PREMED GUIDE TO

All Things
Volunteering

A comprehensive guide for volunteer

ideas and how to find them!

ITSLIFEBYMAGGIE.COM

My name is Maggie, I'm 26 years old,
and I'm a first year medical student and
the University of Colorado.
I had 4 gap years mainly because I had
NO idea what I was doing the first time
I applied to medical school and it took
me a looooonng time to figure it all out.
That's why I'm super passionate now
about sharing ALL the things I learned
the hard way when I was premed.
Despite 5 C's, a 3.3 GPA, and not
knowing what to do for a while, when I
applied to medical school the second
time I earned 13 interviews and 10
acceptances. My motto is, "If I can do it,
than YOU can do it too!"
IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE
Hey there!
I'm SO happy you got your
hands on this resource. I'm so
excited to help ease the process
of finding some volunteer
opportunities!
I made this PDF because I know first hand
how hard it is to figure out ALL the things to
do to make yourself a competitive and
successful applicant to medical school!
This guide includes various volunteering
ideas that are virtual, clinical, and purely
based on what your interests may be! I’ve
also included:
Three *super* important tips for
volunteering, HOW to find various
experiences, a creative idea to make simple
experiences even more impactful, what
counts as clinical experience, FAQs that
YOU guys sent me from Instagram, three
mistakes to avoid & more!
I hope it's helpful!
• VOLUNTEERING GUIDE
 Three Quick Tips
ONE Choosing a volunteer experience solely

for the purpose of checking off a box

won't play out in your favor in the long

run! Why? Because eventually you'll be

sitting across from an interviewer reading

your application who might ask you

about that experience and sharing

about an experience you're passionate

about will be SO much more memorable!

Believe me when I say 1-2 long term

volunteer experiences vs. 8 that you

TWO
dabbled in for a few months, but never

stuck with is way better! And being in

something "long term" let's say > 6

months... doesn't mean it has to take up

a ton of your time! Doing something

once a week or once a month is still

fantastic if you stick with it long term

AND you don't have to worry about it

interfering with school. Double win!

THREE Medical schools want to see that you are

a real human being and not just a

premed robot! Of course you CAN find

clinically related volunteer experiences,

just know that you don't HAVE to. What

are your passions outside of school and

medicine? Find a volunteer opportunity

related to that!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 IDEAS
Let's take a look at some
amazing volunteer ideas based
on interests you may have! The
following page will show you
how I found these!

Underserved Communities

Soup Kitchen

Meals on Wheels

Underserved Youth (ex. Soccer Without Borders)

Interest in Specific Communities

Find an organization that serves:

Veterans (ex. Colorado Veterans Project)

Latinos (ex. Latino Community Foundation of Colorado)

Refugees (ex. Project Worthmore)

Mentoring Youth

CASA

The Smart is Strong

Volunteer Tutor

Hobbies

Volunteer with an environmental nonprofit

Volunteer at your local zoo

Find outdoorsy volunteer ideas (example)

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 FINDING IDEAS

Getting Started
Alright guys, I went down a research rabbit hole when looking for examples for you
guys and found so many great local opportunities! So if you happen to be in
Colorado, you are set! If not, I'm going to walk you through how I searched for these
so you can find tons of great options near you as well wherever you may be!

First things first:

If you are currently in college, be sure to reach out to faculty or look on bulletin
boards in the sciences building for volunteer opportunities! For some of you though,
you may not have that option so let's talk about other ways.

Try the following Google Prompts:

Nonprofit to volunteer with

Nonprofit ________ organization
[Insert state] volunteer opportunites

Basically the idea is to use Google to search based on where you are located and
what you are interested in. For example, searching "nonprofit to volunteer with
immigrants" is how I found Project Worthmore which is based in Colorado and has
TONS of great volunteer opportunities and is a really amazing organization.

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

I'm also really outdoorsy and maybe you are too or you might be artsy, interested
in helping the environment, animals, etc. Look what I found when I used the third
option!

So many different options! So as you can see just searching for ideas based on
location and/or interests will lead you to some volunteering opportunities you
probably didn't even realize existed!

Of course, there are a lot more obstacles due to COVID so if you are in need of
finding virtual volunteering opportunities then that is what we'll cover next!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 VIRTUAL
It is crazy how many fun virtual
opportunites exist out there! This
is a double win if you have a full
time job and need something
super flexible!

Upchieve - "A free, online platform that connects low-income students in the US
with live, volunteer coaches (that’s you!) any time they need it. Our volunteer
experience was designed to be ultra-flexible because we believe it should be easy
for awesome people like you to help students succeed."

Crisis Text Line - "Crisis Counselors answer texts from people in crisis, bringing them
from a hot moment to a cool calm through active listening, collaborative problem
solving, and safety planning."

Cards for a Cause - "Send your support and happy vibes to a sick or injured child
with a card. It’s the thought that counts and he or she is sure to appreciate your
kindness."

*check out the next page for a fun idea with something like this!*

RAINN - "Provides live, secure, anonymous crisis support to the growing number of
people who prefer communicating online through a simple instant message
format, giving those affected by sexual assault a safe place to receive support."

There is a fantastic list with SO many more great virtual volunteering ideas HERE

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 PRO TIP

HERE'S A FUN IDEA!

Alright, let's come back to the idea of Cards for a Cause. Doing that one time by
yourself would still of course be a great thing to do, but can you think of a way to
make it more impactful?

Maybe you are well connected on campus, like organizing events, are a part of your
school's premed (or literally any club really), etc. The list goes on!

My point is, if you like organizing events or serving others during the holidays then
this is the perfect opportunity to make what could be a short one time experience
into an annual event that you organize multiple times a year.

Why? First off, if this is something you would enjoy then it will be so fun to talk about
during interviews instead of just checking off a box and second, it shows amazing
qualities like taking initiative, leadership, and compassion!

Remember: don't do something just to "check a box" or only because it will "look
good" to adcoms. If this idea truly speaks to you then go for it, if it's not your thing
then don't do it!

So whether you make a plan and bring it to a club you're in in school or you
wrangle together your coworkers at the office or lab this is a fun and creative way
to make a simple (and virtual!) volunteer opportunity into something really
amazing, fun, and impactful.

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 CLINICAL
Trying to kill two birds with one
stone and find a volunteer
opportunity that is also clinical?
Let's look at how to find those
too!

Volunteer at a Free Clinic

I put these options in the order from (potentially) the most hands on to least. If
you're trying to kill two birds with one stone, you want to search for something
*hands-on* if possible. Of course, that is a little harder due to COVID, but
depending on where you live there could still be lots of great opportunities so I
would start your search in this order.

Become a Hospice Volunteer

If you are compassionate and empathetic this idea may speak to you the most.
While you won't be taking vitals or histories like you might at a free clinic you will still
most likely find an opportunity that involves helping care for and give company to
hospice patients.

Find a Local Hospital to Volunteer At

Many of these might be pretty hands off. For example, you could be stocking
shelves, ordering supplies, or greeting people at the door. I personally still
gravitated towards these because they were SO easy to find and I could at least
pick something like being a surgery waiting room volunteer so I was happy to be on
the surgical floor and in the same room that doctors were walking in and out of!
Not to mention I could also study while there because there was plenty of down
time.

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 HOW TO SEARCH

Getting Started
Similar to how we talked about above, I suggest searching "free clinic near me" and
going to the website of each organization. It should be easy to find information
about how to come a volunteer whether the only info is that they aren't accepting
any at the time OR they have an email or information form for you to fill out to
apply! Hopefully the latter is the case!

Similar to how we talked about above, I suggest searching "free clinic near me" and
going to the website of each organization. It should be easy to find information
about how to become a volunteer whether the only info is that they aren't
accepting any at the time OR they have an email listed or an information form for
you to fill out to apply! Hopefully the latter is the case!

LOST ON HOW TO REACH OUT?

None of the applications to volunteer should be too intense BUT you'll likely get

some questions on why you're interested or have to cold email someone with no info

on what to include in the email. And in case they only accept a certain number of

people, I always like to be extra professional and thorough so I get the gig I want! In

which case I made a short document that you can use as a rough template HERE!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 MORE IDEAS

"Psuedo-Clinical"
Alright, pseudo-clinical is NOT a real term haha. What I mean by it is a volunteering
experience that is technically in a clinical setting but doesn't have anything to do
with actually working with patients. It's just something I made up because there are
a lot of really cool volunteering experiences at hospitals! I just had to clarify though
that some of the ideas below would *not* be considered clinical, only volunteer!

SO WHAT COUNTS AS CLINICAL?

We've already covered that volunteering doesn't need to be clinical BUT if you're

hoping to kill two birds with one stone then it is definitely important to know what

*is* considered clinical! So the general rule is: If you are *directly* interacting with

patients, it is clinical. If you aren't around patients, it's not. Therefore, stocking

shelves in an ER or volunteering at a gift shop at a hospital wouldn't be clinical.

Anything that involves taking vitals, giving medications, bathing patients, etc would

definitely count as a clinical! There's another good reference HERE.

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 FAQ
Alright let's cover some
questions and concerns that
came up on Instagram when I
asked you about this topic!

What is the best volunteering experience for med school?

If you've read through this PDF hopefully by now I've ingrained the answer to this
one into you by now 🤣. I truly encourage you to believe that there is no "best"
volunteering experience and that you should seek out experiences based on what
you're passionate about! Fun fact: I was even told this SAME advice a few days ago
by a 4th year medical student who applied to orthopedic surgery residencies. So
even beyond being premed and into medical school this same advice still applies!

How to reach out.

This is a totally valid concern! Hopefully showing you how to Google opportunities
and find the info pages of various organizations helps steer you to an email or info
form to start volunteering. From there you can use this template HERE for a quick
idea of what to say when you reach out!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 FAQ

Finding volunteer experiences I can do during non-business hours (working

full-time).

I would definitely gravitate towards the virtual volunteer ideas! Most are super
flexible, for example with Upchieve you get to completely decide when you
volunteer. If you are hoping to do something in person, you'll just have to do extra
digging but might be able to find something on the weekends!

How much is necessary? What constitutes eligible volunteer experience?

The first question has an annoying answer because that is totally dependent on
you! The more *quality* experiences you have the better, but in general if you have
a LOT of hours in other categories and less hours in the volunteering category then
that's no biggie and vice-versa. You could also be in the middle and have a
moderate amount of hours in multiple categories. (and to clarify "categories" I
mean broad things like research, clinical experience, extra-curriculars, etc.). I had
roughly ~180 hours of volunteering on my AMCAS app but 3,000 hours of clinical
experience so it is completely dependent on what other experiences you have!

As for the second question, volunteering means you don't get paid for it! So
technically if you play a sport, let's say you are on your school's softball team, and
you volunteer with 10 hours of your time to help with a fundraising event over the
weekend, then that 10 hours would count as volunteering. And of course any
experience that is called a "volunteer" experience and you don't get money for is
volunteering.

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 FAQ

A lot of hospitals and/or free health clinics in my city are not accepting
volunteers due to COVID.

First off, I'm SO sorry if this is the case! Navigating this premed process is hard
enough without all these extra hurdles. Anyway, here's my best advice. First think
about what you really want. Do you want clinical experience or just volunteering? If
it's the latter, remember that 3rd tip from the beginning! You most definitely do not
need to find something clinical! It can be anything so widen your search. BUT if are
you're trying to do what I mentioned before and find an experience that is both
volunteering and clinical because you don't have *any* clinical experience yet then
make sure you leaved NO stone unturned!

One thing I did when I was premed was drive an HOUR to the hospital in Columbus
because I didn't like the volunteer experience I found in my small town (it was
literally so boring). So similarly a new idea my be expanding the radius of your
search to see if hospitals a little farther away are accepting volunteers. Additionally,
maybe you have tried ALL the hospitals you can think of but you haven't tried free
clinics or vice versa! Hit up Google and see if maybe you can find something that
way. Lastly, if nothing works then you could consider waiting until the summer or a
gap year to find a clinical job. That might not be realistic in your situation though
SO if you have truly tried every avenue and COVID/your location is the sole reason
you can't find anything clinical then it is OKAY at that point! You tried your best and
it's out of your control at that point. Just spend more time in other categories such
as volunteering that is non-clinical, research, extra-curriculars, etc!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 Three Key Resources

JustServe
This is a great search engine that allows you to search
for both virtual and local volunteer opportunities. I
even typed in the zip code from the small town where I
grew up and something cool popped up!

VolunteerMatch
Similar to above you can search for both local and
virtual volunteer opportunities. I searched again for
local postings from my home town and there actually
wasn't anything, but tons for the big city that I
currently live in! Still a great option to try as well
regardless of where you live.

NAFC
The National Association of Free and Charitable
Clinics (NAFC) is a fabulous way to quickly search for
free clinics in your area by plugging in your zip code.
Once you put in your zip code it loads all the free
clinics near you with a link to their website AND
contact info. Amazing!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 Three Mistakes to Avoid

DON'T FORGET TO JOURNAL

The more you track your experiences the easier you'll make it for yourself when it comes
time to write your extra-curricular essays for your primary application! What should you
track? Contact info, hours that you volunteered, and most importantly *impactful*
memories, stories, and experiences. This is what will come in handy when you need to write
an essay that explains why that volunteer experience was meaningful to you.

DON'T BE AFRIAD TO CHANGE YOUR MIND

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I am so not a fan of making yourself do something
that you don't enjoy! It is OK to think that you're going to like a certain volunteer experience
then one or two days in realize it bores you to tears and you dread going every week. Like I
mentioned above, this happend to me and I found something else instead! Just be sure not to
ghost them! Be professional, send them an email letting them know you can't continue, then
find something else that you look forward too!

DON'T FORGET TO BE PRESENT

Okay, I have NO doubt you are busy and you have a million things on your plate, but don't
let other commitments distract you when you are volunteering (unless it's something less
hands on and you get to spend some time doing homework or studying) but besides getting
great letters of recommendation if you put your best foot forward, use your volunteering
experience as a way to NOT think about school! Try to connect with your community in a
genuine way and create memories!

IT'S LIFE BY MAGGIE • VOLUNTEERING GUIDE

 THE NEXT STEP

Road to Acceptance

ELIMINATE THE CONFUSION & SIMPLIFY THE

PROCESS OF APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL

GET ON THE WAITLIST TODAY!

Who is this for? Premeds applying NEXT cycle. What is it? An extremely
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This course only launches a few times a year, be sure you don't miss out!
Being on the waitlist means you'll be the first to know when course
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