5 Unusual Volunteer Opportunities for Your Teenager

The state of Florida has a unique college scholarship opportunity attached to the Florida lottery. If a high school student maintains a certain grade point average and volunteers a certain number of hours in the community, they are eligible for a 75 percent to 100 percent tuition scholarship. With so many teens trying to volunteer, openings can be scarce at more traditional volunteer sites, such as nursing homes and libraries.. This is when creativity is needed to find unusual volunteer opportunities.

1) Church summer work programs. If the teenager is involved with a church, many churches have a summer volunteer program. The one I am most familiar with is ran by the Southern Baptist Conference, and is called World Changers. Students participate in community repair projects, such as painting houses, roofing, or landscape improvement. They work a standard 7 hour day, five days a week. This can go a long way to supplying the volunteer hours they need for a scholarship. Over the past three summers, my 16 year old has 95 hours of volunteer hours, more than enough to qualify her for a Florida Bright Scholarship. World Changers accepts non Baptist affiliate churches to participate in their summer projects. It is important to remember though that this is a Christian based opportunity, and any time spent witnessing or attending church services usually does not count as volunteer time. World Changers web site is www.worldchangers.org/

2) Veterinary Clinics. Teenagers who have a love for animal might find that t.
he local animal shelter has too may volunteers. Another option is to ask for volunteer work at a local veterinary clinic. Often times, they will need help feeding animals, or cleaning the offices. Remind your teenager that volunteering is work, and sometimes, they might be doing things they aren't interested in, such as mopping up doggie and kitty messes.

3) Host a poetry or book club meeting. My daughter has thought of trying to host a poetry or book appreciation club. The problem in a small community is finding a place to hold the meeting. This would take a lot of organization, including finding a venue, advertising, coming up with a program for meetings,and setting up meeting times. The teenager would need to be in charge of the program in order for it to count as volunteer hours. A great place to begin this type of program would be a local coffee shop or bookstore.

4) Environmental Group. A great place to start is to contact the Sierra Club that runs a student lead activist group called the Sierra Student Coalition. The students participating in the Sierra Student Coalition are more involved in the political area of activism by attending political hearings and lobbying with their state legislators for environmental causes. This is a great volunteer opportunity for a student interested in politics or law. For further information, check out their web site at scc.sierraclub.org/.

5) Volunteer at Ronald McDonald Houses. This would be a great opportunity for a teenager wanting to go into education or nursing. Not all communities have Ronald McDonald houses. These home away from homes, house sick children and their parents, while the child is receiving long term treatment in a nearby hospital. Teenagers can volunteer in a variety of ways, from playing with children, to babysitting, to cooking meals or cleaning the house. Check their website at rmhc.org to see if there is a home in your area.

While any volunteer opportunity is great, a placement in a teen's career choice would be ideal. They can check out their chosen field, while helping others. After all, the greatest benefit isn't the hours accumulated or job experience gained, but learning to become involved in something outside of themselves.

(ssc.sierraclub.org/ )
(http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/volunteer.htm)
(http://life.familyeducation.com/slideshow/volunteer-work/29594.html?page=9&detoured=1
(www.worldchangers.org/)
(rmhc.org/) Ronald McDonald House Site