Student Volunteering and Service

Volunteer Opportunities

By the People, U.S. Library of Congress ▾
Virtually volunteer and help transcribe Library of Congress documents. Volunteers create and review transcriptions to improve search, access, and discovery of these pages from history.

"By the People" is a crowdsourcing initiative from the Library of Congress (LOC) in the United States. This initiative aims to engage the public in transcribing, reviewing, and tagging digitized images of manuscripts and historical documents from the Library's vast collections. The goal is to make these materials more accessible and searchable for researchers, students, and the general public.

Here's how the "By the People" initiative works:

  1. Selection of Projects: The Library of Congress selects specific collections or documents from its holdings that can benefit from transcription and description. These materials can include letters, diaries, speeches, and other historical documents.

  2. Online Platform: The Library of Congress provides an online platform where volunteers can access and transcribe these digitized documents. The platform is user-friendly and allows volunteers to view scanned images of the documents and type out the text.

  3. Volunteer Participation: Anyone interested in contributing can sign up as a volunteer on the "By the People" website. Volunteers can choose which projects they want to work on and start transcribing or reviewing documents.

  4. Review and Quality Control: To ensure accuracy and consistency, the transcriptions undergo a review process by other volunteers. This collaborative effort helps maintain the quality of the transcribed content.

  5. Access and Searchability: Once transcribed, the text becomes searchable, making it easier for researchers, historians, and the public to find and explore the content. This enhances the value of the Library's digital collections.

Learn more by going to: https://crowd.loc.gov/

Community Engagement Center ▾
The Community Engagement Center (CEC) in Poppleton is where local residents partner with UMB on mutually beneficial goals. The CEC serves adults and children and offers a variety of programs that leverage University resources to meet community-identified needs, such as exercise, food, and after-school and educational programming.

The Community Engagement Center (CEC) provides both direct service opportunities and opportunities provided by partner organizations.

To learn more about volunteering with the CEC, go to: https://www.umaryland.edu/oce/center/

To view upcoming volunteer opportunities, go to: https://umpartnershipwithwestbaltimore.org/opportunities/

Volunteer Events in UMBengaged ▾
UMBengaged provides UMB students, staff, and faculty access to a selection of free events and volunteering opportunities. Volunteering events offered through UMBengaged are collaboratively created by various departments, student organizations, and external organizations.

Click here to see upcoming service opportunities in UMBengaged

VolunteerMatch.com ▾
VolunteerMatch matches inspired people with inspiring causes. VolunteerMatch connects volunteers with both in-person and virtual volunteering opportunities.

VolunteerMatch is a popular online platform that connects nonprofit organizations with individuals who are interested in volunteering their time and skills to support various causes. The platform serves as a bridge between volunteers and nonprofit organizations, making it easier for people to find volunteer opportunities that align with their interests, skills, and availability.

Here's how VolunteerMatch typically works:

  1. Search and Matching: Volunteers can search for volunteer opportunities on the VolunteerMatch website or app based on their location, interests, and skills. Nonprofit organizations also list their volunteer opportunities on the platform.

  2. Profile Creation: Volunteers create profiles on VolunteerMatch, specifying their interests, skills, and availability. Nonprofits create profiles for their organizations and describe their missions and volunteer needs.

  3. Connecting: The platform uses algorithms to match volunteers with relevant volunteer opportunities and nonprofit organizations. Volunteers can review and apply for opportunities that interest them.

  4. Communication: Volunteers and nonprofits can communicate through the platform to coordinate logistics, ask questions, and finalize volunteer arrangement.

Learn more at www.volunteermatch.org/