One of the most popular posts I’ve ever written on this blog was a list of volunteer opportunities I wrote for software engineers in 2020. I feel we’re long overdue for an updated list.
If you know of another opportunity, feel free to comment!
Create your opportunity
- Reach out to an organization that you are interested in – You are only limited by your imagination and free time. Is there an organization or cause you care about? They might be open to some help.
- Meetup – There are so many different coding clubs these days and many of them are focused on teaching, mentoring, or coding in the community. Do a search!
- Open Source – There are so many open-source projects out there. Choose a project that seems interesting to you or create your own! Below are some links to help you find open-source projects.
Teaching
- Coder Dojo – Help kids learn programming. Serve as a mentor or start a coder dojo where you live.
- TEALS – Teach kids, sponsored by Microsoft.
- Code Your Feature – Teach refugees, asylum seekers, and other disadvantaged people how to code.
- Code.org – Teach women and underrepresented minorities during the “Hour of Code” event.
- Girls Who Code – Empower, support, and teach women how to code.
- Mother Coders – Present, code review, mentor, and teach other mothers.
- Code the Dream – Teach, mentor, and review coding assignments to help immigrants and communities of color get into the programming profession.
- Code your Dreams – Help youth and adults from diverse backgrounds enter tech careers.
- Code your future – Help disadvantaged adults find meaningful work.
- CodePath – Teach and mentor.
- Coder Dojo – Volunteer-led, community-based computer club for young people.
Write code for non-profits
- Benetech – Contribute to projects benefiting humanity.
- Donate Code – Well-designed, search through projects and see what ensnares your interest.
- Social Coders
- RagTag – Help build apps for progressive causes.
- Give Camp – Help local charities.
- Catch a Fire – Skills-based volunteering.
- Free Code Camp – Learn to code and help nonprofits simultaneously.
- Code For DC – DC-specific, allied with Code for America.
- Taproot Plus
- Red Cross – Volunteer as a software engineer for the Red Cross.
- Develop for Good – Build projects for non-profits.
- Catchafire
- DemocracyLab – Advance the public good.
- Tech to the rescue – Contribute your skills to “save the world”.
- US Digital Response – Help governments deliver critical services to those who need them.