In the wake of last Tuesday’s election results and the appointment of white supremacy propagator Stephen Bannon as Trump’s chief strategist, many are (rightfully) worried about what this administration will mean for marginalized communities, healthcare, and the environment. There are several ways to mobilize—writing, educating yourself and others, donating money, and sharing content on various social networks—but perhaps one of the most tangible ways is to volunteer for organizations that help people who Trump, his transition team, and many of his supporters are threatening.
Here are some national and local organizations that could use your legwork (and brainwork) to ensure women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, and others have their health, safety, and civil liberties protected.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood provides crucial reproductive health services like STI/STD testing, birth control, body image counseling, emergency contraception, and so much more to people across the gender and sexuality spectrum. With offices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, you can volunteer or intern for the organization no matter where you’re located. Whether you have administrative skills, want to get involved with advocacy and public policy, or have some background in health services, Planned Parenthood could use your help so no one goes without reproductive health care.
People’s Action
People’s Action is an organization that spans across 29 states to dismantle racism, greed, and corporate welfare, while supporting our planet and the well-being of the people on it. With leadership development programs, campaigns for better policies, and canvassing opportunities, People’s Action has a spot for you to volunteer your time and make an impact.
MPower Change
MPower Change is led by a group of Muslim Americans working to bring social, spiritual, racial, and economic justice to all people. Recently, the organization has worked to bring awareness to Standing Rock, black-led organizations, and cultural appropriation.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
The ACLU works to educate people about and to defend individual rights granted by laws and the U.S. Constitution (plus the organization’s executive director recently released this badass statement about holding Trump accountable for his actions). Each state has ACLU affiliates where you can volunteer or offer legal services pro bono.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
The NAACP is an organization with a mission to ensure “the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.” The NAACP has more than 2,000 units all over the country, so find a chapter to volunteer.
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ people between the ages of 13 and 24. Specific volunteer opportunities can be found here. In addition to providing education and a litany of resources for LGBTQ youth, the organization provides a phone number, a text service, and an instant messaging option for when LGBTQ youth need immediate help.
Campaign Zero
Campaign Zero’s aim is to end racism and police brutality in the United States while educating people about it. The organization’s well-designed and informative website covers policy solutions, legislative measures, reports on police brutality, and a button to help you get involved.
Pro Publica
Pro Publica is a non-profit investigative journalism newsroom that aims to produce “journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.” Though Pro Publica doesn’t explicitly offer volunteer opportunities, people can get involved by helping the newsroom’s investigations, individually investigating and reporting important stories that need to be told (and getting those stories funded!), or volunteering their story or time for special reports and investigations.
Young Center for Immigrant and Children’s Rights
The Young Center helps legally support immigrant children, and volunteers can sign up to spend time with a child and advocate on their behalf. The Young Center is currently in need of bilingual volunteers who speak Spanish, Mandarin, Indian languages, and Bengali.
Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project
The Movement Generation focuses on action to restore land, labor, and culture. The organization is led by communities of color and low-income communities to transition away from profit and pollution toward “healthy, resilient, and life-affirming local economies.” It offers justice and ecology retreats, workshops and strategy sessions, skills training programs, and more. The organization is based out of Oakland.
Native Organizers Alliance
The Native Organizers Alliance aims to build and support a network of Native organizers, support funding for campaigns aimed to positively impact Native communities, develop media opportunities to highlight issues facing Native communities today, and create education for how to mobilize around those issues. You can sign up for updates about trainings and opportunities.
Forward Together
Forward Together is a multi-racial organization aimed at using policy to catalyze social change so that women and families always have the resources they need to survive and thrive. The organization focuses on issues like lack of affordable childcare, building better afterschool programs, and marriage equality. The physical offices are located in New Mexico, Oregon, and California.
