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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There are many oppertunities to pull invasive plants and the like. Check with the Fairfax County Parks and Rec. Maybe ask a local Cub Scout Pack or Troop or a Girl Scout Troop, they tend to volunteer for these type of thing. Look at food banks that could use help with collection and distribution of food.[/quote]

There are local cleanup days, both for pulling out invasive plants in parks, and for general cleanup. Get online and find those, OP. Be aware, they're only held a few times each year so check now, so you don't miss them.

It's not that big a deal to organize a simple food drive to contribute to a food bank (the student can email friends/relatives/people at their house of worship if you do that, etc. and then you drive them to collect donations folks leave for them on the front porch or whatever). Food banks are in GREAT need of donations. Food for Others is one, in the Merrifield area near Vienna, if you're in VA, but please check their website first to see what they need; it's not helpful to any food bank to donate random items, they'll tell you what the greatest need is. Food for Others also used to do "Power Packs" of specific foods that they distribute to kids through schools, and both our Girl Scout troop and our church have packed many Power Packs and taken them to Food for Others over the years. I'm sure other food banks will be glad to get food donations too.

My DD was in Girl Scouts and we are active in our church so those provided a lot of ways to do service time. Sometimes the student really does have to make the volunteering happen--it's not easy to walk in and do volunteering at established places like shelters or soup kitchens because, well, they often want people over a certain age. But students can organize good, simple volunteering like clean-up days or food collection etc. It's good for MS-age kids to do something that gets them outside their heads and reminds them there are others less fortunate than they are whom they should help when they can. 
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It’s easy for you to say bc your family is already involved with organizations that do service, so it would be easy to arrange volunteer opportunities for you daughter. Please understand there are families that aren’t involved and therefore don’t have the connections. Families who are struggling to make ends meet and don’t have the time on the weekends to shuttle their kids to volunteer. Or need their kids to watch younger kids. Forcing all families to volunteer is unnecessary, inequitable, and ridiculous.[/quote]

Yes, our family was involved in organizations and that helped. But I did note that there are park department clean-up days (open to anyone at all). I also said that organizing a food drive is a thing almost anyone can do. WE did it via church and scouting but that does not mean ONLY groups are welcome to do this. Sorry if it came off as only organized group activities but that is not what I"m saying.

As for "shuttling kids to volunteer" please take a look at other posts here about volunteer opportunities that take place at school, in school, and after school. No extra shuttling involved.

I know one kid who organized a food drive and people dropped food at her home, which she sorted and took to a local food bank--a single trip for her parents. (and she wasn't doing it through any other group or organization.)

I doubt any of that will change your mind since you think volunteering shouldn't be part of school requirements at all, but I wanted to clarify that though our DC was involved in organizations, there are other ways for kids this age to volunteer. [/quote]

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