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.

Comments

Your local free/reduced medical clinic..

[gandhi_2]

...i bet could really use some simple PHP+xSQL database for scheduling and stuff.

Most small non-profits keep records in a smattering of paper and undocumented excel sheets, they could really use your IT expertise.

Re:Your local free/reduced medical clinic..

[MoonBuggy]

It's definitely a nice idea, and I don't want to be discouraging, but keep continuing support in mind - both generally (can you commit to keeping it patched and secure for the next x amount of time?) and in emergencies (they're relying on the system, it goes down, how much of a problem is that going to cause them and how are they going to get it fixed?).

Small Open Source project

[tomtomtom777]

CmdrTaco gave you the answer.

If you want to work pro-bono, why don't you just start working on an open source project, that's not big enough to pay you yet?

Simple question. Simple answer.

tons of opportunities out there

[plopez]

I've posted a number of times on this topic. It's a good way to get tech skills and references if you are in school or just out of school and need experience.

Start googling groups in you community.

No kill animal shelters need people to maintain donor databases and websites. As do public radio stations. Non-profit recycling centers/thrift stores often need people to wipe and reload computers (and make sure they have the right licenses). Low income schools need tech instructors.

I've done the tech instructor gig and the thrift store gig over the years. As far as time goes, volunteers are often given large amounts of flexibility. After all, you are not getting paid.

You should check out the organization carefully, interview them per se. Make sure they are serious and high quality. Don't let them dump all their work on you.

If you are doing it for the resume avoid anything too closely tied with political, religous or controversial topics. As the joke goes, explaining why you did volunteer work for the North American Marlon Brando Look-alikes Association may be embarrassing.

HTH

Re:Service Day? WTF?

[megamerican]

You make a very valid point. Forcing people to do "volunteer" work is ridiculous. It has the opposite effect that is desired. It makes people hate to help others because it is forced. It is counter-productive to force high-school kids to do menial tasks and call it volunteer work.

However, when you have a certain skill set, such as programming or fixing computers, etc... and you help out people who genuinely need it it is extremely rewarding.

I found this out when tutoring people in college. Of course I did it for money, but I found out that I genuinely enjoyed helping people and now do it for free.

I find this call by Obama and Rahm Emanuel towards "national service" very troubling. His constant call for "sacrifice" and "serving" gets me worried. Instead of holding the people accountable for creating this financial mess we're just expected to become wards of the state. Was Aldous Huxley right when he said people will love their servitude? I sure hope not.

Re:Service Day? WTF?

[ceiling9]

I think you are taking this a way too seriously. First, no one is forcing anyone, or even really compelling anyone to volunteer, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to, with no negative effects whatsoever.

I think the goal is just to make a time where it is more socially acceptably and when people are encouraged to do volunteer work. Many people might have a slight interest, or be unsure of how to get involved, so maybe this day will make that easier, and make them realize how to volunteer more often, out of their own free will.

The same goes for requiring some community service in school. In real life no-one can make you volunteer, but they also can't make you write papers or finish assignments. In school, you get grades for learning, and trying out some volunteer work can be educational.

Just commit a patch?

[Gord.ca]

I'm sorry to take exception to a key tennant of open source theory, but I just don't think its so simple to 'just' commit a patch.

I see contributing to a project as involving a significant commitment. In my thinking, high quality patches require the developer to have a fairly high level of understanding of the internals of the project and the local coding conventions. If the contributor doesn't have this, the patch will need significant rework from someone who does, or the codebase will get ugly fast.

If I'm being too much of a perfectionist please tell me.

I'm a software developer who'd love to contribute to some of the major projects, but I see the personal commitment to positive effect ratio as prohibitive.