promote volunteering

Through a “serious” plug in my otherwise light-hearted blog

First I gave DMOZ and more recently it was JoeAnt

Both welcome people who are keen to volunteer as editors in listing websites. Check them out if you are interested in lending a hand online.

I help at a number of places, and thought it might be worth sharing that experience in case it prompts others to also lend a hand.

• I assist at a locally run soup kitchen, making sure some less fortunate members of our community get a decent feed and a little social interaction. Two hours helping to serve meals can make such a huge difference to these people’s lives. Some have hit hard times through no fault of their own (perhaps a change at work has left them without an income), while others are trying to pick themselves up from some habits (such as gambling, drugs, or drink).

• I give blood. In Australia there is no cash incentive to draw people into donating – and currently only three percent of the population here donate. This is a worthy cause, and can make an incredible difference to people in emergency and intensive care at hospitals.

• I assist as a volunteer at the Open Directory Project (ODP) - the most comprehensive human edited directory of the Web, compiled by a vast global community of volunteer editors. To apply as an editor, read http://dmoz.org/guidelines.html over and over and over again. If you honestly want to be an ODP editor and take part in helping out … take the time to submit the application the same way you would submit a job application. (And be sure to give me a yell if you enrol – so I can perhaps show you the ropes).

• I also assist at JoeAnt. Getting approved to edit there is fairly easy – so it can help some folk better understand what volunteer editing involves. To apply, wander over to http://www.joeant.com/editor_application.html

(Again, be sure to give me a yell if you enrol – as I’d be glad to here if this note helped entice anyone to join).