Over the years, I’ve found volunteering extremely rewarding, whether with the Cincinnati Arts Association, the Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati, the FreeStore FoodBank, or my local school district’s soccer association. As many of you know, I was honored to be the President of The Ohio State Bar Association, a volunteer position. And while I am no longer president, I remain actively involved as a volunteer on a national level, serving on the Executive Committee of the ABA Solo, Small Firm & General Practice Division, and I’m a state of Ohio delegate in the ABA House of Delegates. The law is my passion, and I am happy to devote time to it.
Since I know the rewards of volunteering, I wanted to share an all-in-one resource so you can explore volunteer opportunities too. The site allows you to select opportunities ideally suited to your interests, availability, location, and more.
If you are in the Greater Cincinnati area, check out http://www.VolunteerMatch.org. There you will find volunteer opportunities posted by a wide variety of organizations needing help. You can narrow your search by cause such as; animals, children, seniors, justice, education, environment, homeless, the arts, and so many more. Once you’ve selected areas of interest (you can choose several), you might want to apply the “skills” filter, which allows you to narrow opportunities by your talents and skills. Perhaps you coached a youth sports team in the past, have outstanding clerical skills, are handy with tools, or are fluent in a second language. There are many to choose from. Last, if geography is important, you can select the volunteer opportunity from a little as a mile from your home to several miles or anywhere in the state. Some opportunities are even home-based. In other words, the site allows you to customize your volunteer experience. A quick website review highlighted several opportunities, including food pantry stocker, tax assistant, community café lunch assistant, small business mentor, youth baseball coach, child advocate, and pet food packers (for low-income pet owners.) Indeed the opportunities are almost limitless, and you’re sure to find just the right one for you.
As summer ends and many have more available time, I encourage you to check out the Volunteer Match website and discover what may be the most rewarding “job” of your life.
Stay safe everyone!
Best regards,
David