Volunteer opportunities for 15-year old?

[Anonymous]

I've been in touch with a few organizations that use volunteers. They don't accept anyone < 18 yo, however.

I would appreciate any recommendations this group could provide -- such that my 15-yo could volunteer. This is not for service hours. Just a request she made.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live? Lots of places will take a teen if a parent/adult accompanies them. It's more difficult to find a regular gig - but again, this metro area is huge, so it's important to tailor somewhat around where your teen is based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live? Lots of places will take a teen if a parent/adult accompanies them. It's more difficult to find a regular gig - but again, this metro area is huge, so it's important to tailor somewhat around where your teen is based.

+1 it might need to be a family activity. However, I know the nature center and libraries in our area have teen volunteer programs.

[Anonymous]

Library? Reshelving books

[Anonymous]

Pick up litter and log it via Ocean Conservancy’s Clean Swell app. I use this almost daily - entered a workplace contest (I won, twice) years ago and just kept going.

Happy to answer any questions.

[Anonymous]

Special Olympics has been a favorite for my kids, or similar organizations.

Where do you live? I could provide more info on options.

[Anonymous]

In my area outside DMV, I think the food pantries allow younger volunteers with parents. The kind that process large quantities of grocery store donations, create boxes of food for seniors, and offer a pantry shopping experience (so have a store area for patrons).

[Anonymous]

My son volunteered at our public library. Ours has a great summer program for volunteers where they help with children’s programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been in touch with a few organizations that use volunteers. They don't accept anyone < 18 yo, however.

I would appreciate any recommendations this group could provide -- such that my 15-yo could volunteer. This is not for service hours. Just a request she made.

Library has already been covered.
Check out local boy and girl scout troops for any volunteers needed for their projects.
Animal shelters.
Homeless shelters.
Cleanup projects for parks and roadsides.
Soup kitchens.
Camps.

[Anonymous]

Are you willing to go? Animal adoption events and agencies have volunteers over 14 but parents have to be with them.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know where you live, but Montgomery County has a database you can search by age. If you live elsewhere, they might have a similar database or you might be able to search the Montgomery Co. database for ideas that might be available in your area.

https://montgomerycountymd.galaxydigital.com/need/index/?q=&age=15&agency_id=&min_available_slots=&dateOn=&domain_id=&distance=&zip=&need_impact_area=&need_init_id=&qualification_id=&meta%5B%5D=&meta%5B%5D=&meta%5B%5D=&meta%5B%5D=&allowTeams=&ug_id=&s=1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in touch with a few organizations that use volunteers. They don't accept anyone < 18 yo, however.

I would appreciate any recommendations this group could provide -- such that my 15-yo could volunteer. This is not for service hours. Just a request she made.

Library has already been covered.
Check out local boy and girl scout troops for any volunteers needed for their projects.
Animal shelters.
Homeless shelters.
Cleanup projects for parks and roadsides.
Soup kitchens.
Camps.

None of these places will allow under-18 volunteers for liability purposes, except for very limited programs at animal shelters where the kids are not able to touch the animals and the animals can't touch (bite, claw, etc) them.

[Anonymous]

Search volunteer Arlington or volunteer Fairfax, if in nova. Those sites allow you to filter by age.

[Anonymous]

Also the high school often has a list, for nhs service hours.

[Anonymous]

Ask your HS. Unfortunately with legal considerations, it's harder and harder to find orgs willing to allow kids to do too much.