The Gathering Place

There are great websites for posting volunteer opportunities and seeking organizations that need volunteers. These include:

• VolunteerMatch - 

  VolunteerMatch is dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer. This service posts volunteer opportunities for 60,000 nonprofit organizations and has facilitated 3.7 million volunteer referrals since 1998.

• 1-800-Volunteer.org - 

  This site is used by the Ohio University Community Service program and lists many volunteer opportunities in Athens County and the surrounding area.

• Idealist.org - 

  A project of Action Without Borders, Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas as well as locate opportunities and supporters.

How It Works

• For nonprofits: Organizations register and provide details about their volunteer needs (the date, location, necessary skills, if its appropriate for children, etc.) which are then posted on the web. This is completely free, although some sites will offer additional services (such as the ability to post a photograph) for those who pay a membership fee.
• For volunteers: Those interested in volunteering provide information about themselves (what issues they are interested in, where they want to volunteer, etc.) and receive a list of volunteer opportunities that match. Some sites require potential volunteers to register, others do not.