Volunteering often comes from the precious little time we have off from our life, the time we do not spend working, with our loved ones or simply working on ourselves. Hence in this time, we decide to dedicate ourselves towards others, towards a cause or simply to something we believe in we often would want to be able to give our utmost. Yet to be able to do that one would end up frustrated due to financial limitations found in the world of volunteering. There isn’t an endless supply of money available and with this come limitations on what can and cannot be done in terms of activities, planning, and logistics
Blog post by Alexander Hili, SOS Malta
Yet not all is lost, for those who decide to still plunge forward and try their utmost to arrive at their goal there are tools that allow you easier paths than the ones you would normally find. In our digital age, many around the world who found problems in accessing resources created solutions that we can all benefit from. If you are looking for a blog that would help you get an idea off the ground, check out this blog from another project I am working on called “Il-Kantuniera” on how to get your ideas off the ground and into a reality.
Today here we will focus on something else, we will focus on what the vast reaches of the internet would be able to provide us:
1. Canva
When you want to get the ball rolling on a project or an event. The one thing that you want to make sure you do correctly is make it look as attractive as possible for those who you want to join your cause, perhaps donate or simply attend the event. Canva is the one-stop-shop for you, often nicknamed Photoshop for dummies. It is a free service that is found at www.canva.com where you can create interactive designs, beautiful flyers or add designs to your photos with very simple tools. It does have a pro version, and, if you are working with an NGO or a Charity, they tend to give it for free if you contact them and prove your NGOs credentials.
2. Unsplash
While Canva gives you the tools you need, unsplash.com gives you the resources, what started as a project for amateur photographers to upload their work to share with each other, transformed into a depository of thousands of beautiful high definition photographs, for free! Yet if you do use resources from here, try to credit the artists for their work, for it is truly beautiful.
3. WordPress
Probably you have heard of this service, yet what you should know is how much it could give for free. Although the paid services open up to very high technical specifications and opportunities, the free version offers all you need to make a serious website that would sell the project as a decent effort, that looks highly professional.
4. Youtube
We have all used youtube to watch our favorite cat videos, yet what we sometimes forget is that youtube has a collection of free resources to use that is almost unparalleled. Any form of knowledge, information, skills that you want can be found here explained step by step by someone who is knowledgeable in the subject. One could even upload and publish videos for free, as long as they are part of the community guidelines. The website has an integrated service that allows you to edit, and modify your videos as needed very easily with minimal hassle.
5. Social Media
Yes, that website or app that you use daily to communicate with your friends, that service is free. Never underestimate how powerful your friends can be if you want to start a cause and need initial support towards your goal, just sharing on social media will give you a small boost. Opening a Facebook page, and tweeting is the way you can start getting the public who are not part of your social circle aware about what you are doing.
Original hero image by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash