Why Volunteer With Letters Against Depression?
DO IT FROM ANYWHERE
And we mean literally anywhere.
Letters Against Depression has volunteers from over 130 different countries and writes to recipients in 60+ countries. We are happy to be a welcoming organization and will accept anyone who wants to support our mission of spreading hope and support.
Provided you have internet access to our Portal, can read and write English, and have access to a post office, you are qualified!
DO IT ON YOUR OWN TIME
LAD does not have a time commitment. You are free to choose to write who you want when you want. After you have signed up, you choose a recipient that resonates with you and you write them within two weeks. We don’t care if you write during weekdays or weekends, mornings or evenings, or if it takes you the full two weeks to write your letter. Your life is your own. Lives get busy. We understand.
If you need to take a step back from writing letters you can do so! Once you are a volunteer, the portal remains open to you. No matter how long you’ve been gone, we’re still here.
UNLEASH YOUR INNER CREATIVE
We do more than write letters. While our main mission is providing free, handwritten letters of hope and support, we have a variety of other activities which can only be done with the help of our many dedicated and highly creative volunteers.
LAD Volunteers spend time
Creating a variety of “hugs” which we put in our letters
Contributing to our weekly blog
Creating content for our social media (videos, pictures, quotes)
Giving feedback on our website, portal, and other processes
Running local “Creating Hope” events
Fundraising
Participating in research
There is no limit to the amount of creativity you can do from the comfort of your own home anywhere in the world. We provide guidance and access to many of these extra activities, but Volunteers are free to express themselves as they see fit.
WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON FEEDBACK FROM OUR CURRENT VOLUNTEERS?
“After I write a letter or create a hug, I feel better myself.”
A lot of our volunteers write because they understand the struggle. Helping others is one way to help yourself. Release some endorphins today.
LET US WORK FOR YOU
There are many personal benefits to volunteering with Letters Against Depression. We are a nonprofit, 501c3 charity organization, so the time that you spend writing letters and making hugs can be added to college resumes or job applications. We also write letters of recommendation and help fulfill project needs for those looking to work with the community.
CAN I USE MY TALENTS HERE?
Absolutely! As a growing nonprofit, we are interested in providing our Volunteers the opportunity and platform to mutually work together. We have partnered with people who consult with us on blogs, the website, SEO, volunteer engagement and retainment, fundraising, and networking. If you have a skill set you want to learn more about, we can help with that too!
HOW DOES MY TIME GET COUNTED?
Service time depends on length, content, difficulty, personalization, etc of each letter and hug.
Once we receive your letters and hugs they are reviewed prior to sending to the recipient, and we assign a time amount to them. For example, if the letter is one page long, we would typically assign 30 minutes to 1 hour, based on content and personalization. 2 pages would be about an hour or two. Extra time can be given for more creative touches such as doodles, colors, stickers, and added stamps! All in all, the best of the best type letter could be up to 4 hours in service time.
WHEN WILL I KNOW MY TIME?
Immediately and cumulatively.
Volunteers get an email after each submission with feedback. That email includes how many service hours have been recorded. At any time we can review to make sure the time reflects the actual hours you have spent on your creations. All requests for official documentation to show requirement fulfillment will be sent on Letters Against Depression letterhead.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CONFIRM MY TIME?
Please provide us with advance notice to get your official confirmation of service hours. We will send you a copy on our official letterhead with your most up-to-date hours upon request, but this can take several business days to send out and time in the mail. Please plan accordingly.
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
Every month we run a Volunteer Appreciation segment. Your hard work could get you an overly stuffed prize box full of goodies! Plus, winners are featured in our monthly newsletter! Your hard work does not go unnoticed by us.
WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES?
Most Volunteer Hours - for the volunteer who spends the most hours volunteering
Random Letter Winner - can be anyone who wrote one letter in that month
Hug Winner - for the volunteer that sends in the most hugs
HOW ARE WINNERS CHOSEN?
At the end of every month, Rob crunches the numbers for the most volunteer hours. Then we run a program which picks a winner out of all the letters we sent that month. Next, all the people who participated in our social media challenges are written on an index card, put into a bowl, and shaken up until a name pops out. You can win once in a calendar year, but it only takes one entry a month to qualify!
We also run contests, raffles, and giveaways! Prizes can include gift cards, prize boxes, and LAD merchandise. We believe in our Volunteers and their hard work. LAD is nothing without our incredible volunteers and as such we try to send some awesomeness right back at you!
“I love all my letters. I love reading them and I save them. I’m very grateful for the whole program. Thank you so much 💖”