What Cause Moves You?

By Marcia E. Kelley

Writers can find and create a passion project by writing for a cause. Whether it is helping abused children, fixing potholes in your neighborhood, or providing clean drinking water in a foreign land, you can find a cause that moves you into action.

Depending on your skill level and the time you have available, you can help with a variety of writing assignments. Many nonprofit or grassroots groups are short staffed depending solely on charitable contributions. In today’s economic environment of being accountable for all monies spent, these organizations want to stretch each dollar that they take in.

What Types of Writing Can I Do?

If you ask any charitable organization, they will tell you they need help writing. Here’s a list of some of the items, as a writer, that you can create:

· Mission Statement — A good mission statement succinctly describes what the organization intends to do with their donated dollars. For example, the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s mission statement reads:

The mission of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening, and treatment.

· Grant Applications — These are proposals to acquire monies from foundations and other sources to continue the organization’s work. Grant applications address who will benefit from the grant, administration of the program and reporting to the grantor about how the funds were actually used including how many people were helped in the program.

· Reports — Organizations are tasked with writing a variety of reports for donors, for individuals, or to government agencies. These reports are due throughout the year and can be written in a variety of ways depending on the audience they are targeting

· Other Types of Writing — Depending on your skill level and the time you have available, you can help with a variety of writing assignments such as blog posts, promotional materials, event announcements and more.

Where Can I Find Writing Opportunities?

You will need to decide if you want to volunteer or do you want to work for the organization? If you live in or near a major city, you can seek out volunteer assignments here. This organization has offices in 35 states across the United States. On the other hand, if you are looking for employment, you can click here. This organization recently changed their name from Opportunity Knocks (www.opportunityknocks.org).

Even people in rural areas can find a cause to support. Look at newspapers, magazines, community websites or contact someone at a local church, synagogue or other social facility. If you are interested in international opportunities in Central America, South America, Asia, and Africa, check out A Broader View (https://www.abroaderview.org/).

Opportunities are available to fit just about any schedule day, night, weekend or even long-term. Time commitments range from a couple of hours to weeks, months or even years.

So, as you can see, your writing can heal a broken heart, move food and medical supplies around the globe, providing clean drinking water in an impoverished village, or fix that darned pothole in front of your house.

Marcia E. Kelley is a freelance writer who lives in Dallas, Texas. She has written newspaper and magazine articles and two books available on Amazon: Stay Safe on Campus and How to Graduate Debt-Free! She has been involved with speaking and writing projects for a number of local and national organizations. You can reach her here.

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