Stumped on where you should volunteer your time? Whether you just want to give back to the community, want some experience under your belt, or want to add to your college applications, it’s important to think about your interests and causes that are close to your heart. Here are four great volunteer service ideas to get you started.
Animal Shelter
One area you may want to consider volunteering is your local animal shelter! There are always dogs, cats, and other animals looking for home. While you might not be able to adopt or foster these pets, you can absolutely help them out while they’re waiting for their forever home at the shelter.
Volunteers could be asked to walk dogs, clean litter boxes, groom animals, assist with adoptions, clean kennels, and more. There are a number of different types of animal shelters that could be available to you ranging from county and city options to nonprofits run by small groups.
Tutor
Do you excel at math? English? A foreign language?
Tutoring is a great way to get some extra experience under your belt. Added bonus: you are helping out other students at your school! You could assist your peers or, if you volunteer through your school or community, you could be asked to help younger students as well. This is an especially helpful route to your college application and resume if you’re planning to go into the education or training fields.
Looking for a great virtual tutoring opportunity? Consider volunteering at Schoolhouse, a non-profit organization founded by Sal Khan of Khan Academy!
Local Archeology Group
If you love history, archeology groups are always looking for volunteers! Even if you’re not planning to major in history, this can give you some great experience and connections that transfer well into the workforce.
You could be asked to assist on sites or in laboratories, where volunteers clean and catalog finds. Many of these groups are hosted by local colleges, too.
Soup Kitchen
Almost all cities and towns have at least one soup kitchen. It’s a popular spot for high school students to volunteer, and it makes a huge difference for people. Soup kitchens and related facilities are designed to help low income families and the homeless population get supplies and food.
Serving food is one job you could be given, but you could also be asked to cook the food, clean, or assist with shopping for ingredients.
Volunteering takes a lot of heart and gives much to the community but doesn’t necessarily take a lot of time. Even if you have a busy schedule, it may be possible to volunteer just a couple of hours a week. Tutoring, for example, can often be done right after your high school classes, and you don’t even need to leave the school grounds. Whatever you decide to do, align your volunteering with your interests and don’t skip out if you commit to being there! These organizations rely on their volunteers to be able to help their cause.
We would love to hear your volunteer service ideas! Share them with us on social media with the #collegeraptor.
Did you know that there are scholarships out there for people who volunteer? We can help you find those scholarships in our scholarship search tool.