It's March - just do it - voluntarism

Interview, March, 1994 by Brian Carmody

Most people tend to spend much of the month of March waiting for the thaw that comes with spring, impatiently marking the days off their calendar. But as you pass the time leading up to the sunshine watching As the World Turns, your world is doing just that, and if you're not careful, it just might roll right over you. Sensational schlock like the Bobbitt and Buttafuoco scandals hammers our senses constantly, while atrocities like AIDS and homelessness are relegated to the back pages. But in reality, the sorry state of the world is enough to make even Mother Teresa beg for a day in the park. Who hasn't wanted to put hands to head and cry out, "Somebody do something!" But why not make that "Somebody you? Take a cue from the name of the month in which your life is stuck for thirty-one days. March. Move. Go. It's almost sadly cliched to be involved with a cause these days, but the truth is, most people are overwhelmingly uninvolved. Why not combat cold and complacency this March by actually doing something about whatever gets your goat?

National AIDS Hotline, 800-342-AIDS. Run by the Centers for Disease Control, this number can direct you to hospitals, clinics, community service agencies, and hospices in your area in need of volunteers.

Natural Resources Defense Council, 212-727-2700. Volunteers needed for clerical positions; lawyers sought to litigate pro bono against polluters.

The Hemlock Society, 800-247-7421. Volunteers needed for fund-raising and special events at 91 affiliates around the country.

Planned Parenthood. 212-261-4647. Volunteers needed in such areas as administrative services. education, finance, and marketing at 1,000 locations nationwide.

Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly. 312-477-7702. Volunteers offer practical and emotional support to the elderly in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

American Foundation for the Blind, 212-620-2160. Volunteers needed to record printed material for foundation use in regional offices nationwide.

East Harlem Tutorial. 212-831-0650. Tutors needed once a week in East Harlem, New York City.

National Park Service. Write directly to a national park you're interested in. Volunteers in Parks. or VIPs. work in parks from Maine to Hawaii, helping to conserve the public lands' natural and historical resources.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, 215-567-7000. Support and friendship needed for children from single-parent homes; 500 affiliated agencies nationwide.

The American Red Cross. Check white pages for phone number of nearest chapter. The Red Cross needs volunteer instructors for health courses, and caseworkers for disaster relief and social services.

National Meals-on-Wheels. 800-999-6262. Volunteers are needed to help serve more than 250 million meals annually.

Earth Action, 212-563-5991 or 213-954-8352. This nationwide group has volunteer programs in urban and environmental action and various Native American projects.

National Literacy Hotline, 800-228-8813. Operated by the Contact Center, a human services referral organization, this hot line will send you a packet explaining how to become a literacy volunteer.

Hunger Action Network of New York State, 212-229-2912. Volunteers work to change public policy regarding the hungry and the homeless through fund-raising and media and letter-writing campaigns.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 301-770-PETA. Volunteer professionals - graphic designers, computer programmers, lawyers - needed to help crusade against private and corporate acts of cruelty toward animals.