Berkeley Parents Network: Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

Berkeley Parents Network

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

Advice, discussions, and reviews from the Parents of Teens weekly email newsletter.

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Teenagers > Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

Ideas for high school community service requirement
Day-time volunteer opportunities for 14-year-old
Summer volunteer opportunities for 12-year-old
Volunteer opportunities before starting college
Volunteer opportunities for 23-year-old new to the area
Thanksgiving volunteering for pre-teens
Hospitals & Clinics
Libraries
Other Organizations
Working with Animals
Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Programs
see also: Summer Jobs, Internships
More advice about Volunteering

Ideas for high school community service requirement

Sept 2007

I'm looking for suggestions to help my daughter, a high school senior, meet her community service requirement (30 hours left). She is shy, and has a learning disability. Like many students, she does not have time for another regular after-school activity (homework, college apps, tutors, learning specialist appointments, etc. take up all her time). Any ideas appreciated. Thanks

The Oakland SPCA is always looking for volunteers, and I know they have lots of people working on the weekends. She may have to do some training first. Check it out. jenny

Hello, A community service opportunity that has worked wonders for my son is the Goat Ranger volunteering program at the Oakland Zoo. The person who runs the program is Jayne Ellen Kovacevich and you can get in touch with her by contacting the Volunteer co-ordinator at the Zoo. The children are great as well as all the zoo personnel and they get to do exciting things both with the animals and the crowd. They also get to do other things with the animals like feeding etc and visiting and petting the babies when they are born. My son loves it there and I am sure your daughter will too. My son is currently a senior also. Deepa

to anyone needing a community service idea for their kids...blankets for babies is a wonderful idea. make quilts for babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at packard children's hospital at stanford. i run this program and am always looking for more volunteers to support this effort. if you google ''blankets for babies'' it will pop up as the first reference site (it's a bit tricky to directly use the email address, as it goes through the packard site) and give you all the details and requirements. i am available for any further questions. i like to have the volunteer (if possible) bring the blankets/quilts to the unit and i give them a tour of the unit so they can see where their good work is going. i also like to do a bit of a career day with them to teach what a day in the life of a nicu nurse is all about. i will sign off any paper work they need to validate the project. i have had over 100 students participate in this project with great success. kate

Hi Leslie--Would your daughter like to do her community service outdoors, and on weekends? Friends of Five Creeks is a volunteer group that plants, restores, and generally cares for creeks in Berkeley. We often have individual students (or groups) working with us. It's fun, not hard, and you see results! See web site, or call 848-9358. --Stephanie

Another good community service opportunity is Dorothy Day House. DDH serves breakfast six days a week to Berkeley's less fortunate population. Volunteers are needed to help prepare breakfast and to serve it. Interested individuals (students or adults) should contact Kessy at 637-8217 or Richard at 781-985-0981. JAB

Day-time volunteer opportunities for 14-year-old

January 2006

My 14 year old son is entering BHS Independent Studies. I am looking for opportunities for him to volunteer/intern during the days that he has free time (wandering around downtown just doesn't cut it). Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks, IS Mom

I don't know if your teen would be interested in weekend volunteering - my daughter and I are on the ''Sunday Crew'' at the Western Aerospace Museum by Oakland Airport - I do the bookkeeping and my daughter works on the planes. It is fun and educational and the ''chief'' of the Sunday crew is a high school teacher who is really great with the kids. I know there are volunteer opportunities on other days also. Barbara

If your son likes animals (dogs and cats mostly) he can volunteer at the Milo Foundation pet adoption store on Solano Avenue in Bkly. You have to be 12 or over to volunteer without a parent. Most kids are there after school so they might welcome a daytime student. There are dogs to be walked, kitties adn puppies to be cleaned up after and cuddled, lots of odd jobs around.My 10 yo son and I volunteer there. My son LOVES it. Also the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society welcomes volunteers though I am not familiar with the protocol for age, etc. Good luck. June

Our 18 year old daughter volunteered with ''Food Not Bombs'' in Oakland when she was home over the holidays. She LOVED it. Food prep, heavy work and serving food to people at People's Park. Ilene

hello, if your child likes children then i would strongly encourage you to check out the berkeley public school volunteer program. i am a writer coach volunteer. i assist junior high school students with their writing on a weekly basis. i was very pleasantly surprised by the depth and organization of the berkely school volunteer program. you can contact the volunteer department and they can connect your child with just about any school-related job. working in the classroom, in the library, in an office setting, reading to children... all ages are encouraged to donate their time to the schools. the young, students as well as the elderly. good luck in finding a match

Summer volunteer opportunities for 12-year-old

May 2005

I am looking for summer volunteer opportunities for older kids and pre-teens, preferably that do not require my own supervision. They love animals. I would also like them to have experience in some program which helps out people who have less then they do with their middle class background (family shelters, immigrants, etc). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Try www.volunteermatch.com
Juliette

Volunteer opportunities before starting college

Feb 2004

My 20-year-old son is thinking about volunteering this spring/summer before school starts in the fall. The organizations we've checked out expect payment from him. He's interested in politics, international experiences; has talent in art, writing; experience in construction, child care. He'll go anywhere in the world. The problem is that he has no money to even pay his rent unless he works, so needs an opportunity that includes accommodations. Thanks for your ideas. The Mom

I have been volunteering for the past 6 months or so at places that I found by going to http://www.volunteeronline.org. Check it out, I found two places to volunteer for: loved one, dropped one and am still enjoying the first. Hey, and congrats on having a socially conscious kid - good parenting, I suppose! Volunteering mama

Check with the reference librarian. There are several catalogs of opportunities for Internships, doing all sorts of things. The internship often pays a small stipend, includes places to live, etc. Internship sounds more like what your son needs right now. I hope he finds something wonderful! Ilene

Volunteer opportunities for 23-year-old new to the area

Feb 2004

Our daughter's nanny recently moved to the area and does not know many people. She is 23 years old and would like to volunteer some time to worthy organizations that would also give her the opportunity to meet other young volunteers in their 20s. Any suggestions would be very appreciated - thank you.

Hi, I work with a wonderful group that is volunteer driven. Most volunteers attend CAL or are in their early 20s. The Special Needs Aquatic Program (SNAP) is a motor development program in the water for children with a variety of strengths and challenges. The committment is one hour per week in Berkeley. She must be a good swimmer, like children, and be a warm person.We will train her. Maybe she'll have some fun and make some friends. : ) Please have her contact SNAP at 510-527-0446 x3 or snapkids at earthlink.net Dori

Hospitals & Clinics

The LifeLong Clinic website: http://www.tlc-volunteers.org
I am the coordinator of a clinic here in Berkeley called The LifeLong Clinic (TLC). The clinic is just a few blocks from Berkeley High. I have had very wonderful student volunteers from Berkeley High who have had extremely responsible positions and have really helped with the success of the clinic....
(click on the LifeLong Clinic name above for the rest of this message)

Hospital Volunteers
Both Kaiser (596-6181) and Alta Bates Hospital (204-1695) accept teen volunteers. (from the May/June 1999 BHS PTSA Newsletter)

My friend's daughter volunteer at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley. This was several years ago so don't know too much about the current program.

Children's Hospital Children's Hospital in Oakland has volunteers. Some work the parent desk (parents waiting for their children coming out of surgery), game room (playing with students - painting, board games, etc.), and I think also in the clinics. Children's Main number is 428-3000.

My son volunteered last summer at Children's Hospital and found it personally valuable, quite challenging and a lot of fun. For example, he was asked to rock a crying baby to sleep and it took 30 minutes. (he had never spent that long with any infant.) He read to kids while they got their chemo, played checkers, chatted with kids in the playrroms, pulled someone around the entire hospital in a wagon for 2 hours. He also watched staff handle some emergencies, which he found really fascinating. There's an 8 hour minimum commitment during the summer and I think smaller commitments can be made during the school year, though I'm not sure what that is. If this is the kind of thing she's looking for, I suggest your daughter contact Barbara Schaaf the volunteer coordinator at (510) 428-3471 Winifred (1/01)

Libraries

Berkeley Public Library Programs
Cover to Cover, a teen reading and reviewing program now in its 9th year. Read for prizes, enter weekly contests, and get published. Program runs June 14 to August 14 at all library sites. Call 649-3926 for more information. Tutor at Literacy Daycamp, now in its 3rd year. Teen tutors must apply as library volunteers by May 15, attend two trainings and be available for the daycamp that runs from June 14 to July 21. Teen volunteer forms may be picked up at any library. (see also: jobs at the Library) (from the May/June 1999 BHS PTSA Newsletter)

The Rockridge Library on College is a good place to volunteer...working with the younger students.

Other Organizations

I recently became aware of a web site called volunteermatch.org. Its purpose is to match volunteers with volunteer opportunities based on your geographic location. You type in your zip code and choose the type of volunteer work that interests you (Animals, Children, Women, etc.) and it will show you the opportunities available. You can also register your group if you are in need of volunteers. This site has won two 2001 "Webby" Awards for Best Activism Site and Best Services Site. Most of the links that you will see may not be appropriate for a teenager, but some will. Good luck! Janet (Oct 2001)

Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative

serves as an information clearinghouse and teen training ground. Call Beebo Turman at 883-9096 for details. (May/June 1999 BHS PTSA Newsletter)

American Cancer Society

seeks high school students to teach/learn nutrition to children & parents at Berkeley HEAD START. CALL: 558-7089 (BHS Jacket, 3/00)

Loaves and Fishes

Your 15 year old (or anyone high school age or older) might want to contact the volunteer coordinators, Mary Greene (649-8772 or Robbie Kreitz (522-2706), at Loaves & Fishes regarding volunteering at dinners or shelter hospitality nights for the homeless. This program is sponsored by Newman Hall. Some of the events are held at the shelters and some are at Newman (Dwight and Ashby). It's a fun evening with people who genuinely appreciate the commitment of time and caring. Trish (9/99)

Family Resource Network

The Family Resource Network on Claremont Avenue in Berkeley has activities for disabled teen students once a month. For example: This Friday, Jan. 19th starting at 6 p.m. til 9 p.m.there is Casino Night and next February there is Valentine Dance. There are other nondisabled teens helping with the event. They may need help in other areas. Great group of people!

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