How to Volunteer

You can be involved in the Virtual Ability community in a variety of ways. Our mission is providing services inside virtual worlds, but you can assist this mission without even being part of Second Life or other virtual worlds. If you have other ideas of ways to be involved, please address inquiries to info@virtualability.org.

The success of our community depends on volunteers, plus volunteering and giving back to the community can be a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. Your life experiences, skills, and social connections can advance the mission of Virtual Ability. Some volunteers can offer a few minutes here and there; others can become part of an ongoing project. We have volunteer opportunities to match your available time commitment and experience.

 

If you are not (yet) in Second Life, you could:

  • Provide information on Virtual Ability to people you know who have a disability or chronic health condition.
  • Connect with Virtual Ability’s social media to learn more about our community.
    • Read and comment on our blog posts.
    • Follow and retweet our Twitter messages.
    • Like us on Facebook and invite your contacts to do so too.
    • Share a link to Virtual Ability’s website on your social media.
  • Help a family member or friend who might be interested in joining Virtual Ability by coaching them through our website entrance portal to Second Life.
  • Become familiar with our work and then recommend Virtual Ability to your patients and clients if you are a caregiver or healthcare provider.
  • Offer information on Virtual Ability to local and state organizations that support people with disabilities.
  • Provide information about Virtual Ability to your local Center for Independent Living, or provide CIL contact information to info@virtualability.org

 

If you are involved in a virtual world other than Second Life, you could do any of the above, or:

  • Provide information to members of that virtual world about the Virtual Ability community in Second Life.
  • Refer questions about accessibility of virtual worlds in general to info@virtualability.org
  • Participate in efforts to create accessible interoperability standards for virtual worlds.
  • Let Virtual Ability know (info@virtualability.org) if you see an opportunity in another virtual world where we should consider establishing a presence or getting involved.

 

If you are a Second Life citizen, but not a member of the Virtual Ability community, you could do any of the above, or:

  • Attend public events put on by the Virtual Ability community.
  • View current evidence-based information on health and wellness topics on Healthinfo Island.
  • If your group has an event that might be of interest to VAI members, please contact iSkye Silverweb to have it put on our “Events of Interest” calendar.
  • If you lead an SL-based disability or chronic health condition peer support group, please consider joining the Health Support Coalition. This is a SL group where leaders share events that may be of interest to other groups.
  • If your SL Peer Support Group has regular meetings, please contact iSkye Silverweb to have them put on our “Events of Interest” calendar.

 

If you are a member of the Virtual Ability community in Second Life, you could do any of the above, or:

  • Lead a discussion about your disability to help others understand what it is like.
  • Point out additional peer support groups that should be on the Path of Support.
  • Inform us of groups listed on the Path of Support that are no longer in operation.
  • Participate in weekly group events, or start other ongoing events.
  • If you find a fun place to visit in SL, lead a VAI field trip. Contact iSkye Silverweb to get on the schedule.
  • When you meet people in SL who might be interested in joining our community, or who have disability-related questions or interests, suggest they view our website.
  • Offer interested SL residents our current VAI notecard.
  • Put our public islands and our major public events in the Picks in your Profile.
  • Provide anonymous feedback and suggestions through the Gentle is Listening mailbox.
  • Contact the Virtual Ability leadership team (through Gentle Heron) to discuss ways that you might be interested in becoming more involved in helping lead the community or one of its events.