Web Spy: Sparked

By Laura Dondero

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Elfster, FashionStake, and GoFobo) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

There are only a few short weeks left until Christmas, and some of you are probably either still stressing out about finals, finishing up grad school applications, or trying to finish buying gifts. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own problems that sometimes we can forget about other people. The holiday season is a great time to think about what you can do to help others and consider giving back to the community.

One great way to give back is through volunteering.
Love the idea of volunteering, but think you’re just too busy?

Think again.

How many hours a day do you spend on the internet, browsing Facebook, watching funny YouTube videos, and reading CollegeCandy? Sparked lets you put some of that time to good use.

Sparked works through a process called “Micro-volunteering,” which lets busy people (like college students, for example) volunteer whenever they have free time. Nonprofit organizations team up with Sparked to get work done for free by micro-volunteers. They post these tasks, or challenges, onto the site and site users submit their answers.

Challenges range in difficulty and time commitment–they can be anything as simple as reading an organization’s website and posting feedback to helping design a poster or brochure.

Here’s how you can get started: first, sign up. Once that’s done, you’re asked about your skills (research, copy writing, graphic design, social media, and more) and what types of issues you’re concerned with (such as animals, civil rights, or the environment). Sparked will show you challenges that fit your skills and concerns, and you can also browse for more challenges.

Sparked makes volunteering so easy and stress-free, you really have no excuse not to start giving back!

There’s plenty more web where that came from. Check out the other sites that are on Laura’s web radar!