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slfisher 0 Posting Whiz

Following the lead of John F. Kennedy's Peace Corps, President Barack Obama had mentioned in his campaign platform a "Craigslist for Service" (which met with the full approval of Craigslist founder Craig Newmark).

It has now come to fruition with what Obama is calling "the summer of service." "This summer, President Obama is calling on all of us – young and old, from every background, all across this country – to participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving in our communities. From June 22 to September 11, United We Serve will begin to engage Americans from coast to coast in addressing community needs in education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal."

AllforGood.org has been set up to give people the chance to give back to their community and share opportunities to help. According to the website, the team that created it is made up of volunteering enthusiasts from places such as Google, Craigslist Foundation, UCLA, YouTube, FanFeedr and Aha! Ink. Google is hosting the All for Good website and products, and several Google engineers worked on All for Good as a 20-percent project (Google lets engineers spend a day a week on projects that interest them).

People can search for volunteer opportunities based on keywords, such as helping with veterans. It is also location-based and automatically comes up with volunteer opportunities in one's geographic area.

It is also integrated with Facebook and uses Facebook's "like" feature. Users can "like" a volunteer activity. This means that you think it's interesting for one reason or another and want to share that good vibe with others in the commuity. Once you "like" an activity, your friends will be able to see that you've liked it when they are browsing activities. This may cause others to become interested in it, too. If you sign in with Facebook, you can share activities you like with your Facebook friends through your Facebook activity stream.

The site is currently in beta (though the logo still describes it as being in alpha).

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Good concise summary from and a short, practical update for anyone landing here later: the volunteer‑matching idea that got a lot of attention in 2009 evolved into a long‑running aggregator run by the nonprofit Points of Light (the platform is now operated as Points of Light Engage and indexes opportunities from many partner feeds). (pointsoflight.org)

Quick vetting checklist for volunteers (fast, actionable):

  • Confirm the organization’s tax‑exempt status and filings before committing.
  • Look for a clear role description, time commitment, required skills, safety/training info, and a named contact.
  • Avoid roles that require paying fees or sending money; ask whether background checks and liability coverage are used for at‑risk placements.
  • Check independent watchdogs and news coverage when possible (ratings, Form 990s, or local press).
    These are standard precautions recommended by watchdogs and volunteer platforms; use the IRS Tax‑Exempt Organization Search as the official starting point. (apps.irs.gov)

Notes for organizations posting opportunities: make listings concrete and low‑friction — concise role title, primary tasks/outcomes, exact dates/times, location (or virtual), minimum age/skills, training provided, expected expenses (if any), accessibility notes, and one direct contact. Link to an organizational profile or public filings so prospective volunteers can verify legitimacy; platforms like Idealist/VolunteerMatch provide posting guidance and templates. (idealist.org)

Where to look now: major consolidated sources include Points of Light’s aggregator and the combined Idealist/VolunteerMatch network (the two organizations formally joined in a merger announced in 2025), so searches on those networks will surface many listings at once — but still apply the vetting checklist above before signing up. (pointsoflight.org)

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