How Volunteer Work for Teens Works

There are thousands of nonprofits in the United States, and many will happily allow teen volunteers. One way to find an appropriate program is simply to call a charity in which you're interested. They almost certainly have some task with which you can help.

You may not need to look any further than your local church. Many churches offer soup kitchens, community cleanup days, community education, support groups and other outreach programs. Similarly, your school or hospital probably have programs that could use an extra set of hands. If you're new to volunteering, such programs can provide a way to ease into volunteer work in a familiar setting.

If you're not sure which nonprofit to talk to, think about the areas in which you want to make a difference. Popular choices include animal welfare, hunger and poverty relief, education, environmentalism, work fighting discrimination and prejudice, human rights, disease outreach and education, disaster relief and politics. The organization Do Something classifies teen volunteer programs by area of social change -- you can likely find a program near you [source: Do Something].

Another option is to talk to local arts nonprofits. Many orchestras, choirs and theater companies operate as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, and they almost always have extra work to do. They may not have a volunteer program in place (although some larger organizations do), but they could offer internships that work much the same way. You'll likely be able to learn about how nonprofit organizations work -- and you may get to see some wonderful art.

Finally, if you can't find an organization that matches what you want to do, try starting your own! Round up a few like-minded friends, research the problem you want to solve and take action. Web sites such as Idealist offer extensive information on starting a volunteer program, including online discussion groups for teens [source: Idealist]. Do Something is one of many programs that offer grants to teen start-up organizations [source: Do Something].

On the next page, we'll explore some of the benefits of volunteer work.

The benefits of volunteer work -- for anyone, of any age -- are virtually endless. Volunteer work expands your understanding of other people's lives. It gives you a new view of the world and the problems within it; it also shows you how hard people will work to solve those problems. There's no better cure for the blues than helping someone who's worse off than you are. It seems paradoxical, but volunteer work amid the most severe social problems can often be an abiding source of personal hope.

For teenagers, volunteering has additional bonuses. It looks fantastic on college applications, and sometimes it even makes you eligible for certain scholarship assistance or financial aid. Repeated or dedicated volunteer work demonstrates that you're not simply participating in the activity for the sake of strengthening your application -- you actually care about changing the world. That's a testament to your character that no standardized test score can duplicate.

Volunteering also strengthens your résumé. It often teaches you new skills. You might learn a new language or a new computer program. You'll almost certainly learn some interpersonal skills, and you may get some on-the-ground training in how an office functions day to day. After volunteering, you can apply for jobs with some demonstrable hands-on experience.

Volunteering also gives you an opportunity to meet people you might not encounter otherwise, and to expand your social group beyond the walls of your school. Volunteering tends to bring like-minded people together, and many people forge lifelong friendships in volunteer organizations.

Of course, the best benefit of volunteering is the knowledge that you've made a difference in your community. Is there ever a better feeling than knowing you've changed the world for the better?

To learn more, visit the links on the next page.