| Like many of our readers, I like to
listen to the news as I dress for work in the morning.
Recently, something caught my attention:
“Teen volunteering is up to 25%!” according
to a Good Morning America (GMA) special report. I checked
online, and found that volunteerism is up both among
adults and teens since September 11. Of the 44% of adults
who volunteer, about two-thirds report that they started
when they were young.
That led me to wondering about the other 75% of kids.
Over and over I hear in my practice parents complaining
that their kids are bored. “There’s nothing
to do around here” seems to be the mantra I recall
when I was a teen and apparently, the echo still resounds
across the country!
Why not introduce them to volunteerism? There are so
many benefits. Kids learn:
- Self respect
- Self esteem
- Responsibility
- Thinking about others first
- Putting their own problems in perspective
- Leadership
- New learning
- Communication skills
- Social skills…
…just to name some of the gifts and life lessons
they receive when they give.
And for those practical teens out there, yes, it does
look good on their college and job applications. The
GMA report also indicated that teen who volunteer at
least one hour a week are 53% less likely to do drugs
or alcohol.
Although many schools require service projects, guiding
teens to do something on their own or in areas that
match their talents can produce wonderful results:
- Organizing a campaign against school bullying
- Helping at an Assisted Living organizing a “Senior
Prom”
- Rewinding tapes for the Society for the Blind
- Reading children’s books for groups of preschoolers
at the library
- Raising funds to purchase a bullet-proof vest for
local police
- Sorting canned goods at the Food Bank
- Collecting pennies/loose change for a new Doppler
machine for Womankind Prenatal Care Center.
I encourage parents to investigate some of the following
search engines or web sites to learn more about teen
volunteerism across America:
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