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Did you know that April is National Volunteer Month? This is the month that is dedicated to promoting, encouraging, and celebrating volunteerism. Without volunteers donating their time and passion to the causes they care about, most endeavors would never be possible. Volunteers make it happen!

National Volunteer Month has been celebrated on and off since the 1940s but gained official recognition since 1990. Each year a special week is selected as National Volunteer week and this year that is April 18-24. National volunteer week has been officially around even earlier since 1974 when Richard Nixon first declared its importance. He called upon all communities to “recognize volunteers by observing the week with special ceremonies to honor those who have given countless hours for the betterment of our communities and the American way of life.” So now we celebrate a month with a special appreciation week within the month.

Volunteering adaptations

For many, volunteering has changed due to the pandemic. Former tutors and school assistants have had to move online and many more people have sought out volunteer opportunities online - meaning both volunteers and volunteer coordinators have had to hone up on their digital skills!

For this year’s volunteer month, while you may not be able to get out into your local community to volunteer, there are still many ways to get engaged and volunteer.

Think about skills that can be done from home, that many community organizations are looking for from volunteers, like:

- Designing templates, flyers, or social media graphics
- Making phone calls to check-in with people in your community
- Organizing files or data in the cloud (how’s your photo library organized?)
- Drafting, editing, and/or proofing documents
- Help mentor or tutor others
- Help with research
- And so much more.

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Share how you volunteer

Many of our learners and staff are already volunteering on a regular basis. Ambassadors of GetSetUp volunteer to lead interest groups, participate in marketing campaigns, and help us with product feedback and insights.

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Check out how GetSetUp Ambassadors are volunteering

Carol Hart leads over 100 Senior Corps volunteers working to help them be an asset to students and teachers through virtual tutoring opportunities.

A. Marlene volunteers at her church helping with different social drives for the senior members of the congregation and through her local SAGE group.

Dick Hewitt works as a diligent volunteer for over 15 different organizations including the Scouts of America and the American Diabetes Association.

Sam has volunteered to teach Spanish at his local senior centers and community centers.  Now he is also doing that on GetSetUp as he hosts Spanish chat interest groups.

Kathleen Draper has been volunteering with local schools in her area by supporting students and teachers.

Many many more of our members are volunteering regular either by helping a neighbor, friend or family member or in more formal volunteering roles in the community. We want to celebrate your efforts!

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Share you volunteer efforts on social media

This month share how you volunteer with our special campaign on volunteering.

Post an image of your volunteering or one from our campaign,
Tag @GetSetUp and use the hashtag  #MakeADifference.
Share how you have used your digital skills to volunteer or get out in the community through formal or informal initiatives.