The G-List-O-Stuff: Volunteering a la Carte

We all do it. We make lofty New Year's resolutions and say things like "I will volunteer more in 2012," but then our schedules and lives become too complicated to figure out how volunteering would fit it. The good news is that the website 1-800-Volunteer is a truly easy way to find time. It's a volunteer management system that helps match you with a nonprofit that fits your interests, skills and schedule. And in turn, the organizations get a better matched individual to help fulfill their missions.

I found out about the site by officially signing up with HandsOn Greater DC Cares a few years back, but now all you have to do is create a fee account online. You can also search for your local center. They have Volunteer Alexandria featured for our city. 

My goal for sharing this is certainly not to guilt people into volunteering. We are all terribly busy, I understand. It is just to show you that volunteering can be much easier now in an almost a la carte fashion. If you find you have an itch to help or a random weekend day open, you can simply look something up on this database and it doesn't have to feel like a major commitment.