Volunteer: Change TheWorld

Volunteer:
Change TheWorld
From your newspaper and the editors of PARADE
LEARN HOW TO:
Use The Newspaper
To Find The Right
Opportunity For You
Start Your
Own Volunteer
Organization
Join Global
NGlobal
Youth
Youth Service
Service Day!
Day!
Newspaper’s own logo or
masthead in this space.
chron.com/cie
Contents
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6
page
8
page
Choosing Your Own
Way To Help
12
Take your interests, your skills,
and your future into account.
Decisions,
Decisions, Decisions
Does one volunteer option use
your skills, while a different
one excites your interests?
Make time to weigh the pros
and cons.
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10
The newspaper is a world of ideas.
Plus: 57 more opportunities.
Whether you’re doing a oneshot project or starting an
ambitious new group, you’ve
got your work cut out for
you. Ponder these points on
planning that first meeting.
Doing Something
The basics of timelines,
budgets, and fundraising.
�
page
page
Getting Started
Resources
Here’s where to learn more
about volunteering.
Lara Pugliese
4
Finding Volunteer
Possibilities
9
Everyone can do something
to make the world a better
place.
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page
page
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3
Change the World—
Be a Volunteer
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page
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hat’s the connection between the newspaper and volunteering? The
newspaper is a good place to find causes that matter to you and
problems you can help solve. Are there stories that make you angry or
sad? Stories that really interest you? When you read, keep a log or clip
file. Your feelings are major clues to finding the type of volunteering
that’s right for you.
Shaun Pugliese,
a young
magician,
volunteers to
entertain at
charity events.
He recently
performed card
tricks to support
a Walk for
Diabetes.
Volunteer: Change The World is a product of PARADE Classroom®, a program of supplemental materials designed to support the Newspaper In Education efforts of PARADE magazine’s
partner papers. ©2007, Parade Publications, 711 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017. All rights reserved. PARADE and PARADE Classroom are registered trademarks owned by Advance
Magazine Publishers Inc., used through its division, Parade Publications. Written by Karen Glenn; designed by Marleen Adlerblum; art direction, Maurice Williams.
Cover photo by Jon Muresan of students from Ohio Northern University who helped to build a house for Habitat for Humanity as part of the Collegiate Challenge/Spring Break program
in Battle Creek, Mich. Inset photo by David Moser of two teens cleaning up Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood as part of National Youth Service Day activities.
2
Volunteer: Change The World
James Aronovsky
Change the World–
Be a Volunteer
A
lmost everybody would like to do something to make the world a better
place. Teens around the country proved that with their huge response to
9/11 and, four years later, to Hurricane Katrina. But the world has so many
problems that it’s hard to know where to start. One way is to begin with the
things that matter most to you, that touch you in some way—and start small.
As you go along, your contribution may grow larger and larger.
Geneva Johnson, 17, lives in a high
crime area in the Bronx, N.Y.To keep
her peers away from trouble, she
started a nonprofit organization called
“Bring It On!!!” that connects
hundreds of kids to volunteer projects.
Daniel Feldman, 15, was transformed into a “super
baker” as part of The Great American Bake Sale
(greatamericanbakesale.org), a program to end childhood
hunger in America. Daniel and his friends created the
volunteer group “Peer Partners,” with help and funding from
the organization Youth Venture (youthventure.org). Peer
Partners organized bake sales and raised thousands of dollars
for children affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
However you choose to volunteer, you can make a real
difference for other people—and yourself. When asked what
they get out of volunteering, most people say that helping
makes them feel good. But volunteering brings a lot of
concrete rewards as well. You can make new friends who
share your interests, learn about the world, test out possible
careers, develop new skills, build college and career
credentials, get credit in school, and escape boredom. That’s
a lot for something that may take only a few hours a week!
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Greg Becker, a Maryland teenager,
saw his life change after he talked to a
woman who had been given a house
through Habitat for Humanity. Greg
Geneva Johnson
and his friend Michael Swirnow, 15,
decided that they wanted to help a poor family in Baltimore.
They set a big goal—raising $60,000 to fund an entire house.
They began by staging a raffle of a Mini Cooper Convertible
and raised $42,000. Eventually, they collected $88,000.
Although these young people worked
on their own or started their own
groups, that’s not the only way to do
things.You can volunteer through an
already established group in your
school, place of worship, or
community.You can join a national
organization, such as the Sierra Club
or Free the Children, a local branch of
a political party, the YMCA, the Girls
Daniel Feldman
Club, or a local group specific to your
community. Or you can get your feet wet by joining Global
Youth Service Day. For one weekend, every April, millions of
teens volunteer as part of the largest service event in the world.
(Check out ysa.org/nysd to learn more.)
CH
That’s what happened to Daniel Kent,
16, of Carmel, Ind. For years, Daniel
had taught elementary school students
how to use computers. But one day he
realized that many older people were
isolated and could reach out much
better if they knew how to use the
Internet and e-mail. Unfortunately,
the seniors often were not mobile and
could not come to classes. So Daniel
Daniel Kent
started a company called Senior
Connects (seniorconnects.com). He began buying computer
equipment and recruiting and training student volunteers to set
up computer centers in senior centers and assisted-care homes.
So far, he has set up or improved labs in more than 70 facilities.
Volunteers teach computer skills as part of the
Critical Hours Program in Lakeside, Calif.
le
hronic
Houston C
The newspaper is a good place to
find causes that matter to you and
problems you can help solve. Are
there stories that make you angry or
sad? Stories that really interest you? As you
read the paper, keep a log or clip file. Your
feelings are major clues to finding the type of
volunteering that’s right for you. You’ll find more
help on the next few pages.
Volunteer: Change The World
3
Finding Volunteer Possibilities
C
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E
Houston
Chronicle
V
olunteering can be a lot like getting
a job. You will have a much better
experience—and volunteer longer and
more often—if you find something that
really excites you. That may take a little research.
There are many organizations that would love your help.
The newspaper is a great place to look for volunteer opportunities. To get started, complete the activities below.
1. Look through your local newspaper and find three stories—one local, one national, and one
international—that report on social problems. Write the names and dates of the stories here.
a.
b.
c.
2. Briefly describe the problem identified in each article.
a.
b.
c.
3. For each problem, list three things you could do as an individual— or as part of a group—to help.
a. 1.
2.
3.
b. 1.
2.
3.
c. 1.
2.
3.
Teens clean up a park as part of
National Youth Service Day activities.
4. Brainstorm a little more. Meet with others in small groups of four or five. Discuss the problems each
of you has come up with. Choose one to investigate and then make a presentation to the class about it.
a. Which problem did you choose and why?
b. What ways did you find to help?
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Volunteer: Change The World
Of course, there are thousands of problems and even more ways to help. You don’t have to start from
scratch. Here are some ideas of easy ways to make a difference from the staff of Youth Service America:
Volunteer for Kids
• Help coach a Little League sports team.
• Start a book club or tutoring program for younger students.
• Become a Big Brother or Big Sister.
• Organize a school health fair at the elementary school.
• Set up a Career Day and invite parents to talk to kids
about their jobs.
• Organize a “Job Shadow” Day on which kids can accompany
adults to work.
Volunteer for Senior Citizens
• Adopt a “grandfriend.”
• Visit a nursing home.
• Rake leaves, shovel snow or wash windows for a senior citizen.
• Pick up medicine for an elderly person.
• Write letters for an elderly person.
• Go for a walk with a senior citizen.
• Hold an afternoon dance at a local nursing home.
• Deliver meals to homebound individuals.
• Offer to pick up groceries for or with a senior citizen.
• Help senior citizens obtain and install locks or smoke alarms.
• Teach a senior friend how to use a computer or the Internet.
• Get a group to sing or present a play at a nursing home.
Volunteer for School
• Paint a mural over graffiti.
• Organize and invite local police officers to present a drug
awareness or bike safety assembly.
• Form volunteer teams for a campus safety escort service.
• Tutor a student who needs help learning English or
another subject.
• Organize a canned goods drive in conjunction with a school
dance and donate the goods to a food bank.
Volunteer To Enhance the Neighborhood
• Clean up a vacant lot.
• Organize a campaign to raise money to purchase and install
new playground equipment in an area park.
• Campaign for additional lighting for poorly lighted streets.
• Clean up a local park.
• Plant flowers in public areas.
Volunteer for People with Special Needs
• Volunteer at a Special Olympics
event.
• Set up a buddy system for kids
with special needs at your school.
• Raise money for Braille or large
print books.
• Volunteer at an agency that works
with emotionally challenged children.
• Read books or the newspaper on
tape for visually impaired people.
• Bring toys to children in the
Mandy Van Benthuysen spent more
cancer ward of a hospital.
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Volunteer for the Hungry/Homeless
• Help cook or serve a meal at a homeless shelter.
• Gather clothing and donate it to a shelter.
• Make kits with combs, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc., for
homeless people.
• Help with repairs at a local homeless shelter.
• Make a care package with mittens, socks,T-shirts, long
underwear, etc., for a child at a homeless shelter.
• Collect grocery coupons to give to a local food bank.
• Pack and hand out food at a food bank.
• If your community doesn’t have a local food bank, work with
local officials to start one.
• Organize a neighborhood group to plant, tend, and harvest a
vegetable garden. Donate the produce to a food bank.
than a decade volunteering for the
Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Mandy, who has muscular
dystrophy, was formerly the National
Youth Chairperson of the MDA and
toured the country teaching people
about the disease.
Volunteer in Politics
• Contact your local League of
Women Voters or voter registration
office.Ask what you can do to help
people register to vote.
• Identify a local issue you are concerned about and contact
someone in local government with your ideas on what to
do about it.
• Organize a public issues forum for your school or
neighborhood.
• Volunteer at a polling booth on the day of an election.
• Offer to pass out election materials.
Volunteer for the Environment
• Plant a garden or tree where the whole neighborhood
can enjoy it.
• Set up a recycling system for your home and participate in
your neighborhood curbside recycling pick-up. Be sure to
recycle your newspapers!
• Organize a carpooling campaign to cut air pollution.
• Adopt an acre of a rainforest.
• Clean up trash along a river or in a park.
• Create a habitat for wildlife.
• Create a campaign to encourage biking and walking.
• Test the health of the water in your local lakes, rivers,
or streams.
Volunteer: Change The World
5
Choosing Your Way to Help
Y
ou know you want to volunteer. You’ve brainstormed
and come up with a lot of possibilities. But before
you make a commitment, consider what opportunity best
1. What are your interests? Sometimes people forget—
especially when volunteering is a school requirement—that the
best volunteer opportunity is one that you look forward to.
There’s nothing that says that you have to spend hours stuffing
envelopes for some worthwhile cause that bores you stiff.
If you love baseball, you might like coaching Little League or
Special Olympics. If you enjoy cooking, you might want to help
cook at a homeless shelter. Or maybe you’re 100% certain that you
want to work to help the environment—that’s the issue that gets
you excited—but you’re just not sure how. First, list four interests.
a.
b.
c.
suits your personality and passions, availability and future
goals. The questions below will help you make a
thoughtful choice.
4. How do you like to work? Are you happiest working by
yourself? Or are you great one-on-one and not so good in a
group? These are factors to consider. If you want to work on your
own outside, you could mow a senior citizen’s yard. If you like to
work one-on-one, you might enjoy being a peer counselor or a
tutor. If you want to be part of a group, are you more interested
in hanging out with people your own age? Or would you like to
meet more people of all ages—and perhaps find a mentor? Do
you prefer working outdoors? Or in an office? Do you like to get
dressed up and work in a more formal setting, such as a hospital?
Or would you be a lot happier outdoors in your jeans and boots
rescuing injured birds? Describe below the type of setting that
you’d like to volunteer in.
d.
the obvious. If your cause is the environment, and your primary
skill is gardening, it’s no stretch to figure out how to help. But if
you’re a great writer, you may think, at first, that you should work
in a tutoring or literacy program instead.You could, and you’d
certainly be doing a good deed. But you could also think about
writing press releases, brochures, and articles for an environmental
group. List three skills you could use as a volunteer.
a.
Courtesy of Youth Service America
2. What are your skills? Take an inventory and look beyond
A teen volunteer
offers younger
students a book
as part of the
“BookTable”
program in
Bellingham, Wash.
b.
c.
3. What will you actually be doing? Perhaps you
love animals, and you look into volunteering at the animal shelter.
It turns out the only thing you could do there is clean cages, and
you hate that. It might not be the best choice after all. So you look
around more, and you learn about a group that finds homes for
retired greyhounds.There, you walk and feed the dogs—activities
you’d really like. Getting exact information can make your choices
clear. Ask one organization what volunteer opportunities are
available and list the ones that interest you most below.
6
Volunteer: Change The World
5. How much of a commitment can you make? Some
volunteer opportunities require you to work a certain number
of hours each and every week. You’re expected to be there
without fail because others are depending on you. Other
opportunities are more flexible—you can just pitch in, every
now and then, for an afternoon. Some opportunities may
actually cost you money—for a candy-striper uniform in a
hospital, for example. Others might require special training—
to prepare you to work on a suicide hotline, for example. Look
at a calendar or your day planner and block out the times that
you would like to volunteer.
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Of course, you want to help others, but you can benefit as well.
Volunteering can give you experience or training in a field you
want to explore. You may meet adults who can give you
references for college or for a summer job. You may make new
friends or connections that will help you in other ways. Some
organized volunteer programs even offer college scholarships
or cool perks. For example, if you guide blind skiers, or are a ski
ambassador for visitors to the slopes, you may get a free ski
pass for the season. Make a list of what you would like to gain
from volunteering. Rank the benefits in order of importance to
you.
Houston C
This is where research comes in. You can
hronicle
discover a lot of community and world problems
by reading the newspaper. And the newspaper can
also alert you to existing groups that are trying to
solve them. Look in the national or world news section
or in the local pages. And check the community calendar for
group meetings. And if, after you do your research—in the
newspaper, on the Internet, contacting people you know—you
discover that no one in your area is working to solve the
problem that concerns you, start your own group. (You’ll find
out more about this in the following pages.) List some possible
opportunities from the newspaper below.
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7. What are the real possibilities?
U
6. What do you want to get out of volunteering?
T
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Gathering More Information
To find answers to some of your questions—for example, what you’ll actually be doing or how much of a time
commitment you’ll need to make—you’ll have to talk to people at the organizations you’re considering. In a large,
structured organization, that person will probably be the Director of Volunteers. In a small, informal one, it might
be the head of the group. Either way, you may have to make an appointment and come in for an interview.
Before you go, think about the questions they might ask you—and
what you’d like them to know about you. For example:
• Be sure you get the information you need as well. Write
down your own questions here.
• Why are you interested in this group?
• How much time do you have to offer?
• How would you like to help?
• Don’t be surprised if the
bigger organizations ask
you to fill out an application
form—and get a
permission slip signed by
your parents. It’s nothing
to get upset about; some
agencies require it for
Joshua Fountain coaches basketball at a
everyone under 18.
YMCA in Silver Spring, Md. Many Ys offer
Stuart Zolotorow
• What skills could you bring to it?
• If the group needs too much of your time or wants you to
do something that doesn’t match your interests, ask them to
suggest another group that may suit you better.
volunteers the opportunity to coach a sport.
Volunteer: Change The World
7
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
A
fter you’ve come up with a few interesting volunteer
possibilities, it’s time to choose the one that’s best
for you. Get all the facts, figure out the positive and negative aspects of each one, and then make your choice.
Use this grid to list the pros and cons of each one.
Think about all the angles—your interests, your skills,
exactly what you’d be doing, the time commitment, any
associated costs or required training, the volunteer
environment, and what you think you’ll get out of it. Of
course, what’s a positive and what’s a negative will be
different for each person! If you list all the pros and
cons and still can’t make a decision, try flipping a coin
or use some other chance method to decide. Afterward, if you find that you are unhappy with the result,
that might be a clue.
VOLUNTEER OPTION #1:
Pros
Cons
1.______________________________________________ 1. _____________________________________________
2.______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________
3.______________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________
4.______________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________
5.______________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________
VOLUNTEER OPTION # 2:
Pros
Cons
1.______________________________________________ 1. _____________________________________________
2.______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________
3.______________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________
4.______________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________
5.______________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________
VOLUNTEER OPTION # 3:
Pros
Cons
1.______________________________________________ 1. _____________________________________________
2.______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________
3.______________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________
4.______________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________
5.______________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________
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Volunteer: Change The World
Getting Started
B
y now, you’ve decided which volunteer option is
best for you. Maybe you’ll join an established
group. Or maybe, you’ll invent your own. If you’re starting a group or organizing a special project for National
Youth Service Day, you’ve got your work cut out for
you. But don’t worry. We’ll help you one step at a time.
The first thing you’ll need to do is find at least one or
two friends who are interested in your idea. They can
help you with the details of getting up and running.
Then follow the guide below.
What you’ll need to start a group:
secretary, and treasurer. At some point, you may also
want committee chairs to be in charge of specific
functions, such as public relations, fundraising,
recruitment, and special projects.
At future meetings, you’ll be setting goals, breaking
them into steps (or sub-goals), handing out assignments,
hearing progress reports, and generally moving forward
with your project.
but you may not want to.What if your group grows too
big for your living room? Or your brother won’t turn
off the TV? It’s better to have a place that’s dedicated
to your purpose. Perhaps you can get one without charge
(and that’s really necessary) at school or at a church,
synagogue,Y, or community center. Check it out. In some
cases, these places may require you to have an adult
advisor.That could be good, if you’d like some input and
guidance. Perhaps you have an interested teacher, parent,
neighbor, or youth leader who’d like to help. If you don’t,
or if you’d rather do this without adult help, look around
for another place.
“Everyone should know how good it
feels to give of themselves.”
—Clay Aiken, sponsor of the Able to Serve Awards
Photo courtesy of Youth Service America
1. A place to meet. You can meet in your own home,
2. Potential members. You can probably attract
K O
• See if you can get the local newspaper to
run an announcement in its community
le
ic
n
ro
h
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events calendar—or, better yet, an article
Houston
about the group you’re starting.
• Put up flyers at your school (if that’s
allowed) and around the community. Place notices on
community bulletin boards.
• Send out an e-mail chain letter.
• Ask other volunteer organizations to make
announcements about yours.
• Send press releases to local TV and radio stations.
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a few members for your project just by spreading the
word among your friends. But you’ll get more interested
volunteers if you use several different methods to let
people know what you’re doing.
3. An agenda. What are you going to talk about at
your first meeting? Don’t leave it to chance. Structure
helps, so write everything down. Perhaps, at the first
meeting, you’ll talk about the purpose of the group, set
up some basic ground rules, and elect officers. Of course,
you’ll want the usual suspects: a president, vice-president,
Before he became a star on “American Idol,” singer Clay Aiken
volunteered with children with special needs. On Global Youth
Service Day, he visited Best Buddies, a program dedicated to
enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
4. Food and fun. If possible, try to bring some snacks
to the meeting. It’s hard to work well on an empty stomach. Or, as Napoleon once said, “An army marches on its
stomach.” That goes for volunteers, too. Make the room
comfortable and take a few breaks for the bathroom or
just to hang out. Also, be sure to introduce everyone and
plan some activities so people can get to know each other
and start to relax.
Volunteer: Change The World
9
Doing Something
O
nce you’ve got the group started, you’ll need to set
goals. For example, your general purpose may be to
help the environment—but there are a million ways to do
that. So you’ll zero in on a few general categories and
then narrow your focus. What would you most like to
accomplish? Do you just want to alert people to environmental problems, such as the ozone layer or the rain forest? Or would you rather do something more concrete,
closer to home? Maybe you’d like to work to change zoning
What are your volunteering goals? It helps to
divide each one into steps. Here’s an example:
Goal: Fix Up Yourtown Park
a. Get a truck to take abandoned
junk, such as tires, to the town dump.
b. Start a litter patrol to remove
trash each Saturday.
c. Get a group together to paint the
swings and other equipment.
These steps can be divided into smaller steps as well. In the
example above, you’ll also need someone to loan you the
truck, someone to drive it, and volunteers to handle the junk.
Now, pick three goals and divide each into three steps.
GOAL # 1
a.
b.
c.
GOAL # 2
a.
b.
c.
10
Volunteer: Change The World
laws or to convince a local developer to set aside land for
a nature sanctuary. Or would you rather work on cleaning
up the park, setting up a recycling program, lobbying your
Senators and Representatives on national environmental
issues, or saving endangered birds? No matter what type
of project interests you, try to come up with three specific goals and write them below. Then, for each one,
write down three individual steps you can take toward
those goals.
GOAL # 3
a.
b.
c.
Once you’ve picked at least one goal and divided it into
steps—and subdivided it again into even more manageable
steps—the group can choose different volunteers to be in
charge of coordinating each task. (Write the assigned name
next to each step.) It’s important to be very clear about
who is doing what, and for volunteers to report back each
meeting (or even between meetings) on exactly what
they’ve accomplished and what problems they may be
running into.That way, other group members can help
them brainstorm solutions.
Set Up a Timeline and a Budget
When do you hope to accomplish your goals? It’s a good
idea to set up a timeline right at the start. Look at each step
you need to take, and set a deadline for it. For example, in
the Yourtown Park goal, your timeline might look like this:
Deadlines: Phase 1
April 10—Complete negotiations for loan of truck. (Sean)
April 12—Complete raising money for gas and dump
permit. (Keisha)
April 15—Complete recruiting at least 10 volunteers for
loading and unloading truck. (Salma)
April 19—Buy snacks. (Derek)
April 20, 9 a.m. sharp—Clear out junk in park and take it
to the dump. (Everyone)
Taylor Kennedy
“My sense is
that most
young people
want to give.
Some are just
waiting to be
asked.”
—Gen. Colin Powell,
former Secretary of
State and chairman of
America’s Promise—
The Alliance for Youth
A group of adult
volunteers from
AT&T join young
people in
Washington, D.C.,
to refurbish a
playground.
You’d develop a similar timeline (with similar deadlines)
for the other two goals. If any deadlines were missed, the
group would meet to see what it could do to get back on
track.
You’d also need to develop a budget and raise the
money to meet it. For example, in the Yourtown Park
project, you’d need (for all three steps):
Gas money for truck $10
Litter bags
$7
Paint brushes $75
Snacks $15
Paint $75
Turpentine $6
Recruitment fliers $10
�
Dump permit $10
Be sure to figure out exactly how much you’ll need,
so you don’t get caught short.Also include money for
general supplies, such as stationery, postage, film and
developing (for documentation), and long distance calls.
Fundraising
Once you’ve got a budget, it’s time to get out and raise
funds. One good way is to approach local businesses with
a description of your project and its budget. In many
cases, you can get them to donate money or “in-kind”
supplies. For example, the local paint store might be
willing to donate the paint and paint brushes. Find some
way—planned in advance—that you can acknowledge
the business and its donations, and let the business know
about this “free publicity.” For example, you might
distribute fliers at the event, thanking the sponsors who
helped make it possible. You’ll also let the local
newspaper know, so that they include this information in
any article they write about your project. After the event,
be sure to write thank you letters to everyone who
helped. When you develop relationships with people and
businesses, they are more likely to help again.
Of course, you also can hold fundraising events, such
as bake sales, car washes, and rummage sales. (Be sure
to publicize these in your local newspaper.) If you plan
far enough in advance, you also can apply for grants.
There are also some oddball, but effective, ways of
fundraising, such as asking the manager of the local
mall for the coins that are thrown into the mall fountain.
(This actually works.) Some groups have collected a lot
of money just by asking for donations of stashed pennies!
A dance-a-thon also could be a great school event. Use
your imagination, and you’re bound to come up with
some unusual ways of your own.
Volunteer: Change The World
11
Resources
Be the Difference (New Society Publishing,
2001) by Danny Seo
Catch the Spirit: Teen Volunteers Tell How They
Made a Difference (Franklin Watts, 2000) by
Susan Perry
Chicken Soup for the Volunteer’s Soul (HCI,
2002) by Jack Canfield
Fundraising for Youth (Meriwether, 1990) by
Dorothy Ross
How to Produce Fabulous Fundraising Events
(Building Better Skills, 1999) by Betty Stallings
It’s Your World—If You Don’t Like It, Change It
(Simon Pulse, 2004) by Mikki Halpin
160 Ways to Help the World: Community Service
Projects for Young People (Facts on File, 1996)
by Linda Leeb Duper
Service Learning: From Classroom to
Community to Career (Jist Publishing, 2005) by
Marie Watkins
A Student’s Guide to Volunteering (Career
Press, 1995) by Teresa Digeronimo
Take Action! A Guide to Active Citizenship
(Wiley, 2002) by Marc and Craig Kielburger
Learn more about volunteering in general (serviceleader.org).
Help rebuild America with Habit for Humanity (habitat.org).
Find out what’s so great about service learning (learnandserve.org).
Do Something (dosomething.org) offers monthly challenges as well as grants
and awards for kids with volunteer projects.
Learn how to become a mentor for children at America’s Promise
(americaspromise.org).
Find a volunteer opportunity in your own zip code (servenet.org).
Visit Youth Service America (ysa.org) to learn about Global Youth Service
Day (April 24-26, 2009).
Get involved with the Great American Bake Sale
(greatamericanbakesale.org) to help hungry and homeless children.
E
C
K O
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Volunteer Wrap Up
T
The Kids’ Guide to Social Action and The Kids’
Guide to Service Projects (Free Spirit, 1998 and
1995) by Barbara Lewis
Web Site Round Up
CH
Books & Web Sites
hronicle
Houston C
Check out your newspaper each day,
and you’ll discover lots of information
that will help you find the volunteer opportunities
you like. You’ll find listings of meetings of volunteer
organizations. You’ll read about local, national and
world problems that you can help solve on your own
or as a member of a group. You’ll read articles about
people who are making the world a better place.
Teen Power Politics: Make Yourself Heard
(Millbrook, 2000) by Sara Boyers
Volunteering: 101 Ways You Can Improve the
World and Your Life (Alti, 1998) by Douglas
Lawson
Volunteering: The Ultimate Teen Guide
(Scarecrow Press, 2004) by Kathlyn Gay
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Volunteer: Change The World
This space for sponsor’s name.
chron.com/cie