jcravens42

Are you are following r/AmeriCorps and r/volunteer and r/communityservice?

Reddit4Good: subreddits focused on some aspect of volunteerism, community service or philanthropy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/volunteer/comments/sedenq/reddit4good_subreddits_focused_on_some_aspect_of/

hi, u/mixedliquor. There is a lot more flexibility now in volunteering than decades ago - there are lots more one-time volunteering gigs, and for the past 30 years, there's been online volunteering.

The bigger issue regarding volunteer engagement is that nonprofits don't have much funding to train those that are expected to create volunteering opportunities and support volunteers. There's an idea that volunteers just kind of magically happen.

If you are looking for volunteering opportunities that are super flexible, I recommend the American Red Cross (like their blood ambassador program), volunteering at ReStores operated by Habitat for Humanity, and, of course, virtual volunteering. There's also some terrific outdoor opportunities through your state's department of fish and wildlife.

Come on over to the r/volunteer subreddit for more advice.

Some folks were attributing this to generational differences and eagerness/willingness to volunteer.

The far bigger issues:

Cost of living. So many people just can't afford to volunteer. They can't afford gas,, they can't afford childcare.

Lack of awareness about volunteering. Many organizations, like volunteer fire stations, have not switched out they've been recruiting volunteers for decades.

If you visit the r/volunteer subreddit, you will see young people BEGGING to volunteer.

It's difficult to incorporate volunteering into travel you are doing for business because more organizations don't have the capacity to involve volunteers that aren't from the area. And drop-in-anytime volunteering is rare.

Most beach cleanups and trail cleanups allow you to pre-register, and you don't have to be from the area, so if you do some research before you are in an area and see if you can find that, you can sign up.

You can certainly arrange travel volunteering, like through HistoriCorps, which mobilizes volunteers to restore historic sites on public lands. State Departments of Fish and Wildlife often have volunteering weekends, where volunteers camp and spend their days restoring habitat or counting wildlife or releasing fish.

Such opportunities are noted on r/volunteer sometimes.