Volunteer
Oklahomans for Equality relies on a core of dozens of volunteers to operate the Equality Center, facilitate programs and services, and coordinate events. With so many ways to volunteer, there’s something for anyone’s talents. Volunteering is a great way to contribute your time and talents to the community. You’ll also meet people, get involved with OkEq, and have fun!
To find out more about any of these opportunities, contact OkEq at (918) 743-4297. To sign up, fill out the volunteer form and mail, email (VolunteerCoordinator@okeq.org), fax, or bring it to the Equality Center.
To volunteer for Tulsa Pride 2012 fill out our convenient Online Form.
Volunteer Opportunities
We greatly appreciate your interest in becoming more involved. Below are some of our most frequent volunteer opportunities. Generally, you sign up for a weekly shift. Most require some training and a longer commitment of several months to a year.
Center Crew
The Dennis R. Neill Equality Center is almost entirely run by volunteers. The day-to-day operations — answering the LGBT Info Line; greeting visitors; giving tours; processing donations, memberships, and sales; and ensuring the daily operations run smoothly — are the responsibility of our Center Crew, who make the Equality Center a welcoming place. This position is a great way to meet new people and get to know the resources in our community. The time commitment is one three-hour shift, from 3-6pm or 6-9pm. Frequency is weekly or bi-weekly. (Contact the VolunteerCoordinator@okeq.org)
Program Leader/Teacher
Most Programs OkEq offers are led by volunteers. OkEq is in need of skilled teachers and leaders to guide the community. Do you have special skills or the desire to work for the greater community, if so then your talents can be put to good use.
Programs areas include:
- Health
- Medical Clinics, Legal Counseling, Relationship Workshops, Support Groups, Sports, Smoking Cessation, Drug Prevention…
- Advocacy
- Letter Writing, Responding to Hate Crimes, Honoring Others who have stood up for LGBT community…
- Education
- Language Skills, Employment Skills, Computer Skills, Lectures, Investments, Insurance…
- Community Building
- Game Nights, Movie Nights, Wii Nights, Knitting, Dance Lessons…
If you have any of the above skills or others not listed, please contact the Executive Director Toby.Jenkins@okeq.org to schedule an interview and set up a schedule to begin teaching a class.
Library
We need volunteer librarians to help visitors at the Nancy & Joe McDonald Rainbow Library, to shelve and catalog books, and to maintain the collection of thousands of books. This is a great opportunity for people who love books, like to use their organizational skills, and work well with people.
Gallery
The Equality Center Gallery hosts a new local artist each month. Gallery curators find new talent, coordinate exhibits, and host gallery openings on the first Thursday of each month.
Committees
The Board of Directors creates various committees each year. These committees allow volunteers to concentrate on a specific area of the organization. Each committee requires various levels of time and commitment. For Instance Gala and Pride Committees meet often and require much time, while the Trustees Committee meet once a month or less unless work is being done on the building. These committees are a great way to get to work closely with a small group of people, and to really contribute your own ideas, creativity, and leadership to OkEq.
Craft Your Own Volunteer Experience!
If you don’t see what you’re looking for here, then just ask! Many volunteers also help the Equality Center in very specialized ways: IT professionals offer a basic computer skills course, financial planners provide a seminar on estate planning, lawyers develop a legal clinic! And we’re always looking for volunteers to take on leadership roles.
