Volunteering in the US with Volunteer Match Volunteer Match is the non-profit, online service that helps interested volunteers get involved with Community Service Organizations throughout the United States. Volunteers enter their ZIP code on the Volunteer Match web site (http://www.volunteermatch.org) to quickly find local volunteer opportunities matching individual interests and schedules. They also offer Virtual Volunteering opportunities, which enables you to volunteer from "virtually" anywhere - just by using your computer.

With Virtual Volunteering anyone can Volunteer from anywhere.

Their service is simple, effective and has previously generated hundreds of thousands of volunteer referrals throughout the US. Their Mission Statement is simply to help everyone find a great place to volunteer. At present, they have nearly 20,000 Non-profit and Tax-exempt Organizations using Volunteer Match, to post more than 35,000 volunteer opportunities over the following categories:

Opportunities list details, such as a description of the work available, including specific skills they require from volunteers, if any.

To find a volunteer opportunity on VolunteerMatch, enter your ZIP code and click on "Go." Your search results will automatically be sorted by date. You can re-sort the list at any time, by distance, duration or newness. You can also refine your search by radius, category, keyword, and volunteer age/group size. Once you have found an opportunity that interests you, click on "I Like This Volunteer Opportunity," fill out the required information, and an automatic email will be sent to the organization notifying them of your interest. The organization will then contact you about their volunteer program.

Another excellent feature of Volunteer Match's service, is that they offer an option for people to express their interest in an opportunity. This includes a short message field that is displayed on the web page for each opportunity. This is great, especially, if you are a little nervous and don't want to be the only one volunteering at a particular place. With this feature, you can soon be reassured by seeing how many other people you might be working with.

Finally, they provide a service specifically for corporations to support their community volunteer efforts.

For all corporation members out there, you might want to note that; corporate community involvement is on the rise as more companies recognize the many benefits of being socially responsible. These include:

· Increased team morale, team-building skills, and productivity.
· Improved recruitment and retention of employees.
· Enhanced corporate image.
· Community buy-in and a "license to operate".
· Opportunity for skill development amongst employees.

For more information about Volunteer Match, please visit them at http://www.volunteermatch.org

Source: Volunteer Match