I’ve found 12 & under with parents volunteer opportunities, like remove invasive plants and packing food, from volunteer Fairfax. I’ve had DC take a trash bag and pick up trash on the trail while we were walking our dog ( no service point). Your DC may be able to volunteer at senior center like playing music instruments ( DCs did once without service points), also something like teach a neighbor’s child how to swim or tutor math.

Anonymous wrote:Invasive species removal. Just google for groups in your area. They usually meet every weekend.

In some places, there’s a group at some park almost every day of the week. If you’re in/near Arlington, The Clothesline lets kids that are sort clothes.

^its a Continuing Care Retirement Community and they have different levels of care, but the kids will primarily be working with the long-term care residents (and some assisted living).

The Village at Rockville has a volunteer program for 13+; parents don’t need to be present. The kids bring the residents to and from activities (push wheelchairs) and assist them with certain activities, like Bingo, tea parties, holiday events, etc. Some kids play board games one-on-one with residents, or play their musical instruments, if they are so inclined. They can get SSL hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the bozo that suggested homeless shelters? The rate of mental illness and substance abuse among people who are homeless is astronomically high and you think a) teens should be working with them and b) you’d want your kid there? It’s adults in pretty much the most rock bottom hopeless vulnerable place one can be and you think a 15 year old girl should be helping out…?

If you hate the homeless, don't send your boys to Gonzaga.

It's not hating the homeless to believe that shelters serving homeless men aren't the places for unsupervised teenage girls. The fact that Gonzaga provides structured supervised opportunities for teenage boys, a very different situation, has nothing to do with whether homeless shelters are a good place for OP's daughter.

Most churches (mosques, temples, synagogues) and charity organizations do it as youth groups. You don't have to be affiliated or do any religious activities, just volunteer work. Google ones near you to see if they've such programs.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Cool! Every one of every age should do it whenever they can, individually or in a group.

PP, I forgot to add, but Alexandria has a volunteer site that you can filter by age also.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Library? Reshelving books

I wonder how many teens know the dewey decimal system or libraries.

You don’t have to know what the numerical codes represent to shelve books, just that the codes progress from smaller numbers to larger.

My mom was my school librarian and she had me shelving books for her in elementary school. I think I started shelving fiction books alphabetically in 1st grade (when she got the job) and non-fiction numerically, according to the Dewey Decimal System, either later that same year or in 2nd grade.

Any teen should be easily trained to shelve books in minutes.