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Volunteering and service learning opportunities provide young people with a number of benefits . If you are a young person, here are a few positive aspects of volunteering to consider:
1. Volunteering can help you explore and develop your interests, talents, and skills.
- If you like animals, volunteer at a local animal shelter or zoo.
- If you enjoy working with kids, get involved at a summer camp or at a preschool program, or help younger students with their schoolwork.
- If you enjoy playing sports, take part in activities at a neighborhood center.
- If you like to cook, volunteer at a community soup kitchen or local homeless shelter.
- If you enjoy sewing, make items for the families at a women’s shelter or nursing home residents. If you know how to knit or crochet, you can provide scarves and hats for people who are homeless.
- If you enjoy outdoor activities, help your park district clean up a park or offer to mow the grass for your elderly neighbors.
- If you enjoy the performing arts, explore volunteer opportunities with a community theater group.
2. Volunteering can help you learn about possible careers.
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Providing assistance at a nursing home or Hospice can help you learn about the medical field.
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Working with younger children and helping them with their homework can help introduce you to the field of teaching.
- Consider volunteering at your local science museum or greenhouse if you think you would like to pursue a science career.
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Offer to help with filing and data entry at a nonprofit organization if you think you might enjoy working in an office someday.
3. You can meet new people.
- You can meet other people with the same interests you have by volunteering in a group.
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You can become friends with a senior adult and adopt them as your “grandma” or “grandpa” by volunteering at a local retirement or nursing home. This can be especially rewarding if your grandparents have passed away or live far away and you don’t get to see them often.
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You can meet people who have come here from other countries by volunteering with an agency that provide assistance to refugees. You’ll learn about their culture and help them adapt to life here.
4. Volunteer activities add value to college applications and work resumes.
- College admission staffs are looking for well-rounded individuals who will give their best both within and outside the classroom. Your volunteer activities can help them get to know who you are as a person.
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Potential employers want to know if you show up on time, can take direction, are responsible, and work well with others. A good reference from an agency you’ve volunteered with can highlight your skills and help them decide that you’d be a good employee.
5. It’s fun.
- Many people find that they get more from the volunteering experience than they give.
- Giving of your time and energy makes you feel good about yourself and raises your self-esteem.
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Working with other volunteers builds friendships.
6. You’re sharing your talents and knowledge with others.
- Each of us is unique and has something to share with others. Your special skills, knowledge, and passion can be utilized to help others and contribute to the overall success of a volunteer opportunity.
7. You’re advancing the common good.
- Volunteering can provide you with an opportunity to make a positive change in the world.
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Each of us wants to live in a community where families are healthy and strong, where children are given the help they need to succeed in school, where people with disabilities and the elderly are able to live as independently as possible, and where people live in safe, supportive neighborhoods. Your volunteer work can help your community achieve these goals.
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By volunteering, you help make your community a better place to live, and you become part of the solution.
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