Sep
Practical Ways to Volunteer if You Have a Medical Condition
More than a billion people give their time to volunteer for different causes with the value of volunteer work estimated at over $184 billion. Volunteering is motivated by several factors such as the responsibility of giving something back to the community, learning new skills, or fulfilling a personal or professional goal. However, not everyone can offer their time and skills for different reasons such as busy schedules, financial constraints, or medical conditions. The good news is even those who are affected by a disease or a health condition can still volunteer, support worthy causes, and make a significant impact on others. Regardless of location or physical abilities, there are several ways to contribute to a good cause and touch the lives of the less fortunate.
Office Volunteering
An individual with an existing medical condition needs to manage it effectively by following a treatment or maintenance plan with a doctor as well as adopting a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, an emergency plan can be developed by family and loved ones including identifying emergency contacts and preparing an emergency first aid kit. In addition, a wearable device such as an alert bracelet can signal for help in emergency situations. For example, dog tags have long been used to identify soldiers containing valuable information such as name, age, and medical details. Specifically, a red dog tag alerts everyone that the wearer has a medical condition. This will make it easier to attend to a person with an underlying medical condition quickly and efficiently.
That said, even people with health issues can volunteer perfectly without fear of being impacted by an attack or episode. For instance. working in an office is not only less taxing physically, but also fulfilling. You can assist with filing, data entry, and answering phones. It is also possible to help in the planning and coordination of events as well as provide guidance and support to others remotely.
Community Service
If your health or medical situations allows it, you can offer your time at animal shelters. Caring for animals, walking dogs, or fostering pets are activities that can be fulfilling and easy to do depending on the extent of your medical condition. A food bank is another place to volunteer and if you are not capable of doing physical activities such as cooking or serving food, you can also stay in the background and do the paperwork. In the same way that it is not possible to assist in building homes for low-income families or participate in clean-up efforts or conservation projects, you can also do the administrative tasks of these organizations without compromising your medical situation.
Online Tasks
For those who cannot make it to the office or premises of organizations, remote volunteering is a feasible alternative. Say you can conduct research from home for various causes or manage their social media accounts. A vital mandate of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and charitable institutions is to secure funding for their activities. Many organizations such as the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) require help in grant writing or preparing project proposals for donor assistance. In this regard, you can devote time to put together a scheme that is technically and financially sound to attract financial assistance. Non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare as well as art and cultural entities can use grants to support their programs and projects. On top of grant writing, use your skills to organize a fundraising campaign online. Advocate for causes you are passionate about by writing letters, sending emails, or posting on social media.
Furthermore, you can make calls to raise awareness about a specific cause or an organization and in the process, solicit donations to fund their operations. Email campaigns are effective, too so you can formulate and send email campaigns to endorse a cause. You might also share your skills and knowledge with others. To illustrate, an organization that supports education projects might need volunteers who can provide tutoring or mentoring services online. You can even offer your writing or editing skills to non-profits.
Regardless of a medical condition, it is possible to find a volunteering opportunity that aligns with your interests, skills, and abilities. NPOs and entities always need an extra pair of hands and are willing to work with individuals to find suitable roles.
Written by Jennifer East
