Sidelines National Support Network  / Volunteer  / Volunteer Virtually

What Is An Email Volunteer?
A Sidelines email volunteer supports women and their families online by communicating via email, online chats, and instant messages. Email volunteers are trained by the same process as phone volunteers.

Volunteering from a home or work computer is different than working on-site with an organization for many obvious reasons: there's usually more flexibility in the use of your time, a greater degree of independence. For some, these differences make virtual volunteering ideal; these same reasons can make it difficult for others.

Setting you own schedule is one of the chief joys of virtual volunteering. However, there's nothing virtual about the commitment you are making.

You can be both an email and a local phone volunteer. That is up to you. Sidelines has a policy of no more than 2 moms per volunteer whether that be email, phone or a combination of both. Please review our Volunteering Locally For Sidelines page.

I Want To Be An Email Volunteer. Am I Ready?

Before you volunteer to help Sidelines via the internet, consider the following to determine if you are ready:

1) Do you have regular, ongoing access to the Internet?
If access is only from work on certain days, let us know. We can work around your schedule if needed. If your access is only 1 or 2 days per week, we may have to wait until you have more access to you email. Let us know! Ideally, you would have email access daily.

2) Do you know how to communicate well via the written word?
You don't have to be an English major! :-) But you do need to know how to convey empathy and feelings to high-risk moms.

3) Are you comfortable working on your own, without direct supervision?
The Group Coordinator is always available for consultation-- for problems or questions that may arise.

4) Are you self-motivated?

5) Do you have a set time each day when you can send email to your patient referral? (That can be any time day or night.)

6) Do you answer your emails quickly (no more than 48 hours after receipt)?
This is VERY important. We rely on volunteers to check their mail to take patient referrals, and the patient referrals rely on you to respond to their emails.

If you answered "No" to any of the above questions, or had difficulty answering some of the questions, perhaps you are not ready for volunteering virtually. Still, you never know until you try!

Many times new or perspective volunteers ask..."What if I become too busy to become a volunteer?" We know that Moms are busy people! So each time we have a patient referral for you, we'll ask you if it's okay for you to support her at that time. If you continually turn down patient referrals, we will probably take you off our active list until you are ready to volunteer again.

We encourage volunteers to let us know if they will not be available to support patient referrals due to vacation, family situations, etc.

If you are currently pregnant: We *can train you* while you are pregnant. But, once you are trained you cannot support someone until AFTER you deliver. Sidelines has a strict policy about not matching pregnant moms with each other.