Virtual Volunteering- An Opportunity to Change a Life
“ We rise, by lifting others.”
Today, we all are living hectic, fast-paced lives with not a second to while away time and watching people around us pass by. Yet, occasionally, we do notice a blind man being helped across the road by a kind passerby, or an anxious mother struggling with her bags as she pushes her child in the wheelchair in the shopping mall. We feel a twinge of guilt, for the life of privilege we enjoy and think to ourselves, we too should do a little something to lend a helping hand. Before we can cling to this thought, a phone call, the sudden remembrance of a forgotten task shakes us from our reverie and the moment is lost. Well, for those of us to whom this narrative sounds familiar, technology has given us an opportunity to help the specially-abled by taking out a few minutes from the circle of our lives. How so? Virtual volunteering is an effective way for people with time constraints to help out.
Virtual volunteering refers to activities completed, in whole or in part, using the internet at home or at work, using a computer or any other Internet-connected device, such as a smart-phone (a cell phone with Internet functions). Today, there are a couple of phone applications and websites that have been launched that connect specially-abled persons with abled volunteers who can aid them in case of any difficulties that may arise in their day to day life.
One such example in a phone application called Be My Eyes. Be My Eyes connects blind people who need assistance with sighted volunteers who want to help out via a direct video connection. For example, a blind person may be alone at home and may not able to read a phone number written on a paper if it is not in Braille. He can put a request for assistance through the application which will immediately connect him via video to one of their volunteers who can read out the number on the paper shown on the live video screen.
Volunteering on the application can be done very simply by downloading the application and giving some basic details. Such a simple thing for anyone to do and yet an easy way to make a difference, isn’t it? I am a volunteer myself on this application and trust me, whenever I have received a video call from someone requiring aid, helping them has made my day and given me a reason to smile that I did a little something to change someone’s life. This app is used by almost 100,000 blind people in 150 countries around the world connecting them with a network of 1.5 million volunteers who can help them with anything from reading out information to selecting clothes etc. In fact, Microsoft has tied up with the Be My Eyes to provide customer service executives who help the blind or those with low vision navigate Microsoft’s software and hardware systems via the aid of the video connection provided by the app. Innovative isn’t it?
Another application on which one can volunteer from work or from home is Librivox which has audiobooks available for free
for the blind or those with learning disabilities, who find it difficult to read print. Books which are no longer under copyright are made available on this application in the form of audio files. Volunteers registering on this platform can volunteer to read out single chapters of books which are under production. No training or auditions are required, just an assurance that you will put your best foot forward to accomplish this task. Once all the individual chapters of the book have been recorded by different volunteers it is then sent to a coordinator who then assigns it to volunteers for proofreading and to check for technical errors. So, there are multiple ways you can help out and spread knowledge and joy.
You can even volunteer with the United Nations at the click of a mouse. United Nations offers online volunteering opportunities for interested persons which may range from doing tasks such as writing, editing or translating documents, conducting research etc. All which can be done from the comfort of your home. Each volunteer job available on their site has a number of hours of work require listed below, so volunteers can choose as per their convenience. These initiatives are just few I came across, but there are many more you will find if you search online.
Some advantages of this type of volunteering are that it gives opportunities to help those who may not be able to volunteer for jobs which require them to be physically present due to lack of time or other constraints. Also, since volunteering happens online, there are no geographic barriers which will stop us from connecting with people in other countries. Even economically, this kind of volunteering works well as it eliminates the need for an office space. So, the next time you lament that you haven’t been able to volunteer or help for any cause, you should know there is a multitude of ways you can do your bit for those in need. If technology is going to make the world smaller, it only follows that our hearts should be more open and our actions should be larger.