Have you ever wanted to help out different organisations but feel like you don’t have the time or money to go out and do so? International Volunteer Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 and takes place each year on 5 December. This day allows for volunteers and volunteer organisations to promote their contributions to society, raise awareness for their cause, and celebrate all the hard work volunteers do.
This year in Australia, International Volunteer Day promotes a particular trend called “virtual volunteering”, where you can help out some great organisations, groups, and institutions from the comfort of your own home. Virtual volunteering can involve making a few simple phone calls, or using online resources to help out.
The Australian Museum for example, seeks volunteers who can assist by transcribing specimen labels, field notes, and diaries – all of which can be done via your computer.
The State Library of South Australia is also seeking virtual volunteers to help make their digital collections more accessible to everyone. Help is needed for correcting text in South Australian newspaper transcriptions that are available within Trove, and assistance with identifying the unidentified World War I soldiers within the South Australians of World War I Flickr group.
Similarly, for all the bibliophiles out there, the State Library of Western Australia and Carnamah Historical Society could use some volunteers to help transcribe various records, including 70,000 hand-written WA Biographical Index (WABI) cards, all of which can be done online!
A lot of places rely on the hard work and commitment of volunteers to help them get work done, and considering the fact that the development of online technology has allowed for us to be better connected than ever before, why not spend some of your spare time helping out some great causes that need it?
Don’t forget that in 2015, National Volunteer Week will take place on the 11 May – 17 May, so if (like us here at Inside History) you love celebrating all the hard work volunteers do, put those dates down in your diary!