With a quarter of young people believing social media has a mostly negative impact, we often forget that our smartphones can be used to help others. An example of this is micro-volunteering, which allows people to offer their time to worthy causes in small chunks. Here, spusu, a mobile operator offering simple and fair SIM-only deals, explores the best micro-volunteering apps that can help you use your phone for good.
With the average person picking up their phone 58 times a day, micro-volunteering harnesses our smartphone usage to benefit communities around the world. As the tasks are quick, convenient and do not require ongoing commitment, micro-volunteering offers a perfect opportunity for people with busy schedules to help others.
In addition to supporting local and global communities, micro-volunteering also brings personal benefits, with over three quarters of volunteers in the UK reporting that their mental health improved since taking part.
With Giving Tuesday – a worldwide initiative encouraging people to do good – just around the corner, now is the perfect time to discover the micro-volunteering opportunities available through your phone.
Be My Eyes
Potentially one of the best-known micro-volunteering apps, Be My Eyes matches millions of sighted users with people with low vision. Volunteers can assist low-vision users with tasks such as reading instructions and navigating their surroundings.
Volunteero
If you’re looking for a way to find micro-volunteering opportunities that suit your interests, Volunteero is great as it allows you to filter listings by cause. While some of the roles require a larger time commitment, there are plenty of remote and flexible roles advertised.
RSPCA
Although interacting with the animals sadly isn’t part of this opportunity, micro-volunteering with the RSPCA allows you to help put an end to animal cruelty. Once you are registered with the organisation, you can download an app that notifies you of digital volunteering opportunities, such as signing petitions and sharing social media posts.
BankTheFood
With the need for UK food banks being higher than ever, BankTheFood allows users to see which items are urgently needed by local food banks in just a few clicks.
As our busy lives make micro-volunteering increasingly popular, we will continue to see the benefits for communities and volunteers alike. Going forward, the process can be made even simpler with data plans that don’t punish you for doing good.
Good Samaritans don’t deserve nasty surprises. It’s important that volunteers have a suitable phone package, without any unexpected price hikes. Discover a SIM-only deal that suits you by visiting spusu.co.uk.