Six jobs you can do online

Virtual volunteering is a great option for anyone who wants to lend a helping hand without having to leave their home. Here are six unique and interesting stay-at-home volunteer opportunities.

1. Raise money for cancer. Participate in online fundraising for cancer research by partaking in a virtual relay race inside a large, user-built 3D virtual world. Visit cancer.org/involved/volunteer/society-second-life.html.
2. Assist the blind. Download the app Be My Eyes to help blind people accomplish everyday tasks. You’ll help out by lending your eyesight via live video call.
3. Educate the impoverished. If you’re adept in finance or technology, you can help people in third-world countries rise out of poverty by passing on your knowledge and skills. Visit rhah.org.
4. Provide emotional support. Engage in supportive conversations with people going through hard times. Visit 7cups.com.
5. Translate. If you’re bilingual and have a knack for writing, volunteer to write translations for humanitarian and development projects. Visit translators-withoutborders.org.
6. Transcribe historical documents. Help the Smithsonian Institution make historical documents and data more accessible by transcribing facsimiles of field notes, diaries, ledgers, manuscripts and other texts. Visit transcription.si.edu.

If none of these opportunities speak to you, there are plenty of other ones available. Sites like volunteermatch.org and onlinevolunteering.org (a UN initiative) are great places to start.