How to Encourage a Teen to Volunteer

There are many clubs and organizations for teens that place an emphasis on the importance of charity work. Many people find volunteering to be as rewarding to them as it is to those they're helping. If you encourage your teens to get involved as a volunteer, you'll be helping them learn valuable life lessons and develop skills that will serve them well as adults. Most teens will wind up enjoying the opportunity; they just need a little push to get started.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start with assessing your teen's interests. He's more likely to stick with a volunteer program if it's centered around something he's concerned about. Forcing him into helping with a charity or project he finds boring is a sure path to failure.

2. Lead by example and it will come naturally to your kids. There's no better way to get teens involved in volunteering than to be a volunteer yourself. Involve your kids in some family projects and then as they get older they'll find some of their own.

3. Begin with minimal commitment and then slowly take on bigger projects after sparking your teen's interests. Rather than jumping right into volunteering several hours every week, spend one Saturday a month in a soup kitchen or at a local animal shelter. Your kids will begin to appreciate the value of volunteering and will want to start to do more.

4. Show your teen the cost of a college education and explain how scholarships can make a difference in helping her get into the school of her choice. Being involved in community service not only looks good on scholarship applications but college applications as well.

5. Get your kids involved in a local Interact group. Interact is a club supported by Rotary International designed for kids ages 14-18. Rotary is all about community service projects at a local and international level. Their club can choose the local projects they want to work on and at the same time take part in international projects with Interact clubs all over the world.

Tips & Warnings

• Invite your child's best friend to join him in a volunteer project. It's always more fun to do things with friends rather than going it alone.
• Volunteering as a family not only teaches kids the importance of serving others but gives you time together that you will cherish.