How You Can Do Good Online

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Did you know social action and volunteering doesn’t always have to be done IRL? There are so many ways you can help out your community (or the entire world, woah!) from the comfort of your own home. Check out our favourite ways to do some good online…

Switch up your searches

This is a super simple way to help restore the natural world straight from your laptop/phone/computer/tablet. All you need to do is switch up your search engine to Ecosia. By making Ecosia your default search engine, every time you go online you’ll help plant trees all over the world. Every search you make uses ads and generates income for Ecosia. They then use this income to plant trees, which does so much more than just providing some nice green leaves to the world. Planting trees restores desertified land to its former fertility, curbs violent conflict by creating employment, improves nutrition through agroforestry, and encourages communities to take charge of their future. And so far, they’ve planted over 121 million of them! Amazing!

Use your socials for good

There’s more to social media than selfies and memes. Your platform is a way for you to speak up, speak out, and get your opinions heard. It’s also a way to influence others (even if you’re not a ‘professional influencer’!) So, start following charities, nonprofits and small businesses and shout about them! The more you share, the more recognition they get. You never know, you sharing a post of a small local business could get them a whole host of new sales. 

Use your language skills

Do you speak more than one language fluently? Translators Without Borders might be just the job for you! As a volunteer translator, you can help them by providing translations for non-profit organisations all over the world that focus on crisis relief, health and education. Access to accurate information in the right language is critical, but often language causes severe communication barriers. Because of TWB, people can get the information and knowledge they need to deal with difficult situations or to lift themselves out of poverty. So far, volunteers have translated millions of words!

Take a trip to the Zooniverse

Want to do some scientific social action, help change the world and learn a little something at the same time? Head on over to Zooniverse - the world’s largest people powered research platform! They’ve got loads of really cool research projects on their site - from transcribing ancient texts to identifying the calls of humpback whales - that you can get involved with and help find results, lead new discoveries and change how we see things in the world. And the best thing is, you don’t have to have any previous research experience. Sounds good right?

Give the gift of sight

Be My Eyes first launched in 2015, with one simple aim - to create a more accessible world for visually impaired individuals. If you’re 17 years old or older, and a sighted person, you can sign up to literally be someone else's eyes, lending your sight to help people all over the world with everyday tasks. Then, whenever a blind or low-vision person needs help, whether it’s to navigate their surroundings, read an expiration date, or find something on a supermarket shelf, you’ll receive a live video call where you can communicate with them directly and help them out. 

If you want some more general volunteering opportunities in your local community, check out Reach Volunteering, who connect people, skills and good causes. You can find loads of different types of volunteer opportunities, with the option to search specifically for remote roles. And don’t forget, volunteering and social action is also a win-win...it’s great for your community, and also will look amazing on your CV!

Have you done a social action project you’re proud of? We want to hear about it! Let us know over at @NCS!