volunteering

What is up with all these organizations needing a SS# in order for us to volunteer?? Ughh.. I live in of Los angeles, has anyone done some volunteering around here? I really need it to apply for scholarships I haven't done any because of my work and school schedule but I realize that in order to have chances at a scholarship I need some community involvement.

I've volunteered in a few places and usually they're pretty lenient about the SSN thing. Currently I volunteer for a place that made me fill out a ton of apps and they did ask for my SSN but I just used my ITIN. It said that it would not be used for anything other than to keep it on record. For a background check I also used my ITIN but I was contacted by a woman in H.R. because my "SSN" did not match. I told her I was a foreign national and she told me that wasn't a problem, that she would run my background check as an "international background check" and that all she needed was my home town and my name/date of birth.

Finally, it all depends on what kind of background check they do, too. In other places I just needed a state patrol background check and just needed my driver license #, and/or my ITIN. I believe the background check that they recently did for me was some sort of FBI check or something, which is why they needed a SSN.

Long story short: in my experience I have not had any problems using my ITIN. What kind of volunteering are you looking for?

I wanted to work with kids like tutoring or reading or I wanted to work with animals.

I live in NYC and am a premed student and it is very important to have volunteering experience to gain admission into med school. So after getting sick of hearing from every hospital that they required an SSN# to volunteer, I used the number that my school assigned to me as my ID. I submitted in the application to a very well known university hospital and got accepted. My take on it is this : Since we are not on an actual payroll, there is no need for them to waste their time and actually check out if the number is legit. Sometimes you just have to give things a try and see how they play out. If you do something similar and they catch you then say that you just made a mistake and move on. The hospital also had a background check application which pretty much asked what schools I had attended, where I worked, and my place of residence.

Yeah it says on their web page that they need it for background checks I'm going to fill out applications as soon as I get better at driving since I finally decided to drive =).

Well good luck to you. If it doesn't work out at one place then try another. How'd you get your license btw?

I know I need community service!! I know the local food bank does not require background checks.. so for sure Ill do that. Ummm.. who said anything about a license? I am 21 and tired of not driving.. it was about time.. had an accident at the metro station.. more like someone pushed me over the railroad tracks and had to go to the hospital and everything.. but yeah I guess I became paranoid so decided to get a car w parents help.

You got pushed over the tracks?! wow. Lol you said that you decided to drive so I assumed you got a license. I'm 24 and now I am starting to get desperate enough to go to nm or wa. As for the community service thing I find it so ridiculous that they ask for an ssn since it's just volunteering. When i first heard about it I was like wtf I'm doing this for free! The key is to just keep trying and be confident if/when they interview you.

I know but I guess they just want to make sure that the volunteers are not criminals or something. You live in NY right? How come u want to move? Ive always wanted to go to NY all the people the buildings.

I think they are alot more lax on the rules if you're a girl which is why I slipped by so easily. Also, I sent out my application via email and then just got called in for an interview. I'm not planning on moving, just want to get out for a month or so to see if it's possible to get a license in one of those two states. I have lived in NY for about 13 years I don't think I'm ever gonna move, NY's awesome man!