TNAA-Travel Nurse Across America provided this article.
November 28 is GivingTuesday, the day that highlights the power of generosity by encouraging everyone to give back. Since its launch in 2012, GivingTuesday has become a global movement, with millions of people finding ways, both large and small, to make an impact.
As a travel nurse, you are naturally compassionate and caring, and giving back while off the clock may interest you. For travel nurses, it can be a rewarding reprieve from their day-to-day work and a great way to engage the community in their new home away from home.
Fortunately for travel nurses, there are many ways to give back while on assignment, and traveling to new destinations means ample volunteer opportunities for GivingTuesday and beyond.
How You Can Give Back as a Travel Nurse
1. Volunteering with Healthcare Skills
One way you can volunteer as a travel nurse is by utilizing your healthcare skills. Contact local facilities and community health clinics to see their available opportunities. Travel nurses can also help at blood drives, events, fundraisers, and more.
2. Non-Medical Volunteer Opportunities
If you’re more interested in stepping away from your professional life as a nurse, you can find non-medical-related volunteer opportunities in your travel communities. Check out VolunteerMatch.org or other national organizations for volunteer positions.
You can also find local organizations based on your interests and what you like to do as a volunteer. Local food banks and soup kitchens also rely on volunteers year-round. The local parks department may need people to help clean up trails or plant trees and vegetation in parks. Do some research to find local non-profits, churches, and charities, and call them directly. Many need volunteers but may not be advertising them.
3. Make a Donation
If it’s challenging to find time in your busy schedule to volunteer, consider donating instead.
Donate Goods
Like you would for a volunteer opportunity, search for local, reputable organizations that need donated goods. Find a donation center to take those household or personal items you won’t need on assignment – this is a great way to downsize for your next travel assignment or eliminate extra stuff you brought that you won’t use. Many schools and community centers take donations of school supplies. You can also buy extra food supplies and donate them to a local food bank. See what is needed most in your community by talking with the organizations about what they need most.
Donate Money
There are many places to make monetary donations, either one-time or recurring. Nonprofit charities like the American Red Cross and Make a Wish have local chapters throughout the U.S. that will take donations. Many of the same organizations you can volunteer at or donate goods to will also have a way for you to donate money. You can also find great foundations that are in need of financial contributions.
4. Other Ways to Give Back
Don’t forget that giving back can be done in many non-official ways. Take a walk in your neighborhood and pick up trash, choose public transportation for your daily commute, help a neighbor with some work around their home, run or walk in a local 5k or other event…the possibilities are truly endless when you rethink what it means to give back to your community. Travel nurses can do things every day that help their community or bring someone happiness.
Travel nurses have great opportunities to give back to the places they call home while on assignment. Whether sharing their healthcare skills in local clinics, participating in non-medical volunteer endeavors, or supporting local charities, these nurses become catalysts for positive change. As you celebrate GivingTuesday and look for opportunities to give back to your travel communities, remember that your acts of kindness, big or small, make an impact. Here’s to the joyful journey of giving back, making a difference, and leaving every corner a bit brighter, one assignment at a time.
The Gypsy Nurse job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
