VOLUNTEERING: THE BEST CURE FOR YOUR SUMMERTIME BLUES!

I enjoy volunteer work and it has been inspiring to focus this year's professional in the spotlight series on those actively involved in serving their community.  As a juvenile defense attorney, many of the parents I work with are constantly asking me to help them find volunteer opportunities for their kids or teens.  There are a lot of great resources out there to locate these opportunities. Many organizations offer projects for the entire family. Along with helping fill the summer days with meaningful activities, volunteer/community service provides kids with a host of benefits that will give them a leg up when seeking future summer work and as they focus more and more on their future careers.   

I can’t help you with the cold calling, but I have provided a short list below of websites offering possible volunteer opportunities for Atlanta-area youth and families:

GrooveJob–is a nationwide listing of volunteer and internship opportunities for youth. http://www.groovejob.com/browse/internships/in/GA/Georgia/Atlanta/ provides a listing of Atlanta area possibilities. 

Volunteen Nation–http://www.volunteennation.org has a database of youth volunteer opportunities around the country that are searchable by geographic location. 

Atlanta Jewish Education Director’s Council–http://atlantaedc.org/youth-volunteer-opportunities/ has a listing of dozens of Atlanta-area non-profits seeking youth volunteers for a wide variety of volunteer and community service work. 

Hands on Atlanta–http://www.handsonatlanta.org/HOC__Affiliate_Home_Page provides a searchable database of volunteer opportunities in the Atlanta area, as well as other information about how to become a volunteer.

Among the accrued benefits for youth working as a volunteer with a non-profit organization are:
 

• Experience–volunteering provides the volunteer with work experience that will be transferable to future jobs, and recognized as such by future employers who will be impressed by the young volunteers’ motivated, “can-do” attitude.   
• Skill Building–this experience gives the volunteer new skills that are not necessarily learned in school nor always blatantly obvious. For example, just working in an environment with older workers can give the young volunteer “people” and “communication” skills that can’t be taught in school. 
• Career Exploration–by volunteering with an organization that works in a field that may interest the pre-teen or teenager, the volunteer can learn more about that field and better determine whether he or she wants a future in it. 
• Resume Building–while the concept of “resume” may be new to the pre-teen, that volunteer work can become the building block of the nascent resume, and that volunteer work can serve to impress future employers. 
• Meeting People–“networking” is a crucial component of today’s job search, and people the pre-teen or teenager meet during volunteer service can potentially lead to other work opportunities down the road, and/or provide references for the young volunteer. 
• Paid Work–volunteers who provide good service to non-profit organizations are sometimes asked if they would be interested in working for the organization in a paid capacity. What can be a volunteer job one summer can turned into a paying job the next summer. 
• Job Seeking Practice–seeking out work as a volunteer is similar to seeking paid employment, thus giving the pre-teen or teenager valuable practice in job seeking and interviewing for work.  
• College Admission–universities and colleges expect at least some level of community service from their applicants, and volunteer summer work will certainly look good on this portion of the college/university application form. 
• Making a Difference–helping other people and working to improve the community will give the young volunteer a sense of pride and that wonderful feeling that yes, I can help make the world a better place!”