qLife : Activism : Getting involved while you have bills to pay...

shawnrisk: May 07, 2008 - 06:32 PM PST I still think that people can make a difference in volunteer when they are doing other jobs. There is just a side I have seen that when I am working too hard on my job I don't feel like volunteering with non-profit orgs or ngos.

You have to keep looking on every site you can find, like idealist.org or itsgettinghotinhere.org or just other places. To find a job is very hard and I have been looking for a few years and only a small number of jobs have come my way but I know that by pushing forward something will come up.

One thing that is amazing is taking a GAP YEAR if young enough and just going out to see what there is. Like go volunteer in overseas or even in your country somewhere different, and you will have the best time of your life.

Just keep searching, and you will find your dream job.

sabell: March 25, 2008 - 08:29 AM PST Thank you sooo much! This website is great! I would be willing to take a pay cut just to work in the field but never found anything on monster or those other job sites. I was just hoping to find something I could do on my off time for no pay but this would be much better, lol!

I originally wanted to join the peace corps but am not able to not because of family and other commitments but still want to make a difference.

Thank you for your response!

lorcas: March 25, 2008 - 08:17 AM PST
www.idealist.org is a website that might lead you in the right direction..it has listings for volunteer work and actual jobs in the non-profit sector.

i think that there is something exotic and alluring about helping on a "large" scale..i.e. overseas...but there is something absolutely priceless about working towards making sustainable changes in the community in which you live.

there are also several non-profits that work on local and national issues i.e. everything from not enough stop sign by schools to universal health care.

PICO, and ACORN are a few.

sabell: March 25, 2008 - 07:57 AM PST I was wondering if anyone else that is in my situation could help me....

I am a recent graduate from business school and have a ton of financial responsibilities that I cannot walk away from, (rental lease, car, student loans). How do people still contribute their time to helping victims of Katrina or more globally without losing track of their financial responsibilities?

There is a group I would like to go work with in Chiapas, Mexico called Schools for Chiapas, but I cannot find the time or money to go...

I know I can do projects locally on the weekends and on a smaller scale but what I want to do is on a larger scale. I need the experience because I hope to one day run my own non-profit organization.

Any ideas? Thanks for any input