Volunteer Opportunities

There are lots of ways that kids and families can volunteer:

  • Visit a nursing home and offer to play games with, read to and just visit with their residents 
  • Organize a clean-up day to clean up a park, school or even a lake in your town 
  • Check with your local hospital – they often have programs where kids can help cheer up patients
  • Animal shelters always need volunteers to walk pets, and help clean and care for them, and even to foster them 
  • Get together with your friends and gather up old toys and books to donate to libraries, shelters or churches 
  • Organize a can drive to collect food for shelters and food banks  You can also collect coupons and donate to food banks, or help with a food drive 
  • Tutor younger kids
  • Help elderly neighbors with yard work or by shoveling their walk 

For other ideas on how to give back, visit these links:
 
Volunteer Match (matches you to volunteer opportunities in your area)
http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Artists Helping Children – Ways Children Can Volunteer
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/wayschildrencanvolunteer.html

Do Something
http://www.dosomething.org/

Blossom International
http://www.blossominternational.org/

Care Girl (Girl Zone)
http://www.girlzone.com/html/caregirl.html

Kids Care Clubs
http://www.kidscare.org/

Points of Light Foundation
http://www.pointsoflight.org/

20 Ways for Teenagers to Help Other People by Volunteering
http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/volunteer.htm

World Volunteer Web – Volunteerism Worldwide: News, views & resources
http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/

Cross Cultural Solutions – Opportunities for families to volunteer abroad together
http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/

Also, be sure to check your local newspaper as they usually run columns listing volunteer opportunities and may also feature them on their web site.