Success through volunteer.gov?

EllieD · April 23, 2017

Has anyone had success getting a volunteer position through the website volunteer.gov? There seem to be lots of great host, etc. positions there in exchange for free RV sites, but I am wondering if it is very competitive. Anyone have experience with those jobs?

2gypsies · April 23, 2017

We didn't use it. We got our gigs mainly by being in a park we enjoyed and asking if they had any openings or future openings. Oregon State Parks we submitted an application directly for a specific lighthouse interpreter. I think you have a little edge if they can speak to you in person.

gjhunter01 · April 24, 2017

We are currently hosting at Hot Springs NP which I found through volunteer.gov. We average about 50% reply to our initial applications and then weed out the jobs that don't fit our desires. It helps to get a net work of fellow camp hosts that can recommend a host assignment they know fits your style.

Greg

Kirk W · April 24, 2017

Liz, welcome to the Escapee forums! We are pleased to have you join us and we'll do our best to help.

We have used Volunteer.gov more than once and consider it to be a great source of leads but not always the best one. There are some agencies that only advertise through that site such as the Bureau of Rec., BLM, and I believe the Corps of Engineers but there are others like the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy that have their own volunteer pages and very often the best or most attractive locations for those never post their openings to Vol.gov. There are also some states that now post to that site but most state park systems and some other state agencies have their own website for recruiting volunteers and there are also non-governmental agencies that use resident RV volunteers who don't qualify for that service.

We have used the vol.gov site and we may do so again in the future, but if it is your only source of volunteer positions it will limit your experiences and we find that too restrictive as an only source. We often chose to spend time in a state park or historical site and a simple google search will bring up a long list of state parks to consider. Yet another search of google will bring a list of county parks and facilities to consider.

I consider it to be a good tool for the new RV volunteer but you will cheat yourself if you don't look beyond that if you spend years on the road as we did. Some folks seem to be happy spending all of their time just traveling between two seasonal locations which they are familiar with, or as some who posts here frequently do, only looking to one agency, but we found that changing agencies is just as broadening as is moving from a stick house into an RV. Never forget that the only limit to the ways that one can live in his RV is his own imagination!

EllieD · April 24, 2017

Thank you Kirk for the detailed feedback! And thank you to the others who have responded as well! I am just getting started planning (as in...I don't have an RV yet...but am searching for one to live full time in!), and I am trying to get an idea of how to do this. I have some money saved but I don't want to deplete it all. Thanks again for the response and resources!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Liz

Kirk W · April 24, 2017

You may also want to read this other thread on the forum about the volunteering positions.

Twotoes · April 28, 2017

I have volunteered at a state park for the last three summers but decided to try something different for this summer. I used volunteer.gov to find a position at a National Park for the summer and a different National Park for the fall. Haven't started either yet but I am looking forward to volunteering at both places.

EllieD · April 29, 2017

20 hours ago, Twotoes said:

I have volunteered at a state park for the last three summers but decided to try something different for this summer. I used volunteer.gov to find a position at a National Park for the summer and a different National Park for the fall. Haven't started either yet but I am looking forward to volunteering at both places.

Great to know! I applied through the site and will be checking some of the other resources as well. Have fun!

jjwicklund · April 29, 2017

We've had great sucess with Vol.gov 9 of 10 volunteer positions have come through links on it. Seven with FWS and one each with COE and USFS.

We like FWS if your into birding it's the best .

Kirk W · April 30, 2017

If you like to find new and different experiences, explore the state websites as well. By doing this we found a position with the Virgina Dept. of Forestry, at a tree farm that was a great experience. In Florida, we spent time with the Game & Fish Dept. as working a hunter check station. The magazine Workamper News is also a good source of really unique volunteer positions, such as our experience as volunteers at a grass air field.