Learn more about an important issue facing our country and our world. Advocate for the causes that matter to you most!
Design Your Program
There are many things to do in DC – whether serving others in our urban community (community kitchens, shelters), learning about or advocating on important issues (attending conferences, lobbying) or exploring many of the fascinating and notable places in our nation’s capitol (museums, monuments, festivals).
You may already have a program in mind for your visit or you may be just beginning to think about that. We can help you fill in the gaps by connecting you with meaningful service opportunities, speakers or workshops to learn more about topics such as immigration, hunger and homelessness.
Advice for Making Service Arrangements or Stetting Speaker/Workshop Dates
- Contact the nonprofit or individual well in advance of your desired date. Many opportunities fill up quickly and earlier than people may expect. Larger nonprofits will schedule volunteers six to nine or more months in advance. The schedules of good speakers and opportunities fill-up fast as well.
- Be flexible. The opportunities for service may not fit exactly with your specifications for date, time, issue or location/accessibility. Also many activities have specifications regarding age of participants and group size. Work with a speak or workshop facilitator to make the experience possible for your group.
- Be patient and persistent. Often nonprofit volunteer coordinators are working with many groups concurrently or volunteer coordination is only part of their work. If you don’t hear back from an organization or individual after a few business days, patiently follow-up with them to make sure they have what they need to make your arrangements.
- Be organized. The more you know what you are looking for and when you can be flexible the better you can get what you need.
Take a look at the following ideas to get started!
When making a group reservation at the WSC, be sure to note the nature of your visit and interests. The WSC Coordinator will want to make sure you’ve made the right connections.
