Volunteering without an organization

[JakAttk]

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After thinking about feedback on my post yesterday, I think that tutoring underserved students in my community for free would be a good way for me to volunteer. I like teaching, I'm a strong test taker, and there's a growing need for it. However, I couldn't find any local nonprofits or student organizations that do this. If I just put up fliers and did it on my own at a public library or something, I wouldn't have any "proof" or person to put as a reference, so I'm afraid it would read more like a hobby. Should I form a nonprofit organization and find a few other tutors, then pass it on to someone when I start med school?

Side question, any thoughts on how I might verify that students are underserved/in need of free tutoring? Should I just make it an honor system or request some kind of info to confirm? Thanks!

 

[Z_C]

i’m not an admission committee member so this is just some person talking but:

if you can talk about it eloquently and passionately i think that having some other person to refer to is probably not that important in establishing that you care.

that said, don’t form a dang nonprofit you don’t have the time for that. Administrating an existing a nonprofit that is a full time job that requires years of experience to be even vaguely competent at, i know people who do this, they all sleep at work >3x per week and aren’t also in college about it. starting something that’s worthwhile is going to be all that plus you have to build it from scratch. this is just my estimation though, i’ve never done it myself.

if you live near a city or even a lot of middle sized college towns consider working with boys and girls clubs of your local area, they’re almost always looking for volunteers and have after school and educational programs

another option if you are in or near a city is to volunteer with the urban league, they do a lot of work with underserved communities including Head Start programs, plus you might find any number of other ways to get involved!

also I’d keep the door open to helping students in low resource environments in other ways, maybe they need tutoring but if you work with after school programs you may find that you can help them in ways you hadn’t even though of! that’s the great thing about community work is that the more you do it the more you learn what else needs to be done!!

ur gonna do great : )


edit: also my advice still stands, don’t approach it from “what can I do” approach it from “who do I want to help” then when you have your answer go and ask those people what they need, the answer often isn’t what you think

 

[Cobie]

Disclaimer: I am admittedly an applicant and a youngin so take my advice as you will.
I think DIY volunteer tutoring seems like not the best idea…and I highly suspect there’s already organizations in your area that do this. You can start with googling just like “Volunteer tutor in xxx,” Or if there’s a particular community you want to work with, you can look up “refugee volunteer tutoring” or something of the like. Otherwise contact your major public school system or local churches if they have opportunities.
Also, there’s a huge need for volunteering that’s not tutoring! Go to a food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, etc.