Volunteerism 101
Want to help out but don’t know how? Check out tons of fun, cool ideas to get you started.

More Ideas for the Creative and Bold Tutor younger students. The local elementary principal or school counselor can show you how to get started. Start a community service club or service-learning program in your school, if none exist. Write an article for your student newspaper about your service project. Organize a volunteer service day, patterned after Make a Difference Day (go to: www.usaweekend.com/diffday/), Martin Luther King Day of Service (go to: www.mlkdayofservice.org/projects.cfm), or the Kindness and Justice Day Challenge (go to: www.kjchallenge.org/) Gather a group to pick up trash in your neighborhood or a nearby park. Be a civic leader and run for student council. Have a PB & J sandwich-making marathon. First check with your local soup kitchen, and then gather your friends to make sandwiches for those less fortunate. You don’t have to know how to cook to make a sandwich! Be an author. Ask your teacher if you can coordinate a project with an elementary school, where each student writes a “book” or story for a younger student. You will have the opportunity to put your creativity to good use, and the kids will love it. Make music class matter even more. Talk to your instructor about organizing a concert (singing or instrumental) at the local senior citizen’s home. Bring food and make it a party. It’s a good chance to bond with some cool older people. Work with your school to make it more beautiful. Buying some plants and flowers is an easy way to brighten up any classroom. For your next party, ask your friends to bring a couple of cans of food instead of a present. Donate the goods to a shelter or soup kitchen. (No horrible sweaters to return!)

Discover more useful info about volunteering:

• Cool Links from Youth Service America



• Good reasons to get off the couch.



• What makes other teens volunteer?



• Tips for successful volunteering



• Do-It-Yourself service learning