From my “virtual headquarters” at home in
California, I’ve been in touch with friends around the world from: England,
India, Nicaragua, Israel, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, and across the US.

While sheltering at their homes, many
have invented creative volunteer projects: Kathe prepares science kits and
drops them off for her grandchildren and their neighbors. Next, she virtually
performs the experiments with them.

My daughter, Priscilla, shops for her
90-year-old neighbor, leaving groceries at the door. Randi and Rozzy, friends
from high school, are sewing washable mask covers to donate.

Daily, I tutor a second grader and a high
school junior. We all have different skills and passions. Below are various opportunities
that I found and ensured that each is currently accepting volunteers.

Crisis Text Line: A Great Need at This Time

Although
the service probably exists in many countries, I looked up the crisis text lines
that operate in the US, Canada,
Ireland,
and the UK. These are all free text lines for people in crisis, and their volunteers
answer texts using active listening and collaborative problem-solving
techniques.

Each volunteer receives 30 hours of
virtual training in crisis counseling and commits to 4 hours per week until 200
hours are reached. A volunteer wrote, “I volunteer for Crisis Text Line because practicing empathy and reflective listening makes
me a better friend, partner, and employee.”

UPchieve Tutoring
Anyone?

UPchieve
is a free online platform that connects low-income high school students in the
US with volunteer coaches to support math instruction and college counseling.

More than 50 million students are out of school due to COVID-19, and low-income students are disproportionately impacted by this shift to digital learning. Compared to their peers, low-income students are less likely to have computers at home and parents who can help with schoolwork.

UPchieve
works on any device, making tutoring accessible even on cell phones. You don’t need tutoring experience
to be a coach online for UPchieve. They provide tools and training, including
subject-specific review materials and a self-paced course on how to be a tutor.

Translators Without Borders (TWB)

Are you fluent in another language? Translators Without Borders
writes: “Countries with lower literacy levels need different
COVID-19 communication strategies. Information must be accessible.”

To date, thousands of TWB volunteers have translated millions of words of vital information for people who need it most.

Irina, a former
lawyer turned volunteer English-Russian translator, has translated a total of
110,220 words into Russian, one of their top 10 most frequently requested
languages. With Covid-19 there is a tremendous need. Meet some amazing volunteers.

United Nations Volunteering (UNV) for Vicarious Travelers

The
United Nations also contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide.
Organizations and volunteers can team up online to address sustainable
development challenges anywhere in the world, from any device.

Hear how a graphics design volunteer from India supported a UN project in Egypt. Check out the 113 current opportunities.

Zooniverse: Want to Do Research? No Experience Needed

Zooniverse is one of the largest online platforms for people-powered research. A reader shared:

“The fun thing about Zooniverse is that
there is a great variety of things that need doing and you can spend as much or
as little time as you wish on each. For example, I’ve spent time coding Civil
War black soldier registrations, counting displaying grouse on a lek, recording
when birds fight on a feeder, transcribing abolitionists letters, indexing a
restaurant menu collection, etc.”

Do projects from home, even in your PJs. Check these out: Bash the Bug, Anti-slavery Manuscripts, Planet Four, and Rainfall Rescue. The projects have produced many published research papers.

Smithsonian Digital Transcription

Have you visited a Smithsonian museum? Become a digital volunteer and help make historical documents and biodiversity data more accessible.

Join others who’ve transcribed and reviewed more than 522,549 pages of field notes, diaries, ledgers, photo albums, manuscripts, and biodiversity specimens since 2013. If you don’t have transcription experience, here’s a chance to learn.

Make DIY Non-Medical Washable Face Masks: #Masks4all

CDC guidance advises Americans to wear
non-medical face coverings when out in public. This is not meant to replace
social distancing and hand-washing. Nor is it meant to replace surgical masks,
which are in short supply for medical professionals. Wearing masks reminds us
not to touch our faces.

Japanese Creations offers a pattern, you can sew by hand, and another one that requires no cutting
or sewing. Here’s one more for those who have a sewing
machine. Many people are making masks for themselves and others.

Project Implicit, Harvard: Check Out Your Biases and Help Others

Harvard
researchers are studying how
to break down stereotypes. Help by taking online tests in collaboration
with researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition – thoughts and
feelings outside of conscious awareness and control.

Their
goal is to educate about hidden biases by collecting data on the Internet. A new paper highlights one method that may
change both unwanted implicit attitudes and behaviors.

Ebird: Discover the World of Birding and Contribute

While spending lots of time at home, you can watch birds from your window or back yard. Join Ebird, the world’s birding community, because every sighting matters.

Find Anything to Try?

Many more opportunities are out there.
Just google “virtual volunteering” and you can find them.

What you are doing to help the world? How
did you find this opportunity? Are you helping only in this time of crisis or
have you decided to commit permanently? Don’t forget to share How it is going!

Even while we’re all working from home and only going out for the very essential, there’s something nice about at least having your brows and skin looking groomed and put together. If you’re starting to run out of your everyday beauty products, Benefit’s Friends and Family sale for 2020 is almost here to save the day. Stock up on every eyebrow pencil you could ever want, plus natural-looking foundation, mascara, lip tints, bronzer and more at 20 percent off.

From April 13 to April 16, use code BENEBABE on anything on the Benefit site. Seriously, there are no exclusions here, which is really rare. The discount even applies to value sets, tools and cute Benefit merch. Plus, you get free shipping on orders of more than $50. It’s hard to pick favorites when it comes to a brand like Benefit but we chose some must-haves below to get you started on shopping. Come back here on April 13 to shop and fill your cart with what you need while physical distancing and what you’ll need when you finally get out and about again.

Benefit Cosmetics.

Hoola Matte Bronzer

This shimmer-free bronzer comes in four skin-flattering shades, including the new Caramel (medium–deep) and Toasted (deep).

Image: Benefit.

Badgal Bang! Volumizing Mascara

You’re not getting lash extensions anytime soon but this mascara is the next best thing.

Benefit Cosmetics.

Brow Styler Eyebrow Pencil & Powder Duo

In 12 waterproof shades, the dual-ended pencil and powder fakes naturally full brows.

Image: Benefit.

Love, Lips & Tints Full-Size Lip Stain Trio

Benefit’s iconic lip and cheek tint now comes in three pretty shades and you can try them all in this affordable set.

Image: Benefit.

Hello Happy Flawless Brightening Foundation

This medium-coverage foundation contains SPF 15.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Even while we’re all working from home and only going out for the very essential, there’s something nice about at least having your brows and skin looking groomed and put together. If you’re starting to run out of your everyday beauty products, Benefit’s Friends and Family sale for 2020 is almost here to save the day. Stock up on every eyebrow pencil you could ever want, plus natural-looking foundation, mascara, lip tints, bronzer and more at 20 percent off.

From April 13 to April 16, use code BENEBABE on anything on the Benefit site. Seriously, there are no exclusions here, which is really rare. The discount even applies to value sets, tools and cute Benefit merch. Plus, you get free shipping on orders of more than $50. It’s hard to pick favorites when it comes to a brand like Benefit but we chose some must-haves below to get you started on shopping. Come back here on April 13 to shop and fill your cart with what you need while physical distancing and what you’ll need when you finally get out and about again.

Benefit Cosmetics.

Hoola Matte Bronzer

This shimmer-free bronzer comes in four skin-flattering shades, including the new Caramel (medium–deep) and Toasted (deep).

Image: Benefit.

Badgal Bang! Volumizing Mascara

You’re not getting lash extensions anytime soon but this mascara is the next best thing.

Benefit Cosmetics.

Brow Styler Eyebrow Pencil & Powder Duo

In 12 waterproof shades, the dual-ended pencil and powder fakes naturally full brows.

Image: Benefit.

Love, Lips & Tints Full-Size Lip Stain Trio

Benefit’s iconic lip and cheek tint now comes in three pretty shades and you can try them all in this affordable set.

Image: Benefit.

Hello Happy Flawless Brightening Foundation

This medium-coverage foundation contains SPF 15.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The main thing that many of us are
struggling with during the coronavirus quarantine is the feeling of
uncertainty. The majority of us have never experienced a pandemic like this in
our lifetime, and not knowing how it’s all going to pan out can leave us
feeling anxious.

However, one of the most effective
ways to get through the coming weeks, is to focus less on the things we
can’t control and more on the things that we can – such as how well we
take care of ourselves during this difficult time.

With that said, here are 5 ways to
keep your physical and mental health boosted during the coronavirus quarantine.

Stay Active at Home

Just because government guidelines are
encouraging us to stay at home as much as possible, this doesn’t mean that we
have to adopt a sedentary lifestyle.

Being at home may mean that you aren’t
able to exercise in the ways that you usually do – for example, with friends at
the gym or going for a swim at your local leisure centre – but there are still
plenty of ways you can stay fit and active at
home.

Consider working out with items that
you find around the house! You can use packaged food and beverage items like
bottles and cans to do bicep curls or a kitchen chair to do seated squats. The
British Heart Foundation has a helpful video that shows how to work out using everyday items.  

You could also try joining in with a
live online workout from the comfort of your living room. Fitness legends Mr
Motivator and the Green Goddess have recently returned to our TV screens to
keep the nation fit with some home workout routines.

The Green Goddess will appear on BBC
Breakfast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at around 6.55am and 8.55am,
while Mr Motivator will appear on the BBC show HealthCheck UK Live, at
10am on weekdays.

Mr Motivator told the Radio Times:
“Now, more than ever, it is important to keep our bodies and minds healthy.
Everybody says, ‘Yeah, let’s get happy and be wicked at home!’”

If following a workout routine isn’t
for you, then try to stay as active as you can in other ways – such as getting
outside to do some gardening, painting your bedroom ceiling or doing some
vigorous cleaning. Generally speaking, the more we move, the better we’ll feel!

Get Enough Sunlight and Fresh Air

Now we’re getting outside less, it’s
important to pay closer attention to how much sunlight and fresh air we’re
getting. Both of these help to keep our circadian rhythm (also known as our body
clock) working well.

Our circadian rhythm is responsible
for regulating many of our bodily cycles, such as our sleep and eating
patterns, temperature control, and hormone production.

Breathing in oxygen-rich air also
helps us to feel more alert and energised and has been linked to lower stress levels, improved
blood pressure, and a greater sense of wellbeing. And this all takes place while
sunlight stimulates our bodies to produce vitamin D, which is great for
boosting your mood!

Currently, we’re allowed to leave the
house once daily to exercise, so it’s important to make the most of this time
if you’re able to go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride.

If you’re uncomfortable with the idea
of going outside, or you’re unable to, then make sure you still open a window
or get outside in your garden instead.

Take Steps to Improve Your Sleep

Sleep helps our bodies and minds to
rest and heal and is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. When we
have slept well, we generally feel better able to tackle the day ahead both
mentally and physically.

Many people have reported disruption
to their sleep during the coronavirus pandemic, either because they are feeling
anxious, or are struggling with symptoms of cabin fever from being cooped up at home.

This is quite normal, so if you’re
going through something similar, then it’s important to remember that you
aren’t alone.

Whilst there is no instant fix to
getting a better night’s sleep, there are a few things you can try to increase
the likelihood of it happening.

Switching off all electronic devices
30 minutes before bed, trying not to work out or exercise in the room that you
sleep in, and minimising anxious thoughts using allocated “worry time” are just
a few.

For more tips like these, check out
the full Rest Less guide on how to get a better night’s
sleep during the coronavirus lockdown.

Video Call Friends and Family
Members

For many of us, being unable to meet
up with friends and family members can be challenging. If you’re feeling
lonely, or you’re missing seeing the faces of the people you love, then
consider making use of video calling.

Never has it been so easy to see and
speak with loved ones who live miles away – over a glass of wine, a coffee, or
even dinner.

You can make free video calls on your smartphone (both Android and iPhone) using WhatsApp – which will allow you to speak with up to four people at the same time. If you’d prefer to use your laptop or PC, then try using Zoom (for video calling with up to 100 people), Skype (for video calls with up to 50 people) or Google Hangouts (for video calls with up to 10 people when using for personal calls).

All of these are free to use, but Zoom
will place a 40 minute time limit on calls connecting more than three people – with the
option to upgrade to a premium subscription to remove this limit. For tutorials
on WhatsApp and Zoom video calling, you can visit the Rest Less guide, here.

Practice Mindfulness

If you’re feeling particularly
overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious during these uncertain times, then one of the
best ways to cope is by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness brings your mind
back to the present moment, so you can stop focusing on and worrying about the
past or future.

If you’re new to mindfulness, then
it’s best to set aside time in your day to practice – possibly 10 minutes in
the morning and 10 in the evening to start with.

Techniques typically focus on creating
a heightened awareness of the senses, for example, switching your TV off and
focusing on the texture and taste of your dinner, and really enjoying each
bite.

Or listening to the sound of the birds
singing first thing in the morning and considering how that makes you feel.
These moments are designed to offer you a peaceful escape from the stresses and
strains of everyday life and can be a helpful tool to use anywhere, anytime –
at any stage of life.

The Rest Less guide to mindfulness can offer more tips and info on how to get started.

How are you taking care of your mental
and physical health during these uncertain times? Please share a technique that
works for you.