals, newspaper articles, newsletters for an NGO. The coming year will be a challenging one for all NGOs to raise funds.
  • Help an NGO in its research and analysis.
  • Teach yoga and pranayama online to elders in a home, every morning.

These are just some virtual or remote volunteering options that we can start with today, many more options can definitely open up.

So, is this the silver lining in our dark cloud?

Is this the start of a new era in volunteering that will make our presence stronger and more robust? Can we all include volunteering into our (social media) trending 21 days new hobby challenge?

Are we seeing this appear as a dominant part of our volunteering landscape?

Maybe so and maybe it is for the best. Trying times are a cosmic filter for what will pass the test of time and will remain as a vital part of our lives. And since volunteering has been intrinsic since our grandparents’ time, it will only emerge stronger, in alternative forms with changing time and we need to adapt to it, voluntarily.

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About Rinku Mecheri

Rinku Mecheri is the founder of Chennai Volunteers, a social initiative that fosters civic engagement and ensure that volunteers can engage with non-profits in a sustainable and meaningful way .
Read more by Rinku Mecheri

Comments:

  1. Tanvi Shamra says:
    March 28, 2020 at 6:40 am

    Rinku,
    I am in Delhi, keen to volunteer at this time of COVID-19 crisis. Please get in touch if I can assist Chennai volunteers or for anything in Delhi. Stay Safe,
    Tanvi

    Reply
  2. Milie Rathod says:
    March 28, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    Hello Rinku,
    I am keen to be a virtual volunteer for Covid-19. Please do get in touch if i can be of any help. Would love to be to part of your gesture or any other similar activity you are aware of in these times of crisis. Stay safe 🙂
    Regards,
    Milie

    Reply
  3. Raj says:
    March 28, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    I am willing to volunteer for the following.

    1) Record an audiobook for visually challenged college students so they can study well.

    2) Volunteer as a remote volunteer for a helpline that takes incoming calls from needy elders who need help from an NGO during the present lockdown.

    3)

    Reply
  4. Lakshmi says:
    March 29, 2020 at 5:46 am

    I am in Chennai. I am a writer and science teacher. Reach out if I can help.

    Reply
  5. Seema Sanghvi says:
    March 29, 2020 at 6:43 am

    I am in Bangalore keen to volunteer but not good at writing communication is good I am into insurance sector let me know if I can help in anyway

    Reply
  6. Sudhir says:
    March 29, 2020 at 6:53 am

    Hi am Sudhir from mumbai and keen to volunteer for this pandemic

    Reply
  7. Akanksha Singh says:
    March 29, 2020 at 8:47 am

    I want to volunteer in situation of covid -19, please inform me if you have any requirement

    Reply
  8. Palash Kumar Mondal says:
    March 29, 2020 at 8:52 am

    I am in Hooghly district.I want to do as a volunteer any way. I am a graduate. Please let me a chance to do serve.Address – vill- Naita p.o – champadanga. P.s – Tarakeswar, Hooghly pH 7076691252/ 8637518544

    Reply
  9. VIVEK Poddar says:
    March 29, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    I am an Advocate ,will be happy to serve during this covid19 crisis.
    Contact if required. Stay safe.

    Reply
  10. Syed Nasrullah says:
    March 29, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    I want to be part of this lockdown volunteer in bangalore splly 560045 area or 560032 n 560001 and 560005 area.

    Reply
  11. Arun Kamble says:
    March 29, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    I am from Pune, Maharashtra. I want to volunteer for the corona cause

    Reply
  12. dakshinamoorthy says:
    March 29, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    i am dakshinamoorthy, residing at coimbatore would like to volunteering for COVID 19 crisis, by both physicall as well as mentally. I am a retired R&D engineer by profession and got 33 yeras experience in mechanical products developement. Last ten years worked in a senir managment position.

    Tha k you

    Reply
  13. Mamta says:
    March 30, 2020 at 8:10 am

    Hi I live in Mumbai. I have worked as a UX designer and have good communication and design skills. Please let me know if I can help in any way

    Reply
  14. Valentina ekka says:
    March 30, 2020 at 8:52 am

    I am Valentina from Delhi, I’ll be very happy to volunteer. Kindly get in touch.

    Reply
  15. Mayank says:
    March 30, 2020 at 9:00 am

    Hi Everyone!
    We are Aadi Shakti Shiksha Foundation and we are currently working on ground to help the needy and daily wage workers.We have approximately covered 700 families and targeting more. So if anyone wants to contribute or volunteer can check the Facebook page Aadi Shakti Shiksha Foundation for work or contact on following numbers-:
    Lalita Yadav- 9711466718
    Karan- 9811602511

    Reply
  16. Manjula K says:
    March 31, 2020 at 5:21 am

    Hi Everyone, Me an individual lady, would like to work as volunteer in COVID 19.
    Im placed in Bangalore and ready to travel as well but prefer to work as Volunteer from Bangalore only if given a chance.

    Reply
  17. Eshant Kubde says:
    March 31, 2020 at 6:47 am

    Would definitely like to volunteer.
    Please get in touch.

    Eshant K

    Reply
  18. azeez says:
    March 31, 2020 at 8:47 am

    I am from Hyderabad, please contact me at 8019560857 if required.

    Reply
  19. Farhan Khan says:
    March 31, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    Hi I am in noida extension, let ne know If can help in this covid 19 crisis lock down. I am a upsc aspirant.

    Reply
  20. Srinivas says:
    April 1, 2020 at 1:46 am

    My name is Srinivas, resident of Bangalore, I am keen to volunteer for Covid 19. Pls revert back

    Reply
  21. Vedha V.Rasu says:
    April 1, 2020 at 2:50 am

    Namasthe

    Im Vedha from Santhome. I’m not in facebook. I’m ready to volunteer during this pandemic. I’m available from 10 am till 3pm. I can do counseling for parents and elders. I can provide personnel care for old age people or collecting food supplies or serving the cooked food . if any help needed kindly call me in around mylapore , adyar ,area.
    thank you .

    we shall overcome everything .

    salute to everyone who are helping the nation.

    Vedha.V.Rasu.

    JAI HIND

    Reply
  22. Radhika says:
    April 1, 2020 at 8:18 am

    Hii i am radhika from jaipur an interior designer want to serve for country and people during this lockdown

    Reply
  23. Maaria Lakdawala says:
    April 2, 2020 at 1:21 pm

    Hello im Maaria Lakdawala im a law student I’m a keen volunteer from Mumbai.
    I can help with the following
    1Volunteer within your home by creating educational content (in modules) for Chennai Volunteer school sessions in the coming academic year, specifically in Conversational English and Computer Science.
    2Record an audiobook for visually challenged college students so they can study well.
    3Volunteer as a remote volunteer for a helpline that takes incoming calls from needy elders who need help from an NGO during the present lockdown.
    4If you are good at communicating, volunteer an online storytelling and singing session with a home for young children who are confined in a small space, with no school, no visitors and no recreation.
    5Help an NGO in its research and analysis.
    6Help an NGO create their presence on social media, by way of a defined project.
    with a little guidance im confident that I will be able to achieve and help with any task that im required to fulfil

    Reply

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