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Tech-Related Volunteer Gigs
jeffomatic writes "Here's a question for Service Day: what kind of volunteer opportunities are available out there for the technologically-inclined? I'm a software developer and I'm wondering if there's anyone in the field engaged in pro-bono work, like IT or teaching or web design or whatnot. I'm not at all above rolling my sleeves up and working at shelters or the local park, but it occurs to me that my professional skills might be usefully applied in the service context as well. I'd like to hear about what other people are doing, in terms of projects, time commitments, organizations, etc." Or just commit a patch to your favorite project.
That's a great idea, and it's also true for many charities. Pick your favorite, call them up, and talk to them. I volunteered to do database stuff for the local Habitat for Humanity.
All small non profits (women's shelters, food banks, volunteer fire departments, etc) always need someone who can do basic PC maintenance, install software, generally help them USE their computers with a little bit of training, and fix things. I used to do the service work on the PCs, network, and copier at a local woman's shelter when I was in the repair business. It was one of my freebies that I did simply because I was asked.
Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
Volunteer dev in Toronto
you had me at #!
I had a similar urge some years back, so I volunteered at the local Habitat for Humanity office. They had some need for simple IT work, and I probably could have done just fine.
But... then I got busy with other stuff. And I found my passion for helping people wasn't consistent. Before long I handed back my office key. They probably put more effort into getting me up to speed than they ever recouped from my help.
I think this makes it hard to do good volunteer IT work. Much IT work benefits greatly from low turnover, as opposed to picking up garbage in a park, where turnover rate probably is irrelevant.
So I guess my advice is to avoid talking up your usefulness to the people you're trying to help, until you're sure you'll have the interest and free time to really stick with it. On the other hand, even IT people can still pick up garbage in the park.
You could volunteer and show a few elderly individuals how to use a computer.
If you want to do this, the place to get in contact with is your local library. They'll either do the classes themselves, or know who to contact at the local school system's 'continuing education', which is the other place that might be doing it.
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
I helped the local Humane Society get their records modernized using Animal Shelter Manager (http://sheltermanager.sourceforge.net/home.php). The sysadmin there was feeling a bit out of his depth with setting up the SQL database and such. It was easy work, and made a real tangible difference. I love these sort of freebies too, where there is a task with a clear end.
1) I installed the software.
2) Installed and configured the mySQL on their little server.
3) Got the tables setup
4) Trained the sysadmin on what I'd done and how to maintain/backup the system
5) Got the software installed on the desktops with his help
6) Backed out of the picture
7) No Profit
Sheldon
So not true.
http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/taxes/deductions.shtml#q2
I have volunteered my time with a local volunteer fire department for about 12 years now. I work full time as a systems administrator for a large network and donate my time to them for because their service is very valuable to my community. Fire departments all over the country are required to submit reports to their state and the federal government to be eligible for grants, etc. There is a lot of data collected for that and has to be submitted electronically in most places. If the your local department does not have the IT and database expertise in-house, they could be missing out on a lot of opportunities for funding from the federal government that could save the local taxpayers a lot of money.
Uh, no.
My wife's mom is 89 years old. She is working with her eeePC just fine, thank you despite having only these resources:
- A neighbor who had one - her neighbor is not a tech-savvy geek, but someone who's 55 herself and happens to live upstairs. And taught herself how to use the eee... Scary, but she did.
- Never, repeat NEVER used a keyboard before. Voicemail on her cellphone scared her somewhat.
- Never even *saw* the Internet unless one of her daughters brought their notebook over to show her pictures of the great-grandkids.
Since her apt complex put in WiFi, several other residents have gotten various machines. How she manages with the eee is beyond me, but she pecks away at it, and I get emails from her. She even gets the whole video thing. We may have started something....
No one is too old. That's beyond bogus. Stupid knows no age.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
Very true. I help run a student organization that helps non-profits with their technology needs. Literally every non-profit we talk to has some kind of technology problem or need, from designing a new website to simple things like figuring out how to network a printer. Call up a few local ones and see where they need help.
You might also want to check places like TechSoup, where non-profits would look for tech help.
eclecti.cc
You laugh, but there is a Hackers for Charity, and it's an awesome organization.
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.