by Nik Kellet

I was working as a volunteer at my local childrens hospice[收容所]， helping around the house and the hospice shop. This made me realise I wanted to find out about other volunteering opportunities and how to get involved with non-profit organisations and charities[慈善團體].

I checked out do-it.org.uk—a database full of volunteering opportunities， and thats where I found my first link to virtual[虛擬的] volunteering.

我曾在本地一家兒童收容所當(dāng)志愿者，在它的宿舍和義賣商店幫忙。這使我意識到，我想了解其他的志愿工作機會，以及如何參與到非營利組織和慈善機構(gòu)當(dāng)中。

我查詢了一個有很多志愿者工作機會的數(shù)據(jù)庫——do-it.org.uk。就是在這里，我找到了當(dāng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者的第一個鏈接。

What Is Virtual Volunteering？ 什么是網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)

Virtual volunteering， also called online volunteering， means completing tasks for charities and organisations through the Internet. Virtual volunteering is a great way to get involved， take action， and generally “give back” online， and the best bit is that you can do it all from home！

“Virtual” doesnt mean that its not real， just that you dont need to be in any particular place to volunteer. For some people， it can make life a lot easier to volunteer online in their spare time. Virtual volunteering can also enable you to reach beyond your local area and even support people and projects overseas.

虛擬志愿服務(wù)也叫網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)，是指通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)為慈善機構(gòu)和組織完成任務(wù)。網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)是身體力行參與志愿服務(wù)，以及在網(wǎng)上回饋他人的絕佳方式，其中最好的一點是：你可以足不出戶就做到這一切！

“虛擬”并不意味著不真實，而是指你不需要在特定的場所才能做志愿者。可以在閑暇時間通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)做志愿者，這大大方便了一些人的生活。網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)還可以讓你超越自己所在的地區(qū)，把援手伸向境外需要幫助的人和項目。

My Role 我的角色

I work as a virtual volunteering advisor helping to get more people involved in volunteering both online and face-to-face. I work with an organisation called Changemakers and we aim to get young people involved in virtual volunteering.

I can work within my own time from home. I write articles， gather information about youth groups and search for virtual volunteering opportunities offered by other charities.

Although I work at home， Im not alone！ There are quite a few of us virtual volunteering advisors and every so often we host meetings over the phone and online to see how everyone is getting on.

我作為網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿顧問的職責(zé)是幫助更多的人參與線上和線下的志愿工作。我服務(wù)于一個叫“改變制造者”的組織，我們的目標(biāo)是讓年輕人參與到網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)中來。

我可以在家里根據(jù)自己的時間工作。我寫文章，收集青年團體的相關(guān)信息，以及搜索其他慈善機構(gòu)提供的網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)機會。

雖然在家工作，但我并不孤單！我們有不少做志愿顧問的人，經(jīng)常要用電話和網(wǎng)絡(luò)開會，看看大家相處得怎樣。

Developing New Skills 培養(yǎng)新技能

Getting involved has given me the chance to develop many skills including podcasting[播客]， vodcasting[影視播客] and filmmaking. In my role， I need to use my knowledge of the internet and IT to use these technologies. Media sites like MySpace and Facebook help me to get the virtual volunteering message across to people. Ive also delivered[提供] workshops[討論會] to increase awareness[意識] about getting involved as a volunteer online.

The best thing about being a virtual volunteer is that its a whole new concept and Im one of the first to do it. Its great to get new ideas off the ground and build up the idea of virtual volunteering in the public eye. Its also been great to find out about different charities while Ive been gathering virtual volunteering opportunities.

參加網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿工作給了我發(fā)展多種技能的可能性，如播客、影視播客和攝制影片的技巧。在這個崗位上，我需要運用相關(guān)的知識來使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和信息技術(shù)。我借助聚友和臉譜等媒體網(wǎng)站傳播網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿工作的信息。我還組織過討論會，以提高人們參與網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)的意識。

做網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者最吸引人的一點是：它還是一個全新的概念，而我是最早做這件事的人之一。讓新的構(gòu)想離地騰飛，在公眾眼中樹立網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿服務(wù)的概念，真是一件很有意義的事。此外，在收集網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿工作機會的同時，我也查詢到不同慈善機構(gòu)的信息，讓我受益匪淺。

網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者（英文叫online volunteer、cyber volunteer、virtual volunteer等）是指通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)，與某個組織聯(lián)系并貢獻自己的時間。網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者可以為他人提供建議、咨詢，也可以為非營利組織提供遠程管理服務(wù)，如翻譯文件、校對書籍、設(shè)計徽標(biāo)、協(xié)調(diào)網(wǎng)絡(luò)討論組及管理其他網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者等。網(wǎng)絡(luò)志愿者還可以做一些高科技的聯(lián)絡(luò)工作，從網(wǎng)上做一些遠程調(diào)度。