So often, community service is just a email, text, or call away, but navigating that sort of interaction with a stranger can be intimidating. In the end, though, it doesn't need to be scary. No one will be mad at you offering to work for free, so feel follow these tips or use one of these templates to combat any stress (or lack of time) you may be dealing with!

Have a friendly, professional tone

The only way you can get a response is if you seem like you want one. Using informal language such as emojis or acronyms may decrease your response rate. That said, writing a Dostoyevsky novel in an organization's imbox probably won't go over very well. Keeping your inquiry short, kind, and fairly professional means better response rates — and better projects.

Use social media

While you should stay out of people's personal accounts (with the exception of schoolmates, maybe,) directly messaging an organization or person involved in one can lead to opportunities galore. Starting with LinkedIn or Instagram lets you find and easily reach out to people publicly involved in what you hope to work in. If you're organizing something yourself, these platforms also allow you to promote the event or opportunity to people freely and locally.

Find out where others volunteer

All day every day, you're probably surrounded by people in touch with fabulous community service organizations. Asking friends may be a good start, but checking with the other volunteers while you're at an event may yield opportunities you wouldn't have otherwise heard of. Often, people who volunteer at one event do it as a lifestyle; they're likely to know of other organizations which need consistent help.

Look around your area 

There are probably spaces right underneath your nose which need volunteers. Whether you spend time in an understaffed art gallery or at town-run celebrations, someone probably is looking for help setting up or taking down. Next time you're there (or on their website) see if you can find out who to reach out to about volunteering!

Email

Social media message

Phone call or voicemail

On the phone, no one template will always work, but you're generally just  introducing yourself an answering questions. Let's start with what you do when you hit voicemail. Here's a script:

Hi! I'm [name] from [school]. I'm interested in volunteering with you guys, and I was wondering if you needed help with any of your upcoming events? I'm able to [important skills] and I'm very passionate about what you do. Feel free to call me back at [your phone number] or email me at [your email address]. 

Feel free to start off a phone call that way too. The person on the receiving end will probably point you in the direction of something helpful or send your call to another person with more information.