apply to volunteer with this project

The VV Project is not currently accepting applications from new volunteers.
We are concentrating our assignments on our current volunteer ranks.

If you are looking for an online volunteering assignment, please see our resources for volunteers,
which provides many leads and strategies.

Our volunteer application form is listed below, however, this form is no longer functional;
it is shown here as reference only, to help other organizations in crafting their own online application for volunteers.

 

If you would like to volunteer or to be an intern (unpaid) with the Virtual Volunteering Project, please:

• Make sure you are ready to volunteer virtually (please take this self-evaluation BEFORE you complete this form).

• Review the Virtual Volunteering Project and the various resources it offers

• Review the opportunities currently available at the VV Project.

• Complete and submit this application.

Most of our online opportunities relate to online review and research, Web site development and volunteer coordination and management. All of the assignments require a great deal of reading. The Virtual Volunteering Project is part of the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and some online assignments managed by the VV Project staff are in support of other Dana Center programs.

If you have other interests (working directly with young people or seniors, helping environmental agencies, etc.), or do not meet the criteria for volunteering virtually with our Project, please view our suggestions for finding a virtual opportunity, and our Advice for Volunteers.

If you find answering the following questions cumbersome or annoying, volunteering online is probably not for you. Cyber service requires a great deal of reading, attention to detail and the ability to follow written directions. There's nothing virtual about your commitment as a volunteer and the time it will take to be an online volunteer. Filling out this application completely demonstrates your understanding of this, and demonstrates that you will see a project through to its completion.

The more information you provide on this application, the more likely we will be able to find or create a volunteer assignment that's right for you. However, we cannot guarantee that you will receive an online assignment; matching potential volunteers to tasks is at the discretion of the Virtual Volunteering Project Manager.

Did you read through our self-evaluation to determine if you are ready to volunteer virtually,
and do you feel that you meet all of the requirements detailed in this self-evaluation?

 
Your Name (first and last, please, not your screen name):

 
Daytime Telephone Number (required):

 
E-mail Address (required -- if you do not type this in
completely and accurately,
we will be unable to respond to you!!):

 
Re-enter E-mail Address (required):

 
In what city are you located? (required):

 
In what state or province? (required):

 
Country:

 
If you have your own Web site (even a personal one), what is the URL?

 
How did you hear about the Virtual Volunteering Project?
(how and why did you find our Web site? if you were using a search engine,
which one and what keywords were you using?)

 
Why do you want to volunteer or be an intern with this Project?
(your answer to this question is required for this application to be processed)

 
What aspects of this Project interests you in particular?

 
How would you like to help this Project as a volunteer or intern?
(Please be as specific as possible)

 
What do you hope to accomplish as a result of your volunteering with this Project?
(what benefits do you hope to gain by your work with us, and how do you want
the Project and the audiences it serves to benefit from your work with us?)

 
How many hours a month would you like to volunteer with this Project?

 
Is the computer you will be using primarily at your residence, at work,
at a computer station at a library, or another place? (specify)

 
If you are in the Austin, Texas area and want to volunteer onsite in our office,
what time(s) of day would you like to work as a volunteer with us?
(write in "N/A" if you are not in Austin, Texas area)

 
For what other organizations have you been a volunteer or intern, on or offline?

 
What sort of activities have you done as a volunteer or intern, on or offline?

 
What did you like about your other volunteer or intern experiences?

 
What did you dislike about your other volunteer or intern experiences?

 

are you on a Macintosh or a IBM/Clone PC?
(either is fine, but we need to know how to save files
so we can send you files in the proper format)

 

what is the name of the anti-virus program on your computer, and do you know how to use it?

 

do you back up your computer at least monthly?
(do you regularly copy your files to a zip disk, to a network or to floppies)

 

who else has access to your computer and can you make files on your computer password protected?
(in case we want to give you an assignment that requires a degree of confidentiality)

 
The following questions are to assess your computer skills and related-experiences that can help in matching you to assignments. You do NOT have to possess all of these skills, or even most of them, to be able to volunteer with us:

do you know how to use Web search engines and, if so, which ones do you use regularly?

 

do you know how to create .HTML pages?

 

do you know how to create .cgi/.pl files? (for automated forms)

 

can you use FTP to send a file?

 

do you know how to e-mail a document as an attachment?

 

do you know how to work with spreadsheets or databases, and, if so, which ones have you worked with?

 

are you a native speaker or fluent in a language other than English and, if so, what languages?

 

do you have any other skills or experience that you hope to use or expand through a virtual assignment?

 
STATISTICAL PURPOSES ONLY
We ask these questions to make sure we are reaching a diverse pool of potential volunteers -- people of a variety of ages, cultures, experiences, etc. They are in no way used to screen people who want to volunteer for the VV Project.

What is your profession? (student, officer manager, marketing director, teacher, home-maker, etc.)

What is your ethnicity?

What is your age?

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?

Please add any other comments that you would like to send to us
(if you are applying for an internship, please note such here):

Applications are processed on an ongoing basis. A Project representative will contact you via e-mail to discuss your submission further after receipt of this application. The more complete your application, the more likely we can find or create an opportunity that's right for you.

We cannot guarantee that you will receive an online assignment; matching potential volunteers to tasks is at the discretion of the Virtual Volunteering Project Manager.

BEFORE YOU HIT SUBMIT
This command can take SEVERAL seconds, so please be patient; you will know your submission is successful when you see the "Thank You" page.

Note: when you "submit", your information is automatically sent to the Virtual Volunteering Project staff via e-mail.

If you have problems using this form, e-mail us.

This form is no longer functional; it is shown here as reference only, to help other organizations in crafting their own online application for volunteers.

If you are looking for an online volunteering assignment, please see our resources for volunteers, which provides many leads and strategies.

• Virtual Volunteering Resources
  How to find and involve volunteers working from home or work computers, online resources for volunteer managers, advice for individuals who want to volunteer virtually, etc. These pages are updated and added to each month.

• How Your Agency Can Utilize the Virtual Volunteering Project
  Tips on how to use this Web site, information about our offline services, and how we can help you introduce or expand virtual volunteering in your agency.

• Virtual Volunteering Project home page

If you are interested in more up-to-date information about virtual volunteering, view the Virtual Volunteering Wiki.