How Volunteer Work for Teens Works

There are thousands of nonprofits in the United States, and many will happily allow teen volunteers. One way to find an appropriate program is simply to call a charity in which you're interested. They almost certainly have some task with which you can help.

您可能不需要比当地的教会更远。许多教堂提供soup kitchens，社区清理日，社区教育，支持小组和其他外展计划。同样，您的学校或医院可能会有可以使用额外手的计划。如果您是志愿服务的新手，那么此类程序可以提供一种在熟悉的环境中简化志愿工作的方法。

如果您不确定要与哪个非营利组织交谈，请考虑要有所作为的领域。流行选择包括动物福利,饥饿和贫穷, education,environmentalism，与歧视和偏见，人权，疾病宣传和教育，救灾和政治作斗争的工作。组织Do Something按社会变革区域对青少年志愿者计划进行分类 - 您可能可以在您附近找到一个程序[来源：Do Something]。

Another option is to talk to local arts nonprofits. Many orchestras, choirs and theater companies operate as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, and they almost always have extra work to do. They may not have a volunteer program in place (although some larger organizations do), but they could offer internships that work much the same way. You'll likely be able to learn about how nonprofit organizations work -- and you may get to see some wonderful art.

Finally, if you can't find an organization that matches what you want to do, try starting your own! Round up a few like-minded friends, research the problem you want to solve and take action. Web sites such asIdealist提供有关启动志愿者计划的广泛信息，包括青少年的在线讨论小组[来源：Idealist]。Do Something is one of many programs that offer grants to teen start-up organizations [source: Do Something].

在下一页上，我们将探讨志愿工作的一些好处。

The benefits of volunteer work -- for anyone, of any age -- are virtually endless. Volunteer work expands your understanding of other people's lives. It gives you a new view of the world and the problems within it; it also shows you how hard people will work to solve those problems. There's no better cure for the blues than helping someone who's worse off than you are. It seems paradoxical, but volunteer work amid the most severe social problems can often be an abiding source of personal hope.

对于青少年来说，志愿服务有额外的奖金。它在大学申请中看起来很棒，有时甚至使您有资格获得某些奖学金援助或经济援助。重复或敬业的志愿者工作表明，您不仅仅是为了加强应用程序而参加活动 - 您实际上在乎改变世界。这证明了您的角色，没有标准化的测试分数可以重复。

志愿服务也可以增强您的简历。它经常教您新技能。您可能会学习一种新语言或新的计算机程序。几乎可以肯定，您会学到一些人际交往能力，并且您可能会在办公室日常运作方面接受一些现场培训。志愿服务后，您可以申请具有一些可证明的动手经验的工作。

志愿服务还为您提供了结识否则可能不会遇到的人的机会，并将您的社交团体扩展到学校的墙壁之外。志愿服务倾向于将志趣相投的人聚集在一起，许多人在志愿组织中建立了终身友谊。

当然，志愿服务的最佳好处是知道您在社区中有所作为。有没有比知道您改变世界变得更好的感觉了吗？

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