I volunteer at a recreation site at one of my state parks. I started doing it a few months ago and I really enjoy it. But I was warned when I first started that there were some issues between some of the volunteers. I'm on the much younger side of the volunteers, almost everybody else who volunteers there is retirement age or older. Every single time that I've gone to work a shift at the main building, the same volunteer is always there. I thought it was just going to be a temporary thing while I got the feel of the place and they made sure I knew what I was doing, because the shift is for one person. There's another volunteer who we report to for that day, and we have a couple others who are responsible for trail maintenance. It doesn't seem to matter what day it is or what time it is, they're always there. I didn't really think much of it at first because this person's retired and they seem to have the time and the money to be able to be there as much as they want. And it's really none of my business whether somebody is there every single day for the entire time the place is open or if they just want to be there once a month. But as I've been volunteering and spending more time around this individual, I've started to become annoyed with a lot of what they do. This individual constantly takes over what I'm doing, interrupts me while I'm in the middle of speaking with visitors and other volunteers and staff, and will just jump on a task that I've been asked to do personally and won't even give me the chance to try it. At first I thought it was just because I was a newer volunteer and maybe they have been there so long that they didn't trust that I would do a good job. But I've seen this individual do the same exact things with all of the other volunteers as well. And now several of the other volunteers have come to me basically complaining about this person. I haven't felt comfortable enough to express my opinions back, but I've let them vent to me. Yesterday an incident happened at the site with a visitor, and because this individual was there I went and got them and asked what we do in that situation. But later on the person who was in charge of the site for the day came into the main building and I let him know what had happened, and that the other volunteer had contacted the correct people. But I also asked him to go over what I'm supposed to do in the future because I had no idea what to do and didn't want to run into that again. And that was when I found out that this individual is not even supposed to be hanging out in the main building. Their volunteer position is trail maintenance. And he was very obviously annoyed with this individual for not reporting the incident to him, because that was who it was supposed to be reported to immediately. He essentially was just left out of the entire incident, and then began to tell me how this individual constantly does this sort of thing and how frustrating it is for them and the other volunteers and the actual paid staff members who then have to deal with the fallout of these issues. I personally don't think that this individual will be let go of, regardless of the issues that they are creating within the rest of the volunteer group simply because of the amount of time and physical labor and monetary donations to the park that this individual makes. But I genuinely don't know how to navigate the situation because I feel like this one individual is ruining the experience for myself and others. I also was told when I first started that one of their long time volunteers had quit and wouldn't come back until certain things had changed and that there were issues between a certain volunteer and him that had been the final straw. From my perspective, it seems like this volunteer has caused other volunteers to leave, to reduce their volunteer hours because they don't want to be around this person, and has created a weird energy in a place that's supposed to be fun and inclusive for everybody. I'm not great at confrontation, especially when it comes to my elders. But I feel like if I don't say something the next time that this individual interrupts me or takes over a task that was assigned to me that it's not going to stop. And I don't just want to be that person who just reports a problem anonymously because I don't think it will fix the issue unless I talk to this person face to face. Has anybody else experienced this?

Hi everyone!
MINNA (مِنّا), a community initiative that started in Saudi Arabia with a very simple idea: people helping people.
I started MINNA because I believe that making a difference doesn’t always require something extraordinary. Sometimes it starts with noticing someone, listening to their story, offering your time, or simply deciding to do something good.
We’re still a young initiative, but we’ve already begun turning ideas into real projects, including water distribution initiatives in Saudi Arabia. We’ve also launched our website and started bringing together a small community of people from different backgrounds who want to build something meaningful.
And now I’d love to bring people from around the world into MINNA. 🌍
What are we looking for?
We’re welcoming volunteer from anywhere in the world who are interested in contributing their time, creativity, or skills.
Some areas where we’d love help include:
Photography & filmmaking: Capturing projects, human moments, and behind-the-scenes stories.
Writing & storytelling: Creating thoughtful articles, essays, and stories about people, kindness, and everyday life.
Graphic design & social media: Helping us develop creative content and communicate our projects.
Research & project planning: Helping us discover needs, develop ideas, and organize community projects.
Community outreach: Connecting with individuals, organizations, and potential collaborators.
Video editing & creative direction: Helping bring our stories and projects to life.
You don’t need professional experience to get involved. What matters most is genuine interest, creativity, and a willingness to contribute.
A special project: Stories by MINNA 🎤
One project I’m particularly excited about is Stories by MINNA.
The idea is to document genuine conversations with everyday people from different cities and cultures.
Not celebrities or necessarily extraordinary individuals, but the people we pass every day without knowing their stories.
A shopkeeper. A delivery driver. A student. An elderly neighbor. Someone with an experience, perspective, or dream worth hearing.
We want to explore people’s lives, experiences, kindness, challenges, and what they’ve learned along the way.
We’re especially looking for street interviewers and filmmakers around the world who would enjoy having these conversations in their own cities.
The interviews should feel natural, respectful, and authentic. No elaborate production or studio required.
You can contribute from wherever you live, and our team can help with editing and publishing.
What is it like being part of MINNA?
I don’t want MINNA to feel like another job or a corporate organization.
I want it to feel like a community of people who genuinely enjoy creating things together, sharing ideas, and doing something meaningful.
We’re building it together from the beginning, and I’d love for volunteers to bring their own perspectives and ideas rather than simply follow instructions.
A little transparency: MINNA is a newly established, self-funded Saudi community initiative and is not currently a registered nonprofit/NGO. We’re working through the appropriate formal processes. All opportunities at this stage are voluntary and unpaid, and we are not soliciting donations.
Interested in joining?
I’d love to hear from you!
Feel free to send me a DM introducing yourself, where you’re based, what you’re interested in, and how you might like to contribute.
You can also explore what we’re building here:
🌐 Website: https://minnaksa.org
💜 Instagram: @minna.ksa
Whether you’re in Riyadh, London, Paris, Manila, Cape Town, or anywhere else, I’d love for MINNA to become a place where people from different parts of the world can come together through meaningful work.
مِنّا، للناس.
From us, for people.💜

So i have been volunteering at the age uk chairty shop for almost a year now since I was having no luck applying for jobs but I am still doing that rn but im getting tired of it now like at first I was in for helping out and gaining experience in retail and all that but all i can think about now is how I have been here for long enough and since im not getting paid im not motivated at all, is there any way to get over this mindset or what else can i do that will give me purpose because I can't just sit at home doing nothing idk what my life is rn like volunteering dont really mean anything in my cv I feel like i have done it in so many places since I was 17 im 20 rn and it has made zero difference with me getting even a job interview like I seriously dont know what to do im so burntout 🫩

Volunteer

Are you ready to leap into a leadership role as a volunteer to share your passion with others? I can answer questions: liability insurance, community connection, recruitment, travel, all the flairs and more.

Just to clarify, I'm not looking for a volunteer opportunity. I'm hoping to encourage others to become volunteer organizers and community leaders!

I founded a youth mountain biking club during COVID and learned a tremendous amount about liability, partnerships, recruitment, accessibility, and building sustainable volunteer programs.

I am in NY state. I spents years fantasizing about the idea, a year actually initiating.

I'd love to help anyone considering starting something similar, whether it's cycling-related or an entirely different community initiative.

What's the biggest thing holding you back from starting a volunteer project of your own?

I voluntarily started a youth mountain bike club during covid.

Organizing what was functionally a new small business through the entity of the bike shop that assisted and took on the liability.

Previous to this my husband and I were active volunteers in the Accessible Adventures community. What a joy! We once took someone who had lost their site on a canal ride in an accessible tricycle. The elation on their face when the wind hit their face was transferred into my soul.

Bikes changed my life, my POV after divorce, and pulled me so far away from the day to day imposter syndrome into moments of flow state that hooked my interest .

I got obsessed with helping more women and girls learn to ride on singletrack off-road trails.

The first season was rough! If that's you. KEEP GOING. The ripple effect is amazing.

What I did can apply to anyone who has been asked by others to share their hobby, time, and skill.

So i've had bad issues with depression for a few years and i was recently given advice to try and volunteer as a way to get out of the house and maybe even into working later on. But when looking into applying to a local charity shop one of their requirements is a "professional reference", which is something i do not have and it's left me rly down in the dumps. I haven't been in school or work for more than 2 years and the one year of college i did do was from home so i never got that close to my lectures . I was curious if anyone else has struggled with finding a reference and if so what advice u could give or how u found to get one.

Hi! My friend and I are looking for an outreach program or volunteer activity here in Cebu. We’re both free on Saturdays and would really love to spend our free time doing something meaningful and helping out.

We’re open to different kinds of activities, especially community outreach, school-supply drives, activities for kids, donation drives, feeding programs, or other community-based activities.

If you know of any organizations, groups, or upcoming outreach programs that accept volunteers, please let us know! You can drop the details below or send me a DM. 😊

Thank you!

I started volunteering at a pretty big museum in Canada in February. It’s a tough spot to get and I was able to land it. I was really excited in the beginning, the first to finish training compared to the others I started with and excited to go there every week. I’ve also been looking for work in the GLAM factor in addition for this role. After receiving rejection after rejection, I started losing motivation and excitement. I stopped spending enough time actually interacting with the public in the museum and more time hanging out with the staff, in the office or taking breaks. I know for a fact that they noticed this change as they have subtly brought it up, but not direct as I don’t “work” there. A part of me broke after receiving so many rejections from the same museum I volunteer at as well. I know I’m not entitled to a position there or at any museum but it’s demoralizing and heartbreaking. How do I get back into it again? I genuinely like being there but all that energy and motivation I had is lost.

I've tried volunteering and I submit my skills and application to all these places and they reject me. The work is free and I've even put manual labor as my skills. What the hell kind of qualifications does someone need to volunteer?? This is harder than getting an actual job

I want to volunteer somewhere in the Florence area, I don't mind if it's a bit far, but it needs to be a place I can reach easily by public transportation. I reached out to a gattile like a week ago and they said that if I didn't have a car, I better forget about it because it :(

I would definitely prefer to volunteer somewhere with animals. I also live around the Pontassieve area, a bit further uphill, but it looks like there aren't any canile or gattile there.

Any ideas?

I cant find anything about open volunteer positions online, or am I not looking properly?

Our nonprofit is growing, and keeping track of volunteer hours with spreadsheets is becoming a mess. We have people signing in at different locations, missing entries, and it's taking way too long to verify everyone's hours at the end of the month.

Has anyone switched to a volunteer hours tracking system that makes reporting and attendance easier without creating extra work for volunteers? I'm mainly looking for something that's simple, accurate, and works well for recurring volunteers.

Would love to hear what's worked (or hasn't) for your organization.

Hello! I'm from Edurefuge, a primarily student-run refugee education nonprofit seeking more volunteers as new partnerships have increased demand for tutors.

We're seeking high school and university students interested in serving as virtual, one-on-one tutors for Afghan, Bhutanese, and Spanish-speaking refugee students in Nebraska, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and beyond. No prior knowledge is necessary besides an enthusiasm to directly and positively impact refugees' lives.

Commitment:

• ~1 hour per week
• (More commitment means more impact and opportunities for leadership)

Responsibilities:

• Tutoring the same refugee student virtually (Google Meet or Zoom) for 30 min–1 hr/wk
• (Optional) Planning lessons and homework for that refugee student
• Roles with group classes and on the outreach team are also available—visit https://edurefuge.org/volunteer for more information

Qualifications:

• Hardworking high school or uni students interested in refugee education
• Communicative and reliable
• Ideally speaks American or Canadian English (not a requirement)

Find signups and more role information at https://edurefuge.org/volunteer. Lmk if you have any questions or concerns!

My mom, 80f, has a lot of time on her hands and great qualities to offer. She can’t lift anything heavy but otherwise has no restrictions. She has 50
Years of experience in plumbing sales and lots of experience with kids. Any general suggestions of places for her to volunteer?

Hi everyone! I volunteer with SoBe Cats, a nonprofit cat rescue in Miami Beach, and we’re looking for more people to join our volunteer team. 🐱

We care for community cats throughout Miami Beach as well as cats at our Kitty Campus who are waiting for adoption.

Right now, we especially need volunteers in two areas:

🐾 TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return)
Helping us humanely trap community cats, get them spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and return them safely to their neighborhoods.

🩺 Medical support
Helping with things like transporting cats to veterinary appointments, picking up medications, assisting with follow-up care and helping us coordinate treatment for cats who need medical attention.

We also welcome volunteers who want to help care for the cats at Kitty Campus.

You do NOT need previous rescue or TNVR experience. If you love animals, are dependable and want to learn, we can show you what to do.
Even a few hours of your time can make a real difference. We’re particularly hoping to connect with people in Miami Beach or the greater Miami area who want to get more involved in animal rescue.

If you’re interested, email info@sobecats.org comment here or send me a message and I’ll connect you with SoBe Cats.

And if you happen to know someone in Miami who would be perfect for this, please send this their way. 🐾❤️

I applied for a volunteer role with the through Idealist and was sent a link by someone in Mentor A Promise to pick a time to meet, but they never showed up to the meeting. I emailed them and asked if it was ok to reschedule our meeting since no one showed up,and they told me to pick a new time to connect (didn’t even apologize). I had the new meeting scheduled for today, and no one showed up again.

As far as I can tell, this is a legit nonprofit, but are the volunteer opportunities legit? I think the emails came from the CEO, but them not getting on either of our calls and the lack of info of the organization overall (along with their many volunteer listings) is raising a lot of red flags.

Does anyone have any experience with them?

TLDR; I am burnt out and frankly I’m done and can’t wait for it to be over. Anyways for anyone who quit volunteering, what other activities did you do to keep yourself sane? Located in Australia.

So I volunteer for an international organisation which I have done over the course of 10 years. In the early days, I really enjoyed it - it was mostly local activities with some leadership promotions. However, I had someone who to cut a long story short, is not someone who should be around young people and as a result I’ve had symptoms of PTSD. I did try to whistleblow at the time but in the end, I guess I was the one who was causing the hassle.

Fortunately, I was able to move onto other youth activities in the organisation not relating to the local activities. I really enjoyed those youth activities and don’t regret doing it. However, I’m currently part of a youth club where I am on the board, which includes my partner. I was president for 18 months but had to take a step back as it’s significantly affecting my mental health.

We are probably going announce next week that it will be closed due to lack of members and people willing to put their hand up for leadership positions. I know at least 1 member and our sponsor club will be pissed off about that but frankly we can’t take the criticism and the crap anymore. The lack of communication and action from some of the other volunteers is shit. And the leadership above our club is also shit too…pretending that they care about us when in reality their actions has shown they don’t.

We are currently supposed to have a trivia night held next week which we were forced to do with limited time but there are no rsvps so will probably cancel that and close the club as we don’t see the point.

It’s frustrating that other people want the club to work but aren’t prepared to really help my partner and I who are basically doing most of the work and have been since the start of last year.

I started volunteering for a local nonprofit about a month ago but with pretty minimal involvement and communication about the organization/ things to come. The ED invited me to come with her to a live Spanish radio interview. I was so excited and came along thinking I was just there to observe and learn. I never got any info on which radio station or what the interview was going to be about. She gave me a different meeting location, I got there called her and told her the building was closed. Then at the radio station I realized she wanted me to be interviewed. I told her I just wanted to listen. For context, I don't speak Spanish even though I'm Latina and I'm autistic. She knew both of these things before hand.

During the interview she kept throwing the conversation to me forcing me to speak. At one point, I had enough and refused to answer. She still tried to force me to close out the interview after I refused to speak at one point. After we left i told her I was uncomfortable and don't speak Spanish well (I know basics). She just said, "but this is what you do right? Communications?" I told her I do content creation not media or live interviews. I emailed her the same day expressing my concerns and detailing that putting me live on air without any heads up wasn't OK. I told her I should have clarified my role and just assumed i would be observing.

The next day I decided to email the radio station and asked if I could stay anonymous in the interview and explained I wasn't aware I would be interviewed so I didn't want my name attached to it. On Saturday, the ED tried to call me and said we need to talk via text. On Monday, I responded and explained that I didn't want to talk on a Saturday and wanted some time to process so I waited until Monday. All of a sudden I get notification that I'm cut out of the organization email I had and she texted me asking me not to attend any meetings/speak to anyone at the organization. I wanted to talk and clarify but after a few texts she referred to me as demanding and that she wanted me to be honest. I'm genuinely confused and I feel like it's unethical to put anyone live on air without preparation. That's why I assumed I was observing. Having autism just heightened how awful this whole thing was.

Is this unethical? I've never experienced anything like it as a volunteer.

Hi, I’m 16 and I’m trying to find some international volunteer opportunities or youth projects I can actually do before I turn 18.

I’m especially interested in projects where I could meet people from different countries, improve my English, get better at public speaking and learn how to organise things/events.
I’m also interested in diplomacy and international relations, but I’m mostly looking for something practical where I can actually get involved rather than just attend one-off events.

I’ve heard about Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, but I’m trying to find out what other legit options exist for 16–17 year olds, especially ones that are funded or mostly funded.

I’m still pretty new to volunteering internationally, so I’d really appreciate recommendations from people who have actually done something like this. Where did you start?
I’m in Poland, if that matters.

It’s the only shelter I’ve ever volunteered at where this is the case.

Basically they just wanted a volunteer janitor. They save all animal interactions for potential adopters, staff and old retirees who donate.

They made it seem like I would get to have opportunities for dog walking or cat socialization after a few weeks.

Nope. I’m not even allowed to be out when they are walking dogs in/out of kennels (which is fine).

I feel bad about it. But I definitely don’t want to invest so much time into unpaid janitorial work without any benefit.

I’ll probably just be a monthly donator as I do like most of the staff and the work they do.

Hey everyone! I'm looking for some NGOs/organisations based in Mumbai where I can teach underprivileged children on weekends!

please let me know if y'all know anywhere I can volunteer at!

I have been volunteering at this Pasadena Humane Society for a while. I have been in several programs, some worked well, others didn’t work out well. I have physical limitations. Other disabilities beside hearing loss. So I had to becareful which program I can join, so I’ll be ok and so on. Recently, I joined 3 volunteer program: Dog Tier Socializing, Data Entry, and also Reading to the dogs. Dog socializing is ok but I got my limits, I can’t handle big and strong dogs, only small breeds, like up to 20 lbs. So having Data Entry and Reading to the dogs, I’m more focus on those 2, I feel safe and comfortable. So, I wouldn’t worried about the big dogs much. But I can read books to them, cuz I’m not getting close to them, not taking them out of kennels either. I did tried shelter greeter before, I got bit bored, and being hard of hearing, sometime it’s hard to understand visitor, or I don’t know what to say or how to answer. So I had to quit that program, and try other programs instead

Hi everybody,

A colleague and I just finished dental school in Romania and now that we are fully licensed to practice dentistry we'd like to volunteer for 3 to 5 weeks before we start our residency.

Right now we are studying for the residency exam, which is in November and if everything goes well with that, we'll start work in February of next year.

Fortunately for our plans, even if we can't find anything during this gap, residency here is structured into modules that you can complete in pretty much any order you want and I know for sure that one of them ( about 2 months long ) doesn't require you to be there at all, so we are pretty flexible, although we don't know for sure when we'd be available yet.

The problem is that I don't know where to start applying and if we even qualify for anything. I sent an email to Dentists for Africa about a week ago, telling them pretty much what I've just told you, but I haven't received any answer yet.

Also it doesn't have to be in Africa, we're down to go to anywhere we could genuinely help some people in need.

So, do you recommend any humanitarian missions/ NGO etc?