Volunteer Opportunities

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student12135

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Hi!
I am currently a 2nd year pre-Med student and I am looking for non-clinical volunteer experiences. I’m really looking for something that is a great way to give back to the community and do some meaningful work. Anyone have a good experience with an organization or have suggestions for places to check out?

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I normally find the best ones to be the ones you create yourself or ones not through national organizations (because there are so many rules that basically make it pointless). I.e. I volunteered through various organization that basically asked us to manage booths and handout flyers. Even volunteering at a hospital, I felt more like a receptionist or a cleaning person than a "volunteer." I would suggest going to your local elementary school and asking if they need a community tutor that could hang out 2 hours a day after class and help kids. I also went to a senior retirement home and hung out with the elderly. Normally, youth avoid those areas (unless they're pre-med..) so they get very excited when someone young comes in and laughs with them. I remember an elderly person and I would laugh at how ridiculous his retirement home was at making them decorate holiday cookies. We would sit there and talk, critique other peoples cookies, and drink "boozy" cider (this was allowed at this retirement home) instead. I got more interaction and personal with the volunteer work here than any other organizations. Lastly, you could go and work at the soup kitchen or food bank... like everyone else.
 
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Hi!
I am currently a 2nd year pre-Med student and I am looking for non-clinical volunteer experiences. I’m really looking for something that is a great way to give back to the community and do some meaningful work. Anyone have a good experience with an organization or have suggestions for places to check out?
Some thoughts:

1. Fire Departments.
Call your local fire department and ask about volunteering opportunities. If there is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in your area, you might want to contact them and become involved in community training programs and other CERT-related activities (e.g., wide area search and rescue, emergency communications, etc.).

2. County and City Parks and Local Recreation Areas. Community volunteers provide services to local parks, recreational areas and local wilderness areas. Some of the volunteer activities include conservation and management projects, building trails, leading interpretative hikes, patrolling park trails, facility maintenance, etc.

3. Zoo Docents and Zoo Volunteers.
Volunteers conduct zoo tours, provide education, assist animal staff, and provide other zoo-related services.

4. Half-Marathon/5K races. Many race organizers advertise for community volunteers to provide various race-related services. The organizers often provide their volunteers with race-related t-shirts and free food/beverages.

5.
If you like animals, such as kittens, cats, puppies and dogs, many Animal Rescue/Animal Adoption Groups offer volunteer opportunities. The volunteers schedule their own flexible hours. My local animal rescue/adoption group has 2 volunteers who are EM physicians: both of them live in the area and enjoy spending about 5 hours per month with the cats and dogs. They schedule their own volunteer hours, based on their respective EM schedules and availability.

6. If you live near a Wilderness Area, Wilderness Sanctuary, Marine Habitat or a National Park, you can apply for volunteer positions at these venues. Many wilderness areas or coastal habitats welcome student volunteers, on days, weekends, and in the summertime. Some students become voluntary student rangers and spend a lot of time outdoors, or giving tours to kids, or checking hiking trails, or whatever.

7. Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers help build homes.

8. Animal Shelters/Humane Society also welcome part-time volunteers. If you live in a city or a town, an animal shelter is probably located near you that would welcome you as a daytime or weekend volunteer.

8. Youth Team Sports or Youth Team Coaching. Community volunteers provide team sports coaching, leadership and mentoring in a variety of youth sports, such as basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, baseball, etc.
 
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