As summer rolls around, many think of their vacations, days off for relaxation, weekend events and other summer fun. While all of the exciting activities many plan for the summer are worthy of anticipation, summer is also a great time to think about how you can give back to your community by getting involved.
Often for both high school and college, students are required to volunteer to rack up community service hours and give their time to the great good rather than slumping behind a computer all summer long. Many companies or corporations also allow their employees designated hours or event PTO to volunteer outside of their career. Apart from the conventional community clean ups and monetary donations, here are a few great ways you can get involved this summer!
Summer Camps
You don’t have to be a kid to go to camp. In fact, many camps run solely by the power of adult volunteers. Summer camp is a great way for kids to get outside of their comfort zones, make friends and experience life outside of technology and their home. When you become a volunteer at a summer camp, you open the opportunity to impact the lives of the campers in a positive way. Most kids that go to summer camp are only there for one week, so if you volunteer your time, that one week can have a lasting impact throughout the rest of the campers’ lives.
DoSomething
With the primary focus on young adults, this non-profit organization is a great way for young people to volunteer specifically in the field of what they’re passionate about. Nearly 5.5 million young people have come together at DoSomething.org to change the world. Through campaigns such as “Teens for Jeans” and “Smiles for Soldiers”, this group has shown proof of the great impact you can make when you join a good cause.
Local Libraries
There are many ways you can volunteer at your local library:
- Volunteer to read to kids
- Teach an adult to read
- Tutor children learning to read
- Teach a fun lesson
- Start a program for kids
While these are just a few options, you can get creative and ask the librarian for ideas or where they might need help. Public libraries are free for public use and often lack the budget they need. That’s what makes volunteers are vital to libraries.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) is a non-profit organization that matches an adult volunteer (the “bigs”) with a child (the “littles”) in need of a mentor. Big brothers and big sisters are the best mentors and provide littles they’re matched with an outlet. They’re someone to talk to, learn from and simply walk through life with. BBBS encourages bigs and littles to participate in fun activities and build lasting, impactful relationships to change a child’s life for the better.