Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

09 Jul 2009 01:57 PM

According to ABC news, teens who volunteer reap academic rewards. "esearch confirms that teens who learn early to be social, caring, and responsible perform better in school. Volunteering improves their chances of graduating at the top of their class, armed with critical leadership skills. It also makes teens feel good about themselves."

Recently I touched on Volunteerism as an opportunity for jobless bored teens to find something to do this summer. Finding volunteer opportunities isn't always easy, so I thought I would give more information to help you on your search.

FamilyEducation.com gives 10 Great Volunteer Ideas for teens which includes becoming a volunteer camp counselor (which is basically a free camp opportunity), calling your local hospital or nursing home for volunteer opportunities, or joining a save the earth initiative.

There are travel opportunities teamed with volunteerism for teens. Some require they pay their own travel, others keep the costs as low as possible, even providing free trips. TransitionsAbroad.com website lists many of these opportunities.

If none of these volunteer opportunities fits your teens needs, they can create a volunteer opportunity or organization on their own. Howstuffworks.com has a page on How Volunteer Work for Teens Works that explains volunteerism, the opportunities available, and ideas for finding the right volunteer opportunity for them.

One thing you should be wary of when looking for volunteer opportunities is requests for the volunteer to pay in order to participate. With the exception of modest travel fees, you should not need to pay anything to participate in a volunteer program. If anyone asks you for money, you should look elsewhere.

If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.

You should also read:

Ideas for Jobless Bored Teens

Five things homeschoolers can do in their spare time

Make Volunteering Fun

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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Cat-Mom-of-3 (175) 10 Jul 2009 10:34 AM

My son (age 20), is volunteering in Asia this summer and I am thinking most kids who are raised in such affluent areas as ours should have a similar experience. Living in a developing nation should be a life changing experience!