Volunteering is a great way to expand your horizons and you learn much through doing so. Finding opportunities related to your career can help you develop relevant skills and further prepare you for graduate or professional school. While there are great volunteer opportunities on campus through different organizations, it’s always worthwhile to venture out of your comfort zone and explore different areas. Plus, you can choose between opportunities that require a periodic commitment or one-off events to suit your schedule. Here are a few organizations to get you started.
Fort Lauderdale Beach Sweep
If you’re interested in environmental science or ecology, this could be an enriching experience. Helping clean up our beaches benefits ocean-dwelling species and raises awareness of how significant an impact human waste production has. Fort Lauderdale Beach Sweep happens the second Saturday of every month from 7 – 11 a.m. Volunteers meet at The Hub, 300 S Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd and can park at 240 Las Olas Circle, Ft. Lauderdale before 11 a.m. You can register upon arriving or via their Facebook page.
Good Karma Pet Rescue
If you’re an animal lover, volunteering with Good Karma, a pet rescue non-profit organization, is a wonderful way to nurture animals in need without having to adopt one. Good Karma has multiple volunteer positions such as transport providers for animals who need to go to the vet or to a new foster home, newsletter writers who can contribute articles to a monthly newsletter, social media content creators, home visitors to ensure animals are going to a good home and more. The Good Luck Cat Cafe, a coffee shop that allows guests to also cuddle and adopt cats, also accepts volunteers willing to be scheduled weekly to watch over the cats (and kittens!) in the cafe. If interested, you can apply at https://www.goodkarmapetrescue.org/volunteer.
Firewall Americorps Mentor
Firewall Centers provide tutoring services to high-need students in elementary, middle and high school, and you can be a part of it. Mostly, volunteers regularly assist students with homework, but they also facilitate activity days, host end of quarter parties and organize supply drives. To volunteer with this organization, simply fill out an application at https://firewallcenters.org/get-involved/.
Angel House
This organization is a family-oriented assisted living home for seniors that aims to “find the ideal balance of privacy, accessibility, comfort, security and activities designed to entertain and nurture.” Volunteers are involved in activities, art and crafts and more to create this environment for residents.
Those interested in volunteering with Angel House can fill out a volunteer application at https://angelhouseseniors.com/caregivers-%26-volunteers.
If you haven’t seen anything that catches your eye, be sure to contact your ExEL advisor to discuss opportunities more relevant to your interests.
Photo: M. Brodeur
