In this strange and ever-changing time it feels difficult to find opportunities that aren’t online. I’m a premed student and I’m so overwhelmed by all of the volunteering, shadowing, and working that I have to do in order to even begin to be a competitive medical school applicant. It’s really hard to find places that will allow in-person shadowing or volunteering. However, there is one pretty unique opportunity that has arisen in the past few months, and if you’re needing volunteer hours or just want to help out, this might be for you!
My mom has been part of our county’s COVID response since the very beginning. That work has gone through transitions, from contract tracing to case prevention to supplying hospitals with PPE. And now, her work is centered around getting our population vaccinated. She was a major part of setting up the mass vaccination clinic in our county. I was super interested in that work and so I got to tag along on the weekends to see how things at the clinic functioned. I was absolutely amazed at the organization and execution of the clinic. I also learned that it would mainly be staffed by the National Guard and volunteers! At the time, I was perfectly happy just following my mom around and doing whatever she was doing. It was also winter term, and I didn’t feel comfortable disrupting my schedule to try something new (I’m very routine-oriented).
My first opportunity to volunteer at the clinic came over spring break. I was already signed up to be a volunteer and so I got an email saying that they needed urgent help. That was the push out of my comfort zone I needed and so I signed up for three days. Truthfully, I had so much fun over those days. People were so happy to be there and I found myself feeling so fulfilled. I realized that this is a sustainable way for me to acquire volunteer hours and also feel really happy with what I’m doing! I’m already signed up for two shifts this week and one shift next week. I scheduled the shifts when I didn’t have class and when I felt like I could manage it alongside school. Another amazing thing that has happened since I started volunteering (which was only a week ago!) is that I’ve already made connections that could help me get a shadowing opportunity or job at the hospital.
If you’re looking to get some volunteer hours, definitely think about looking into your county’s vaccination clinic(s)! It’s a great opportunity to help people, make connections, and feel good about the work you’re doing. For me, I had to sign up to be a general volunteer for my county and then because the major volunteering event going on is the mass vaccination clinic, I was sent the information for the clinic one I was approved. I did have to get a background check and just send in some routine information about myself, but all in all I think it took me 5 minutes to apply to be a volunteer. I was approved within a few days and I’ve been volunteering since. This truly is a phenomenal way to give back to your community. Even if you don’t want the vaccine for yourself or feel wary about it, it’s still a good way to help out those who do and get us all out of this pandemic. Check it out!