Volunteer work can be a major right of passage for a child—it can give him or her valuable work experience, while also connecting the child to the community in an important way. Many younger children start out volunteering along side mom or dad or as a family but eventually the time comes when he or she is ready to volunteer as an individual. What can a parent do to help find a good volunteer gig and how involved should we actually be?
In our school district, students are required to volunteer so many hours in order to graduate. While this is a great graduation requirement in theory, it does mean that thousands of high schoolers are competing for volunteer jobs each year in a relatively small city. The competition can get fierce and some kids just don’t know what they are interested in or where they would like to volunteer. As a parent, we can help them brainstorm and steer them in the direction of a good volunteer job, and we might also have to “talk to a few people” to set the wheels in motion.
Things to keep in mind—it may seem like volunteering with a nonprofit organization is the most obvious way to go, but my experience of working in nonprofit management for over twenty years taught me that many nonprofits do not have volunteer coordinators, they may be slow to respond, and they often have age limits for their jobs due do different regulations. You might have better luck contacting a church, school, or even a for-profit business looking for a teen volunteer job.
For-profit businesses are actually pretty good places to do some volunteer work. A teenager gets real life experience, there are often plenty of jobs and tasks for them to learn, and they make good community and business contacts as well. If you know someone who owns her own business or is in a position to make decisions, you might be able to get your child an interview for an “internship” or volunteer job.
Finally, don’t overlook one-time events or special projects. Often there are committees looking for event volunteers or individuals to help with big fairs or sporting events and they need people. This can be a good way for kids to gain volunteer experience and be involved in the community too.
Also: Do You Have a Business-Friendly Family?
Summer is a Great Time for Volunteer Work