Welcome to the Volunteer Forum

Hey everyone. I'm JahSun, CEO of Water Charity, and I'll be monitoring this forum. Due to the overwhelming interest we've received in people wanting to volunteer their time and skills to our cause, we have decided to try this out as a way for you all to network with us... and with each other.

While the majority of what we do needs to be done in the field or under the direct supervision of our team, there are plenty of things that can be done with little or no training or direction. To this end, we've decided to put up threads delineating the various types of things that need to get done. Those of you who feel drawn to help can pick from among these threads and find there information about how to proceed. You can also take the opportunity to discuss these tasks, pass along useful information, and assist each other in finding the most efficient ways to accomplish the goals.

We welcome all constructive feedback, and hope that you brilliant people out there will improve upon our basic concepts and be motivated to follow through on these projects and activities.

Furthermore, it is my belief that you volunteers are not coming to us as blank slates that we must mold or direct. You all already have unique skill-sets and knowledge-bases that you bring to the table. I hope you will lend us the benefit of that knowledge and skill by proposing tasks for yourself and volunteering for tasks which require your particular expertise and/or individual equipment. I will delineate threads pertaining to tasks which require some specific expertise or tool-set, in order to differentiate those threads from ones where no such expertise is necessary. Video editing is one such example. In order to help us in this field, you must have video editing capability as well as the skill to use it.

Anyway, it should all be pretty self-explanatory. I'm hoping that this forum will facilitate fluid sharing of energy and work... allowing us to help each other in this very important work. This is an integral part of our philosophy of low overhead, low bureaucracy, and direct action. When we don't have to waste time, energy, money and resources on accomplishing these tasks or directly overseeing them... we can put our energy and resources directly into the accomplishing of practical water projects in the field. We are proud of the fact that nearly 99% of the donations we receive go directly into such tangible projects. You can help us stay efficient and streamlined as we grow and take on ever larger projects.

Thank you for caring. And thank you for rolling up your sleeves and chipping in here. It really does make a difference. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.