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If you're looking for something specific to your passion, click below and it'll take you there! Otherwise, start with the Finding opportunities section and work from there :)
Finding opportunities
Finding opportunities
For most teens, the first step to looking for volunteer opportunities lies in their high school. While each educational arena will have its own unique opportunities, there are several key, universal places to look first. If you know what you want to do but don't know how to contact people, check our How to reach out page for tips.
Clubs
Public and private schools alike often offer a plethora of clubs to join, many of which include volunteer opportunities. In schools where these might not be available, students can start them!
To start a club
Starting a club is different at each school, but typically, the first step is picking a focus and finding a teacher to sponsor it. While you can select one of the organizations listed below, you also might want to start one based on what your school needs. Is there a lot of litter in your area? Start a trash-picking club. Could your city use more greenery? Maybe start a gardening club! There are hundreds of opportunities, just pick the one you can best finance and find members for. Collecting dues may be a good start for paying for supplies, just make sure people at your school or community know about your club and why you're doing it! There are plenty of folks who want to do community service for one reason or another.
Clubs with diverse service opportunities
Some clubs focus on community service without emphasizing any one goal. A lot of the times, these will be honors societies which require a certain GPA, but others will welcome anyone!
Some examples include:
Beta club (an internationally recognized honor's society)
National Honors Society (another internationally recognized honor's society)
Key Club (a high school chapter of the Kiwanis where anyone is welcome to join)
Leo club (International service organization, anyone is welcome)
Clubs with particular service goals
For students with issues they are particularly passionate about, there is probably a club to reflect it. Whether you want to help fund cancer research or help support human rights, there is probably a club to reflect it. Note the color coding below corresponds to passions we will discuss later on!
Some examples include:
Rally club (writing cards to children with cancer and helping with funding through the Rally foundation)
Relay for life (fundraising for the American cancer society)
Amnesty international (supporting human rights)
Soup kitchen club (volunteering at and collecting donations fir soup kitchens)
Operation smile club (helping children with cleft lips get surgery)
Human Rights club (often in relation to the human rights watch organization)
Roots and shoots (focus on sustainability and conservation)
PALS (acting as a mentor for a local elementary school student)
National Honors Art Society (focuses on art as a whole with some community service opportunities)
Ultimately, this is just a small taste of what schools might have to offer, so if you can dream it, you can start it! Here are a few articles with different clubs which you may be able to start, join, or work from! Click here or here.
Asking teachers and counselors
Chances are, your teachers and counselors need help with something, so checking in with them to see what that could be would be a great way to help out. They might also receive emails from organizations which you might be interested in, so asking the adults at your school can open doors locally and nationally for community service.
Tutoring
Tutoring the kids at your elementary or middle school or in classes you've already taken can provide an opportunity to help out your younger peers. You can walk away with new friendships and a better understanding of the material, as well as the satisfaction that your tutee did too. Some teachers are always on the lookout for someone to help field questions from struggling students, but offering it as a free service outside of instruction time lets you have increased control over your time.
Checking with your student body government
The student government frequently runs school-wide functions, volunteer events and even sporting situations. While they won't always have volunteer opportunities, checking in with them regularly will make it easier to keep in touch with the school community if nothing else.
Reading news and announcement pages
At your school, there is likely a newspaper, corkboard or morning announcement that can keep you posted on events, volunteer opportunities and club meetings. Use it! Your school likely has a very vibrant community for you to jump into and help shape, and even if it doesn't, there are plenty of people who likely want to help build it out.
When you're passionate about art
When you're passionate about art
For students passionate about art, your school's community opportunities can vary depending on funding and overall local culture. Finding outside opportunities may provide more diversity, but there are plenty of things you can do at school, both within clubs and outside of them!
Here are a few ideas:
Paint children's faces at football games or other school-wide events
Create motivational posters, sidewalk chalk art, or murals on campus (with administration's permission)
Organize an art sale or auction at your school and donate the proceeds to charity
Make cards, coloring pages or care packages for a local children's hospital
Host an art class for elementary students (or anyone!) at your school
Host an Empty Bowls event with your school's art program or club
Create art for the Memory Project with the school's art program
Make blankets for Project Linus
When you're passionate about STEM and healthcare
When you're passionate about STEM and healthcare
STEM and healthcare interests are some of the most emphasized subjects in schools, both in the realms of education and community service. Teens interested in serving this way may find it helpful to join a club related to their particular interests, but they can lead in-school projects as well!
Here are a few ideas:
Host a blood drive with the Red Cross through a club
Fundraise with an event (such as a robot competition or bake sale) to donate to a STEM program for girls
Host a STEAM night for younger students, with stations for things like baking soda volcanos and aluminum foil boats
Offer to help fix or refurbish old technology at your school
Volunteer as an assistant at a middle or elementary school club such as Girls who Code
When you're passionate about law
When you're passionate about law
Students interested in the law can find a home in clubs from Mock Trial to speech and debate, but they often will find it less easy to locate community service projects for this passion in school. By leading or getting involved in projects that reflect their interest, though, they can build volunteer involvement and political efficacy in one go.
Here are a few ideas:
Host a voter registration event for seniors during lunch
Create flyers about upcoming voting events, city counsel and school board meetings, or important-to-note legislation to keep students and teachers informed about local government happenings
Host quick classes on legal things which might be important to teens in your area, such as personal finance, driving laws or voting requirements
Organize clubs or in-school movements to advocate for a policy you believe in
When you're passionate about education or sports
When you're passionate about education or sports
For those who are interested in pursuing something in education or sports, working with your school and schools in your area is a great place to start.
Here are a few ideas:
Organize a field trip to your local elementary school with club members or classmates to read children's books.
Create a drive for sports equipment or school supplies for underfunded elementary schools in your area
Host a field day for special needs kids at your school
Volunteer at your school's sports clinics for younger kids (these typically occur over the summer)
Work at your elementary school's after school program
When you're passionate about the environment
When you're passionate about the environment
Though environmental issues often have close ties with STEM, the opportunities to volunteer hold unique focuses, both in and outside of school. Gathering up friends or a club to promote an ecologically friendly educational area will always encourage volunteerism.
Here are some examples:
Host a campus cleanup
Plant trees in a common outdoor area
Create a community garden or greenhouse at school
Host a plant sale and donate the proceeds to a pro-clean energy or conservationist agency
Create a recycling program in school for the environmental science class or a club to run
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