{"id":4577,"date":"2016-03-21T17:25:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T22:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/?p=4577"},"modified":"2022-03-19T09:52:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-19T16:52:03","slug":"volunteer-options-teens-tweens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/volunteer-options-teens-tweens\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Options That Teens and Tweens <3 (Love)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many kids need community service hours, and summer is the perfect time to volunteer! Here, 6 ideas to help you find charities that are a good fit.<\/h2>\n

by Laura Quaglio<\/h3>\n

\"teens
\nFor many teens and tweens, volunteer work is not only a wonderful way to give back to the community, it\u2019s a necessity. \u201cIn Marin County, numerous\u00a0high schools require community service in order to graduate,\u201d says Jordana Perman, director of community outreach at SummerAde, a non-profit that provides teen volunteering opportunities in Marin County,\u00a0Calif. \u201cOne of the local Catholic schools has a 100-hour minimum.\u201d Other programs, scholarships, clubs, and religious organizations also require volunteer hours each year or from time to time. If your teens and tweens are among those seeking a place to earn their hours — or if your kids simply love helping others — it\u2019s important to find volunteer work that speaks to their individual passions and interests. Why? Because that ensures a more rewarding experience for your child and the charity they serve. In fact, says Jordana, finding the right fit is so important that SummerAde has recently revamped its screening process in order to select those volunteers who are truly the best fit for their program.<\/p>\n

Find camps for teens & tweens >><\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n

A Good Fit = A Better Volunteering Experience<\/h3>\n

Careful screening of teen applicants, says Jordana, ensures that kids are there for the right reasons. Their role can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. The same holds true for any charity: Kids who are handy in the kitchen might enjoy working at a soup kitchen or food bank. Those who adore pets or are a bit shy around people may prefer serving at a local animal shelter. Teens whose grandparents aren\u2019t close to home might benefit from spending time with older adults at a senior center.<\/p>\n

\"teenSurprising Career Perks of Teen Volunteer Work<\/h3>\n

The benefits of community service, of course, reach far beyond \u201cearning hours\u201d for school. Many colleges will ask applicants about their community service experiences (whether in interviews or essays). Listings of charity work may also impress future employers. Sometimes the experience can alter the trajectory of a teen\u2019s life, revealing whether a particular career path, such as veterinary work, special education, or a medical career, is truly their calling. \u201cWe have one young woman who volunteered for two summers and she went on to attend a special education program at the local university,\u201d says Jordana. The girl reported that her time spent with SummerAde played a big part in that decision. Other mentor teens have reported that their experience taught them patience, understanding, tolerance, awareness of personal limitations and capabilities, and flexibility — rewards that can be reaped from helping out charities of all kinds.<\/p>\n

\"tweenFind the Right Service Option for Your Teen or Tween<\/h3>\n

There are thousands of charity organizations that welcome assistance from teens and tweens. To find the best fit for your young volunteer, start by thinking of the activities, classes, and camps your child enjoyed when they were younger \u2013 or something they still do today. Or do some exploring online on sites such as the ones listed below, then check out those your kids find intriguing.<\/p>\n

Join\u00a0a Teen Volunteer Team with Lion\u2019s Heart
\n<\/strong>This provider actually teaches teens how to \u201cbecome the change they want to see in the world.\u201d Since 2004, this national non-profit organization has helped teens in 6th through 12th grade create volunteer groups in their own community, serving in whatever way the teens choose. The activity teaches not only charity but leadership, teamwork, and decision-making skills. (You can contact\u00a0Lion\u2019s Heart<\/a> right here on ActivityHero.com.)<\/p>\n

Learn About 100,000+ Charities on VolunteerMatch<\/strong>
\nVolunteerMatch<\/a> touts itself as \u201cThe Web\u2019s Largest Volunteer Engagement Network.\u201d Its website connects more than 100,000 non-profit organizations with volunteers looking for opportunities in a wide variety of causes. The most popular include charities devoted to animals, children, the local community, education, the environment, health care, the homeless, and women, and more. It has made 10.6 million referrals since 1998.<\/p>\n

Get Involved in Santa Clara County with GoVoluntr<\/strong>
\nGoVoluntr<\/a> is a social network that helps teens in Santa Clara County find local non-profits, register for events, and encourage their friends to join them in their volunteer activities. Not only can kids earn service hours, but they can earn \u201cVP points\u201d (as you would with a rewards card from a retailer), which you can later redeem at participating local businesses. Bay Area teens can check out the Bay Area Volunteer Information Center or HandsOn Bay Area for volunteer options close to home.<\/p>\n

Build Your Resume with ActivityHero Teen Counselor-in-Training and Teen Leadership Programs<\/strong>
\nActivityHero providers are always looking for middle school and high school students to step into the role of mentor at their camps and classes. This volunteer work offers summer fun (and volunteer service hours) for kids who feel they\u2019ve outgrown summer camp. It might even lead to a future part-time job as a counselor at that ActivityHero provider. Search ActivityHero<\/a> to find opportunities near you based on age, budget, schedule, and other factors.<\/p>\n

Find camps for teens & tweens >><\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many teens need community service hours, and summer is the perfect time to volunteer! Here, 6 ideas to help you find charities that are a good fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214,746,215],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-healthy-kids","category-special-needs","category-super-kids-activities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4577"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12192,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577\/revisions\/12192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}