Youth and Volunteering: Beginning the Habit of Altruism

by Janet Harvey-Clark

Recently, while on Yahoo Answers, a young person asked the following question, “What are things I can do to help people?” She stated that she wanted to help create a society where all people are equal, but she wasn’t sure where to begin with volunteering. Impressed with her question and desire, I decided to research opportunities that would be appropriate for teenagers in terms of helping out in their communities. Interestingly, in 2004, 55 percent of young people volunteered, compared to 29 percent of adults, which provided me with hope that our next generation of adults will have a more altruistic spirit.

Opportunities Available in Local Communities

• Clothes Donations: Donate clothes you or members of your family outgrow to the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores or another such organization in the community that accepts donations. You can also ask friends at school to donate their used clothes, starting a clothing drive that will be greatly appreciated by any area thrift store. With the growing number of unemployed people in today’s down-turned economy, more and more families are turning to second-hand shops for their purchases of clothes and other household items. An interesting fact is that currently 1 in 3 homeless people is under the age of 18. Start a jeans drive at your school, collecting gently-used jeans. Drop them off at any local Aéropostale store between January 19th and February 14th, and the store will make sure they get donated to a local homeless shelter or charity. Learn more at DoSomething.org. Also, be sure to ask for a receipt when you make a donation directly to a charity, and the value may be claimed as a tax deduction. Tax programs, such as Turbo Tax, have a built-in segment that assigns a monetary value to your donation when you type in the item.
• Food Drives: You also may start a food drive at your church, scout troop, school or other group. Local food banks always are in great need of donations, as the demand for food is higher than it has been in many years. Even if you don’t start a food drive with others, ask your family to spend an extra $5 or $10 on non-perishable food items that can be given to the area food bank each time it grocery shops. Again, ask for a receipt when you make the donation.
• Hospitals: Call your local hospital and ask if it has volunteer opportunities for teenagers. Some allow students as young as 14 to help with duties such as stocking nursing supplies, transporting patients with a nurse, making some pharmacy deliveries to nurse departments, bringing books to patients, sitting and talking to patients and reading to them.
• Nursing Homes and Retirement Centers: Call area retirement homes and ask to speak to the activities director, the director of recreation therapy or the volunteer coordinator. Work opportunities include office work; setting up the dining room; pushing wheelchairs; playing checkers, cards and puzzles; talking and listening—especially with blind clients; delivering mail; reading to low-vision elders; helping write letters; reading aloud in general; cooking projects; art projects; and sing-alongs.
• Animal shelters, zoos and veterinarians: These organizations are always looking for help. Give them a call! They need help feeding the animals, cleaning kennels and answering phones. Don’t expect to be playing with the animals or training them right off the bat. Most places require teens to be 18-years-old or over to handle animals. Some students, interested in veterinary medicine, also “shadow” vets to learn about this medical practice: the different equipment used animal ailments and treatments. Check in the Yellow Pages under Veterinary Medicine, Zoos or Animal Shelters and ask to speak with the director, office manager, volunteer coordinator or veterinarian.
• Public Libraries: Check with your local library about volunteer opportunities. They often have programs for teenagers, especially in the summer. Among the work available is stocking shelves, computer center helper, studio camera operator and children’s program assistant. You also can volunteer to be part of the Young Adult Advisory Council, which provides the opportunity for students to voice their opinions with respect to library services offered to young adults and have your voice heard in what services and materials are offered to young adults. The Council’s goals are to help select Young Adult resources such as books, CDs, DVDs and websites. Contact your local public library, listed in the Yellow Pages, and ask to speak with the manager or volunteer coordinator about ways in which you can help out or serve on the Council.
• Sierra Club: Interested in helping save the environment? Consider joining the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC), the Sierra Club’s student-run activist program. The Sierra Club is a non-profit environmental organization. Even though the Sierra Student Club Coalition (SSC) is designed primarily for high-school and college students, this earth-friendly group will accept interested younger students. Volunteers develop leadership and activist skills through legislative and educational campaigns. They also may attend training conferences to increase these skills. Go to SSC.SierraClub.org to learn more about the SSC.
• Museums and Aquariums: Museums and aquariums can be great places to volunteer, especially for kids interested in science, but certainly these opportunities are not limited to future scientists. Available volunteer opportunities vary from place to place, but call your local area museums and aquariums and ask what teen-aged volunteers may do for these organizations. Check the Yellow Pages for phone numbers.
• Summer Camps: If you’ve attended summer camp in the past, now may be a time to ask if there are volunteer opportunities available for you. Camps generally have Counselor-in-Training (CIT) programs as a way to start on the road to being a full-fledged counselor. CITs generally are 16 or 17 years old. Call a favorite or area camp and ask for the volunteer coordinator or director to learn about the CIT program.

Other Ways to Find Opportunities
Other volunteer opportunities often are available through a volunteer center in your community that can help identify what’s available to you. If you can’t find the listing—don’t give up. Try calling your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there’s a volunteer organization in your area. Ask to speak to the volunteer director or the volunteer coordinator.

There’s also VolunteerMatch.org. Just type in your zip code and a list of area volunteer opportunities will come up.

Other websites include:
Idealist.org, which sponsors Idealist Kids & Teens, a resource for kids who want to start a project of their own or connect with established youth organizations involved with human rights, the environment or the arts.

Volunteerkids.gov/youth is a White House Office whose web site provides fun ideas for kids and youth to become involved. You also may access other government web sites for young volunteers and peruse resources for teachers and parents.

Dosomething.org is an entertaining site “Using the power of online to get teens to do good stuff offline…”

Unicef.org is the site for UNICEF’s Voice’s of Youth/Making a Difference. For young people interested in global issues, this resource is an excellent place to start.

Tips for Volunteering
Show up on a regular basis! While you may be tempted to skip a day or two, thinking to yourself, “I’m not being paid,” you’re developing a work habit and work record for a future-paying job. Also, volunteer jobs make great sources for future references when you are applying to college or your initial career-related jobs. These experiences also look great on your college applications and future job resumes!

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! If you’re not sure about the tasks you are asked to perform or you don’t understand something, the only way to learn is to ask questions. It will demonstrate your initiative, maturity and willingness to learn.

Finally, take the initiative! Don’t wait to be asked if you notice a task that needs to be done. Your supervisor will welcome your self-direction and most likely provide you with greater responsibility as time goes on.

Careers for Young People Who Want to Help
BLS.gov/k12/help is a site operated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that outlines possible careers for kids and teenagers who like to volunteer. Examples of helping professions include teacher, social worker, childcare worker, doctor, nurse and firefighter. The site explains each career and offers advice on how to pursue it.

One of the best ways to inspire young people to volunteer and participate in giving back to their communities is learning by example. Watching their parents become involved in volunteer opportunities encourages kids and teenagers to involve themselves in helping out where needed. A great motivator is to support their efforts to work in an area of interest to them rather than have kids pursue an opportunity just for the sake of volunteering. Together, parents and adult mentors can make both a profound difference in their communities and educate the next generation to develop stronger empathy for others’ needs and concerns, building a great sense of unity within our society.