Volunteering is a great way for teenagers to make a difference and meet new people. There are many different types of volunteer opportunities for teens available. Here are a few volunteer opportunities that you could enoourage your teen to take up.

Help a local food bank

Food banks always welcome donations and new volunteers. They provide perfect volunteering opportunities for those who are interested in helping the homeless. Your teen would he involved in anything, from preparing meas to working behind the scenes to repackage donated food items, serving food, and carrying boxes.

Help at a soup kitchen

A soup kitchen is one of the places where the hungry can get free or affordable meals (usually soup and bread). Most soup kitchens run primarily on donations and the generosity of people. As a soup kitchen volunteer, your child may be made to clean the tables and utensils(餐具), help distribute food, cook food, and more.

Volunteer for Meals on Wheels

By volunteering for Meals on Wheels, your teen will deliver nutritious meals to the elderly or the disabled. It’s perfect for teens who have just received their driving license and love any reason to get behind the wheel! They can make a massive impact in a short amount of time. Alternatively, your teen can also volunteer in their kitchen and prepare meals for delivery. With a simple gesture, your teen can bring millions of smiles to people’s lives.

Work with Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to build or improve a place that someone could call home. Besides helping the community, your teen will learn valuable skills such as repairing, fundraising, painting, and building. You can sign them up for long-term projects or a one-time program.

Our non-profit organization had just received a large donation of clothing. As three of us walked home for dinner, we saw a woman begging by the bridge. She was old and had no legs. She shivered in her thin sari(纱巾), which offered little protection from the cold wind. Her hunger forced her to beg. My friends and I looked at each other: here was a perfect opportunity, but first it was necessary to do a little bit of research.

We went up to the woman to hear her story. She spoke very little due to her poor health and fear, but we learned enough. She lived alone in her small home. She had no one to look after her and ate whatever people gave her. The desire to help her grew stronger. After speaking to her, we headed back to get something to keep her warm. Finding the perfect sweater, we set out again to see the woman. This time, the fear was replaced by distrust as we presented her with the sweater.

“Are you robbers?” she asked. “You came here before and are back so suddenly with clothes.” I was surprised by her principles. Even in her state, she did not want to wear anything that was stolen and gained through ill means.

“No, we are out doing service work.” Her shoulders relaxed a bit. I then helped her put the sweater on and said, “Please don’t sell the sweater.” “I swear, I won’t,” she said.

A week later, I was out walking with my mother to get some food when I saw the woman again. This time the picture was a little different. She was still begging, but with the gray sweater wrapped around her body and a smile on her face when she saw us. I guarantee that the smile on my face was bigger.

What he believes was Philadelphia’s first 5K Earth Day Trash Walk came to Terrill Haigler in a moment of morning inspiration.

One day, Haigler, better known as “Ya Fav Trashman” on social media, thought about how he could combine trash pickup, helping the homeless, and a bit of fitness. Coinciding with Earth Day weekend, the event hopefully would bring volunteers from across the city to walk through Kensington, a Philly neighborhood suffering from drug and homelessness issues, and clean up while bathed in the sun.

The idea turned into reality on Saturday morning, when 200 volunteers picked up 8 tons of trash, collected 503 bags of litter, and distributed 200 hot meals to those experiencing homelessness in Kensington, all while laughing and smiling along the 3.2-mile route.

Volunteers, wearing running sneakers and carrying trash pickers and bags, walked, jogged, and skipped through the streets while cleaning up. As part of the event, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society had pledged (承诺) to plant a tree in a black or brown community over the next five years for every bag of trash collected. Haigler was “ecstatic (狂喜的)” to be able to tell the society that more than 500 trees would be planted.

Saturday’s walk is the latest in Haigler’s constant push to raise awareness of what sanitation workers (环卫工人) do to try to keep Philly streets clean and to help his city in creative ways.

Haigler first came to fame during the pandemic, when garbage began to pile up as sanitation workers called out sick due to COVID-19. On his account, he posted videos and host live sessions to teach residents about his job and all its difficulties.

Soon, Haigler turned from spreading awareness to community activism, holding a food drive for frontline workers during the pandemic and raising $32,000 to purchase protective equipment for his team. In 2021, Haigler stepped down from his job and now runs a nonprofit to bridge the gap between the community and the city’s sanitation team.