If you’re looking to turn over a selfless new leaf, there’s no better way to start than with volunteering. You’ll find no shortage of opportunities in the city of Houston or, if you want to help with global issues, you can try your hand with one of the many international charity organizations.

Local Impact

If you live in or near Houston, you can give back to your local community with one of these exciting opportunities.

• Raiseup Families need extra hands as they seek to end homelessness by empowering families to live self-sufficiently.
• If you want to help the environment, Bayou Land Conservancy is committed to flood control and preserving clean water and wildlife.
• Citizens for Animal Protection is committed to sheltering, rescuing, and placing neglected animals.

Global Impact

You may find your altruistic interests stretch beyond American borders, in which case it’s worth spending some time exploring global volunteering options.

• Pakistan is amongst the world’s most impoverished countries and an international placement with a volunteer program could contribute towards profound change.
• A more generalized organization is the Help Exchange, Worldwide, which works with farms, schools, and public venues to provide community wellbeing.
• Not all volunteering has to be done in person – the Smithsonian Institution seeks digital volunteers to help transcribe documents related to their artifacts and research.
• Start your own nonprofit to help a cause that matters to you. Keep in mind that it’ll be easier to find funding if you register as a nonprofit corporation.

Financial Aid

There are plenty of organizations in need of donations but it can be difficult to decide whose needs are most urgent. Here are a few for your consideration.

• For those suffering from suicidal thoughts, AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) is an indispensable resource and relies on donations from the public.
• If you’re an animal lover, you can help protect wild and domestic creatures of all kinds by donating to American Humane.

Whether you’re located in Houston or a thousand miles away, there’s always something you can do to give back and help contribute to a fairer, happier planet.

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Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Thank you to Beverly Nelson from StandUpForCaregivers (standupforcaregivers.org) for providing this blog post for Emerson!