Take our green volunteering quiz to find out.
By Sara Novak
What's Your Volunteer Type?
When planning to volunteer, do you?
Pick the most widely known organization and go for it
Start close to home so that you don't get overwhelmed
Commit to at least two or three organizations
All of the above
Sometimes the most widely known organizations are overwhelmed with volunteers while smaller organizations that don't have quite the finances to advertise need help. It's always best to start close to home with organizations that really need all the help that they can get. Over committing is a good way to get turned off immediately and there is no certain number of organizations that you need to commit to at once.
Read More:
How to Go Green: Volunteerism
Volunteering for Green Groups
Which of the following organizations offers volunteers the opportunity to explore the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve and study diversity of life in southern Arizona?
Sierra Club
World Wildlife Fund
The Nature Conservancy
None of the above
The Nature Conservancy offers this particular program but it's just one of the abundance of opportunities that globetrotting volunteers can learn about on Planet Green. With so many opportunities and so much help needed, why not get involved?
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Green Living Project Documents Sustainability in Africa
Trend: Philanthropic Travel
When choosing a green charity to donate your time, which traits are most important?
Consider the skills you have to offer, and how they might be best used in a charity
Think about the causes or issues that are most important to you because you're most likely to be energized if you are volunteering for something you believe in
Ask around. You might just find that your friends and neighbors are already involved in organizations that need a hand
All of the above
These are all important traits to finding the best organization to get involved with and then sticking to your commitments. By choosing organizations that fit your interests and skill sets, you're more likely to form a bond with the charity and want to continue your work. If you know someone there, you're more likely to keep on helping out.
Read More:
How to Choose a Green Charity
Support Your Favorite Charities Through GoodSearch
Student volunteers will make up nearly 3,500 of the volunteers rebuilding homes in New Orleans for Habitat for Humanity this year for an alternative spring break. True or False?
True
False
According to Habitat for Humanity, over 3,500 students from over 100 schools across the country will travel to New Orleans for an alternative spring break experience with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. Alternative spring breakers get the opportunity to lend a helping hand building houses across New Orleans.
Read More:
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
Top Green Volunteerism Tips
Volunteer on an Organic Farm
What's the most helpful work that you can do as a volunteer?
Be on the front lines doing hands-on work like building greener homes, feeding the homeless, or planting trees
Planning programs and getting all the events ready to go on a day to day basis
Mostly administrative work
None of the above
None is more important than the other. Without the people on the front lines, tasks would wayside and without the behind-the-scenes volunteers nothing would be organized. You're the most helpful by volunteering for jobs that utilize your skill sets.
Read More:
Help a River by Organizing a River Cleanup
The Greenest Thing You Can Do With Your Car?Donate it!
What's the best way to spot a charity scam?
Look them up on Charity Navigator
Google them
Ask a friend
All of the above
Charity scams, embezzlement, and misappropriation of funds are disheartening. While there's no surefire method of weeding out bogus groups at a glance, you can uncover any possible red flags by looking up the potential recipient of your funds on Charity Navigator, a non-profit watchdog site that pores over the public financial records of more than 5,000 charities and rates their efficiency from zero to four stars.
Read More:
Give Wisely, Spot Potential Charity Scams
Donating—Planting Trees and Projects
What's the Alliance for Water Stewardship?
Similar to the Forest Stewardship Council but with water
An alliance of The Nature Conservancy, The Water Stewardship Initiative of Australia, Water Witness, the Water Environment Federation, the Pacific Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund
An alliance working to set water guidelines for one of our most abused resources
All of the above
These are all true. The Nature Conservancy, The Water Stewardship Initiative of Australia, Water Witness, the Water Environment Federation, the Pacific Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund have come together to form the Alliance for Water Stewardship. The program will be similar to the Forest Stewardship Counsel with the goal of bringing equal standards for water stewardship to different sectors of society including corporations, water managers, and government entities.
Read More:
How to Go Green: In the Community
Eco-Organizations Come Together to Form the Alliance for Water Stewardship
What phrase best describes how to deal with those less involved in the green movement than you?
Everyone should be as involved as they possibly can
Everyone does what they can, but there is always time for more
Every little bit counts
Paper or Plastic? You've got to be kidding, right? What am I? A Neanderthal, or some Rush Limbaugh-loving global warming denier? If any of these sound like you they shouldn't. There is no better way to turn people off to the green movement than by being a pretentious green ass. Guide people that know less than you without being a know it all. No one wants to go green if a know it all tells them it's the answer.
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Volunteer Hassle-Free with One Brick
Girls Gone Green—An Eco Calendar for Charity
One way to find out if you live by the missions of your favorite eco-organizations is with a carbon footprint calculator. True or False?
True
False
Carbon footprint calculators do a fabulous job of telling where you are in terms of green and where you need to go. In general all of these calculators measure the same thing: The amount of land and ocean required to support your lifestyle—the consumer goods you buy, the food you eat, the energy needed to power your home and transport. So find out where you stand.
Read More:
How to Go Green: The Basics
Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach
How to Go Green: Like Celebrities
When is Earth Day?
April 9
May 18
April 22
None of the above
It's April 22, 2009 but at Planet Green it's all April long. Celebrating the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, Planet Green will kick off a month-long effort for Earth Day. Along with a partnership with America's largest Earth Day event, the Green Apple Festival, Planet Green will offer a wide array of volunteer opportunties all month long to make it easy to get involved.
Read More:
Climate Change
AP Reports Proposal to Drastically Alter Endangered Species Act
Earth Day
Voluntastic!
Volunteering isn't really on your radar. You could use a crash course on how to help and how helping your community can help you. Think about where you would be most interested in volunteering and get out there. Start small and don't over-commit. Just focus on remaining consistent and taking it one step at a time. Try finding a friend who is committed to a particular cause and ask how you can help.
Voluntastic!
You like the idea of volunteering, but it usually takes a back seat. You give money when you can but don?t make any extended commitments. Take a moment to re-prioritize. Think about what volunteering means to you and your community. Pick an opportunity and fully commit.
Voluntastic!
You love to help, but aren't always the first to suggest it. You wouldn't mind leaving home to volunteer, but it's unrealistic for you to drop your life and move across the world. Try to build on your experience and branch out into things that you thought were over your head.
Voluntastic!
You're a tremendously committed and fabulously motivated eco-volunteer. You would likely drop what you're doing to move to the backcountry of Namibia to be on the frontlines of a volunteer operation but you like to volunteer in your community as well. You probably give generously to all your favorite green charities and nonprofits. You might even stress yourself out by committing to too many things. Make sure that you have enough time to get them all done. Also, stay clear of being condescending to those who aren't as green as you. Instead, embrace your veteran status to gently motivate fledgling go-greeners to take a step in the right direction.
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