5 Ways Your Smartphone Can Help Find Volunteer Opportunities This Holiday Season
The holiday season is a great time of year to give back to the local community by volunteering. Each year, an estimated 30% of Americans volunteer their time and talents to help others. When looking for volunteer activities, UScellular suggests turning to your smartphone. In fact, mobile devices accounted for 54% of nonprofit website traffic in 2021.
Giving back offers benefits for the volunteers, as well as the people they’re helping. According to the Mayo Clinic, volunteering keeps people moving and thinking at the same time improving overall physical and mental health.
UScellular offers the following advice to help find the right opportunity this holiday season:
• Use the right online sources. Check out apps, such as thathelps.com, goldenvolunteer.com and pointapp.org, to find local volunteer activities and track volunteer hours. There are also websites dedicated to matching volunteers with service projects and opportunities. Search sites like volunteermatch.org, idealist.org, handsonnetwork.org or catchafire.org to find information on many organizations and projects that need help.
• Help locally. Check out local volunteer websites to find charitable organizations and projects close to home.
• Volunteer virtually. If you want to volunteer but have mobility, health, or transportation challenges, consider volunteering virtually. Use smartphones, tablets, or computers to complete volunteer work remotely, completing marketing or graphic design projects, conducting research, fundraising, planning events, and tutoring. Check out websites like pointsoflight.org, dosomething.org or createthegood.aarp.org.
• Bring cheer to children. There are many ways to bring some holiday magic to children in the local community. Call, email, or text local charities or local schools to anonymously “adopt” a child and provide them with holiday gifts. You can also check online for drop off sites for Toys for Tots, one of the largest annual toy drives in the country.
• Serve food at a local shelter. Since this is a popular volunteer activity around the holidays, be sure to call ahead or check online to see when they may need help.
Since 2009, UScellular has donated nearly $22.6 million along with countless experiences and technology items to nonprofit organizations across the country. For more information about the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, please go to https://newsroom.uscellular.com/community/.
About UScellular
UScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to help customers stay connected to the things that matter most. The Chicago-based carrier provides a strong, reliable network supported by the latest technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. Through its After School Access Project, the company has pledged to provide hotspots and service to help up to 50,000 youth connect to reliable internet. Additionally, UScellular has price protected all of its plans, promising not to increase prices through at least the end of 2023. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, visit newsroom.uscellular.com.