Article: A hectic schedule can make volunteering seem intimidating, but you really only need a couple of hours for many volunteer opportunities. For example, you could volunteer at a park or beach clean-up, spend a few hours organizing cans at a food pantry, or spend a weekend working on a habitat house.  VolunteerMatch.org, Idealist.org, and HandsOn Network are all good websites to search for volunteer opportunities in your area. When political campaigns are going on, you can volunteer your time to support a local candidate in an election. All campaigns need people to man the phones and help others register to vote. A lot of volunteering organizations aren’t going to be picky about how much time you give them. They will appreciate a few hours here and there if you’re doing good work. Going back week after week is the best way to get invested in a cause and build relationships with those you are working for and serving. Search online sites like Volunteer Match for recurring tutoring gigs, teaching fellowships, or fundraising positions at local and national organizations. Choose volunteer jobs that take advantage of your talents. For example, if you’re musical, you could sing or play at nursing homes. With sports skills, you can coach a sport on a volunteer basis, perhaps working with special needs kids or underserved communities. Call or email local non-profits, working on issues like poverty, homelessness, or animal welfare in your area, and ask if there are ways you can help. Some national organizations, like the YMCA and the Red Cross, consistently need volunteers and are great places to engage with your community.  On top of being a great way to give back, volunteering can also give you invaluable experience working in a field or cause you’re excited about. Volunteering can also be a good way to see if certain career paths would be a good fit for you. Volunteering in hospitals, for example, could help you decide whether you might in the future want to pursue medicine. It is possible to spend 1-2 years working full-time in a volunteer position. These kinds of positions allow you to make a more sustainable impact on people than once-a-week volunteering jobs. In the Peace Corps, volunteers spend two years in another country, working on a specific sector of development, like education, health, or agriculture.  Teach for America is a well recognized volunteer organization in the US, where volunteers spend two years working as teachers in public schools and receive teacher training.  To make an impact on a place that is sustainable, it is important to do your research, work with a quality organization, and spend time getting to know a place before you jump in to help. Be wary of “voluntourism,” or going to other countries for short periods of time to serve, which sometimes does more harm than good.
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Find sporadic volunteer opportunities if you have a busy schedule. Find recurring volunteer positions to give back to your community. Inquire about volunteer positions at local non-profits. Serve in a full-time volunteer position, like the Peace Corps.