Over the last few weeks, three people asked me how I got started volunteering, how I found the organizations, and what they could do to get started.

Here’s my list:

1. Pick a cause that inspires you.
Are you interested in the environment? Helping or mentoring kids? Feeding people? There’s no shortage of opportunities, but unless you find one you really believe in, you’ll have a hard time staying with it.

2. Make a list of your strengths and skills.
Maybe you’re a project manager by day, or a great cook. Maybe you’re a math teacher who has free time, or maybe you’re a great listener. Match your passions and skills together and find the best fit for both.

3. Think about your schedule.
Can you volunteer on a regular basis, or are you looking for a one-time or short-term event? Don’t worry about doing too little, especially if you’re just getting started. I’m sure the organization you help will be thrilled to have you for a couple of hours.

4. Find the organizations already doing great things, and relates well to your passion, strengths and availability.
Seek out the non-profits in your town, hospitals, environmental organizations, places of worship, soup kitchens or animal shelters. Or check out the awesome VolunteerMatch site, plug in your zip code and your interests, and you’re off to the races.

5. Interview the organization.
This one is super important. My first question almost always involves finances: What percentage of every dollar raised goes to the cause? I also like to ask them to tell me some of their favorite success stories, which typically inspires me to start working immediately. If I think I’m a good fit for the organization, my next question is always: What do you need the most? And I ask them to send me a list every week if those needs change.

6. Spread the word.
Once you’ve chosen your organization and have compiled their biggest needs list, see if any of those needs can be met by your friends, your employer, your church, or your sports team. Be careful not to burn out by taking on too much by yourself. Volunteering is pretty contagious, and I’ve found that people just need to be presented with an opportunity, and they’re ready to dive in.

What would you add?

Note: this is part of a series of posts about volunteering in New Orleans.

We worked on four homes while in New Orleans (three, if you count the duplex as one). I interacted with many people during the week, including two of the homeowners we helped. Each interaction was entirely different and had a unique impact on me.

The first home was owned by Brenda. Brenda is a charming second grade school teacher who decided to stick it out and rebuild the home she’d lived in for 32 years. I heard many teachers opted to leave for Texas, where job opportunities and living conditions were much greater post-Katrina.

Brenda made the biggest impact on me. She drives three hours a day to teach her students and responded to me as if I were the one suffering with the work that I was doing, saying a prayer for all the volunteers working on her house and smiling as she told us about her plan to get back home. I was embarrassed to think about the little things I complain about in life.

As Brenda shared her story, I thought to myself, “this is why I volunteered.” Here’s a remarkable woman who just needs a boost. Her combined savings and insurance money won’t cover the entire cost of rebuilding, but with postponing work on the garage out back and getting her house gutted by volunteers, she’s finally able to get the contractors hired and know she’s coming home.

We left Brenda a note asking her to send pictures when that day comes. I can’t wait.

The second house was the duplex, one of those long and narrow homes they call “shotgun homes”. The owner was taken to Houston in the days following the storm, and I thought it was pretty cool we were helping someone who will never know us.

The last house we worked on was owned by Shay, who had a big surprise for us. Shay was chosen as a finalist on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and later won her own Quiznos franchise in New Orleans (watch the video). Her home is in the Lower 9th Ward, by far the worst area we visited during our trip.

Shay was struggling with getting her new business going, studying everything she needs to know about running the store and trying to get to the point where she can hire staff. In the meantime, she has a lot of long hours ahead. It was a treat to see her excitement as she showed us a picture of her standing next to Ellen as she was given the key to her store and reminiscing about the experience. She made me us the best lunch of the week and delivered it to us while we were working.

And then there’s the people we didn’t help but met along the way. People driving by stopped to thank us for helping their community. (I jumped at the opportunity to get some good restaurant tips). Others thanked us like they were thanking us on behalf of the entire city of New Orleans. The clerk at Circle K thanked us. Jacques at Jacques-imo’s Cafe thanked us, ordered us a round of appetizers before dinner, and a round of Tequila shots on our way out the door I somehow missed out on (I need to slow down, and stay in the back of the line more often). The people who didn’t stop waved enthusiastically as they drove by. People there have waited a long time for something good to happen.

Back at our camp, I heard stories from other volunteers who had made previous trips, including one of my favorites about an elderly couple who attempted to gut their home for about three months. They hardly made a dent, but they never stopped trying. When their name came up in the system, the volunteer team was sent and completed the gutting process in a day. The homeowners stood in their driveway, speechless.

Someone on our team said it best: “We thought we were coming down to help these people, but they ended up helping us.”

I couldn’t agree more.

From Web Worker Daily today: Welcome to the no cost cafe.

Google developer Ervin Peretz wanted to try out a voluntary pay coffee shop/deli, and set up a cafe in Kirkland, Washington. No cash registers, no prices on the menu. Patrons choose what to pay, and are encouraged to pay what they would elsewhere.

Beside being a great social experiment, Terra Bite is designed to be a for-profit business doing good deeds along the way:

We also cheerfully serve those who cannot pay…

Terra Bite shares profits with our baristas and will also donate profits to various charities…

Hey, it works for my kids, who set up a lemonade stand in our driveway several days each summer to raise money for charity. The first year, they charged a quarter a cup and never made any money. The next year, they decided to just give it away and most people paid four times that.

I hope to see this on the east coast before too long. I’ll call it my office, and I’ll gladly pay. If not, there’s always no cost lemonade on my street.

I’ve been back five days, and I’m still trying to gather my thoughts on the week-long trip I made to help out in New Orleans.

Here’s what I know for sure:

1. New Orleans is far worse than I expected. I guess the media got bored, and I forgot, or thought it was better.
2. There’s a lot of finger pointing and bureaucracy. And a lot of scamming and hard decisions to make about who and how to help.
3. There are some really great people who still need help. I met a few, and they changed my life and my outlook in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
4. Katrina hit almost 18 months ago. If you can make a trip, look around and tell me it doesn’t look like it happened 18 days ago.
5. It is really cool when you get mixed up with people who you’d never meet in your profession or otherwise and work together, eat together, and drive together (34 hours or so, round trip).

I’ve started a lens about the current state of New Orleans and how to help, and posted some pictures.

I wish I could have stayed longer, and I plan to go back. There’s still plenty of work to get done.

Stuck In a Rut?, originally uploaded by biketourist.org.

The other day it dawned on me: I’m stuck.

Like plenty of people, I’ve been stuck trying to get my blogging mojo going.

Ridiculous as it may sound, the culprit turned out to be the domain I was using - netgeek.com - a domain I first registered almost nine years ago and have tied my blogging goals to ever since.

There are too many good blogs out there covering all things net and geek. Plus, I geek out over lots of other things. I’d rather write about volunteering, starting a site to help foster kids, music (you’ll hear lots about Jaco Pastorius, promise), and working at Squidoo. That’s really what I’m about.

So I’ve dropped the netgeek title and the old blog content, hopefully for the last time. The domain points here so people can still find me, but I’ve opted for the less confining coreyweb.com.

Sometimes, a change of scenery changes everything.