10 Other Volunteer Ideas

Thailand’s ex-pat community is quite a bit larger than many in SE Asia. People who have jumped ship and have decided to make Thailand their home or those who have been transferred here with their company back home can take advantage of the less hectic pace of life here and experience the all that Thailand has to offer. Depending on what you do and where you work you may find it difficult to shed some of your Western skin and really get used to your new home. Another issue for some is that it’s hard to meet new people who have similar values and interests and make new friends. A great way to get past some of this and do something worthwhile is to volunteer in Thailand.

Volunteering in Thailand may conjure up images of teaching English in some remote village that no one has ever heard of, but there are so many other things that can be done that won’t require you to relocate to some far-off destination and make you feel good about what you’re doing. In this segment, I will highlight some other ways you can volunteer in Thailand without having to quit your full-time job.

The first step is to find out what kind of organization you want to be involved with. If you happened to have read my first article in this series you will have a better idea of how to navigate yourself to this point. If you haven’t, click here to read about how to choose a volunteer organization in Thailand.   

One of the biggest obstacles for people who have a desire to volunteer is limited time and or resources. Most of us aren’t in a position of having an abundance of financial resources, which practically means that we have to work to earn a living.  Speaking from my own personal experience, I was finding it difficult to make the time to volunteer in the way that I wanted to and still keep my job and pay my bills. I had it in my head that I wanted to do some volunteer teaching with young children and couldn’t find an opportunity that matched up exactly with that idea as many volunteer opportunities in Thailand are not based in Bangkok or the time slot was in conflict with my job.  In the end, I kept researching organizations and got involved with one organization to help them edit their project reports. This may sound really dull and boring, but it was actually very interesting to find out about the projects they were working on. It also allowed me to follow a project from inception to completion, which was really amazing.  This tiny step has led me to meet really interesting and kind-hearted people, make new friends, and get involved in other organizations.  While it might not sound like much, it’s been an extremely rewarding experience and I am now working on other projects with a handful of great people who work with amazing organizations, so I found what I was looking for and am making new opportunities to help with the these organizations.

Here is a list of my top 10 ideas for starting your volunteer career without having to quit your job (though that may happen in the end).

1. Editing
Like I said earlier, this may sound boring but it allows you to really learn about the projects the organization is working on, how they are funded and organized, what their anticipated outcomes are and how well the project was implemented, managed, and the eventual outcome of the project. It also allows you to volunteer in Thailand (or elsewhere) without having to leave your home and it is a lot easier to manage in terms of time, money, and resources.

2. Monetary Donations
All charitable organizations are always desperate for money, especially in these hard economic times when many corporate sponsors have reduced or eliminated their donations in order to reduce overall costs. Making a donation of any size helps-I promise. You can sponsor a child’s education in Isan for less than 2,000 baht a year.

3. Fundraising
When I say fundraising, I don’t mean to imply that you have to raise millions of baht, but it would be great if we could. I sent an email around to the staff at my office and we all made small contributions and donated them in our company name to Kid Launch.  Each person gave a little and in the end it was donated and a receipt and picture was posted on our bulletin board of the school that’s being built and we all helped a little. It’s a great way to do something, make everyone feel good, and help a good cause.

4. Collecting Donations
All charitable organizations run on the goodwill of others whether it  monetary, time and energy, or physical labor. One of the organizations that I’m now working with collects and distributes clothes, books (English and Thai), and other collected resources to hilltribe villages in Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Som and Kanchanaburi. I collected clothes and books in my office and apartment building and they came by and picked them up, organized and sorted them and transported them to areas that most need them. It was as easy as finding out what they need and putting up a few flyers and bingo I’ve helped a little.  Many organizations, like Mercy Centre, have wish lists that can help you gather up much needed goods to help out an organization.

5. Buying goods or services
Many organizations have goods that are made by those in need and the proceeds of buying these items help to finance their projects. Whether it’s buying greeting cards made by slum children or laptop cases made by hilltribe people it helps to promote the cause and raise some money- a double-whammy! Ploenchit Fair is an annual event and all the proceeds go to charity. It is lots of fun for kids and adults alike. Also organizations like Weaving for Women and Weave Women make real difference in the lives of these communitites by offering them a sustainable living.

6. Promote the organization
In today’s high-tech world, an easy way to help is to write. Blogging about a volunteer experience is a great way to spread the word. If other people read about your experience it might encourage and motivate them to do something too!  People are generally good and want to help, but don’t always know how.
If you would like to contribute to this site send your article to
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7. Link to sites
Most people have facebook, myspace or some other vitual community page for themselves. Put a link to an organization that you’re working with and get the word out. It’ll only take you a minute or two to link to their website and you never know who might read about it and take some action. 
Links to our website are valuable and bring us many more visitors. If you have a website, blog or Myspace page, why not set up a link to our homepage or use one of our banners.

8. Charitable events
Corporate Social Responsibility is really starting to catch on and many organizations have fund-raising events to help them (yes, raise money!) support their projects. Drop a line to your HR manager and ask if they would send out an email to staff asking for their participation in a walk-a-thon or some other event. It doesn’t really cost anything and it is a great way to give something back to the community. Mercy Centre sponsors several events a year including a charity run.  Also check in the Bangkok Post or BK Magazine to see what’s on.

9. Company Volunteer Opportunities
CSR is becoming more commonplace these days and is a great way to give something back and makes the company look good. Many organizations now organize these types of events for companies and it’s a great bonding experience for the staff members who participate. It’s also a tax-write off for the company and good PR!

10. Send an E-mail
Once you start working with an organization you will want to do more and rack your brain trying to figure out other ways that you can help. The easiest way is to ask your friends to lend a hand. If you’re collecting children’s books for an organizations send your friends and family and email asking them to make a donation, gather them up and more than likely the organization will come pick them up. So instead of just donating your handful of books (or whatever you’re collecting) you’ve almost instantly expanded the net and the organization benefits from your two-minute email. You can even include a footer in your emails.
I have done nearly all of the things on my list and they’ve all been easy to do and it does feel great to help out. While all of these ideas are simple and easy to organize, they all contribute to helping a worthwhile cause.  I think the most important bit of advice is to just get started. Once you start doing some volunteering you will want to do more. Good luck!