Making a Difference from Home: The Ins and Outs of Remote Volunteering
As a freelance writer, much of my work life since 2015 has been done from home. I like to joke that I did the whole work-from-home thing before it was cool. During Covid, remote work was the way to go and although many industries have gone back to working in an office, there’s no doubt now that working from home is here to stay. Was I ever surprised to find out that this philosophy also extends to volunteering.
It all started when I was trying to find ways to obtain my 80 hours of work, volunteering or training a month that I and many others on Medicaid need to keep their health insurance starting in January. For Indiana and those renewing their HIP insurance in January, it really starts in October due to the state’s strict three-month lookback. Due to losing my mom two years ago and the rapidly changing landscape for writers, I haven’t worked steadily in some time. I’m also focusing on becoming a medical coder. With all of that and a job market that regularly ghosts people and has fake postings, there was no way I was going to find a job in time. Volunteering was the only way forward for the time being.
While scrolling around online, I was hearing about remote volunteer opportunities. I couldn’t even fathom that as an option, as many volunteer jobs involve some form of in-person labor, like the food bank and animal shelters. For me, I threw in an application for my town’s historical society and a local hospital. I never heard back from the former and the latter may still be a possibility, although we’re currently playing email tag.
Feeling the pressure, I began to look more into remote volunteering and found whole websites advertising remote volunteer gigs. There were many things I found, such as Lasagna Love, and even The Smithsonian. During my frantic search, I found my match: Indiana Medicaid Help Inc., a federally recognized 501(c)(3) public charity that helps people navigate the tangled web known as Medicaid in Indiana. Even better, they have a volunteer program set up for people on HIP to get their 80 hours in, and at the end of every month will give you a certificate of your hours to put in your FSSA portal. I’d already been spending my summer searching for everything I needed to know about these new work requirements, so I figured I knew enough to volunteer for a Medicaid organization. I signed up at the end of September, heard back the day after applying with my first tasks, and got 16 hours completed for that month. Given that I expected to start my volunteer journey from behind, the fact that I was now 16 hours ahead before October even began was amazing.
I started out doing social media tasks, such as reacting and reposting various posts on their Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn, as well as watching their YouTube videos. I’ve done some social media work in the past for clients, so this was in my wheelhouse. However, when I volunteered to write an article about my personal experience with Medicaid, I knew this was where I belonged. Indiana Medicaid Help has not only given me the opportunity to volunteer at home while keeping my HIP coverage but has given me my first chance in a long time to write on a professional basis, rebuild my portfolio, and do something I love.
Scheduling and transportation are also huge pluses to volunteering from home. I don’t drive, and I have two appointments on one Tuesday and one Thursday a month that are hard to change. Indiana Medicaid Help allows me to volunteer at my own pace and time without having to drastically change my schedule and have additional transportation. For anyone disabled, looking for work, or need something flexible to do to get your 80 hours, volunteering remotely is your best bet. Even better, you will be volunteering your time towards an amazing, helpful cause.
