Volunteering Helps Kids Gain Real World Experiences And Better Employbility

aving worked as a citizenship coordinator, I have had the experience of providing volunteering opportunities for students. I strongly feel students should be provided opportunities to volunteer as per their comfort and choice. I have tried to share my experience so that anyone looking to learn about volunteering can benefit from this article.

Volunteering provides many benefits for school students like learning new skills, making new friends, and giving back to the community.

Volunteering can also help students develop necessary life skills, such as teamwork and communication. It can also help them learn about their local community and how to work together to make a difference.

Volunteering is also a great way for students to network with professionals in their field of interest. It can also help them develop leadership skills and learn about different social issues.

As part of one of the school programs I had the responsibility to connect with local organizations and look for volunteering opportunities for them, I contacted various organizations and made several contacts. I am sharing my experience here listing all the details- hope this helps you.

As a school administrator if you are looking for volunteering opportunities for students- there are certain things that you need to keep in mind.

The first step is to let students know that the school would be providing volunteering opportunities so the students can fill out a form sharing their interest areas.

The following are some tips for finding the best volunteering opportunities for students:

1. Talk to students and know their interests. Make a list of the same:

Animal Lovers

Clothes/Book Donation

Hospital Helpers

Beaches and rivers cleanups

Online work like raising money or data collection for organizations

Once you know the number of students interested and their area of interest you can contact the NGOs accordingly.

2. Ask local organizations if they need volunteers. Many organizations, such as hospitals, animal shelters, and soup kitchens, are always in need of help. I realized that NGOs are offering tailor-made volunteering opportunities for students as per their requirements of the students.

Some examples of organizations that offer volunteering work for students

• Goonj
• Blue Cross
• Habitat for Humanity
• Bhumi

3. Map the students to the organizations that offer work according to their liking, but before that students must get an opportunity to have a conversation to understand their timings and work type. The organization may prefer the students to come for longer hours on weekends or 1 or 2 hours on weekdays. Some organizations also offer volunteer cum internship services during summers or winter vacations.

4. Consent from parents is very important before the entire volunteering plan is sketched out, some parents might not be comfortable sending their kids to hospitals for safety reasons.

5. Volunteering opportunities can be created in the school as well like-

1) Canteen- Helping the canteen crew to serve food, help them prepare a menu, help them keep stock of raw ingredients, etc.

2) Library- Shelving books, helping readers in finding the right book, guiding younger children on how to read books.

3) Sports- Organising sports tournaments and managing the events as a volunteer. keeping a stock of the sports goods etc, ensuring all the sports gear is back in the sports room after the games are over

4) Social media- Updating social media handles of the school with pictures/videos of various events happening in the school. This is a great opportunity for students who love photography and videography.

5) Events- Helping out in various events organized by the school, like cultural shows, Farewells, Annual Day, etc.

6) Education- Teaching underprivileged children in nearby areas or working with NGOs providing education support to street kids. We once organized a session for school helpers- where the volunteers took English classes for the school helpers.

7) Research- Students can do online research on topics related to the school curriculum and then present their findings in a Powerpoint or any other creative way to help the school administration implement new ideas in school.

8) Website- Maintaining the website of the school by uploading pictures, videos, articles, etc. This is a great opportunity for students who are into web designing, coding, graphic designing, etc.

9) School garden- Help the school gardeners after school to water the plants, pick the weed out, plant new seeds, put up names of the trees and flowers, take the younger kids for a garden walk, and educate them about biodiversity, seasonal fruits, and flowers, etc. If the school garden is big enough students can come forward to create a stock of the produce – organize farm sales, make jams, pickles from the produce, and sell.

10) Volunteer to make the school green – This is a great opportunity to involve students in the green revolution by thinking of ways to recycle, reuse and minimize schools consumption.

11) Make supplement materials for teachers- Help the teachers to make materials for classes like charts, posters, etc. that are mostly required for younger students. Help the teachers in decorating the classes, help them make worksheets, etc. volunteer for the special ed. department in the school to help them design worksheets, etc. to suit individual needs.

12) Volunteer for school dispersal – Older kids can help the younger kids during the dispersal by helping them reach their respective buses and helping the teachers to make the dispersal time smoother.

13) Volunteering with school counselors- Students can volunteer with the school counselors to become mates with new students or students who might need buddies on campus, volunteers can learn in detail about mental health and create awareness about mental health issues and it can be handled.

14) Volunteer for the school Nurse- Volunteers can help the school nurse to spread information about first-aid, precautions to be taken for communicable diseases, etc.

Volunteering activities to keep the school campus green

i) Old book collection- As students move to the next grade there are plenty of books and notebooks that are not going to be used in the next year, the school also ends up with big piles of paper. Volunteers can work together to collect the papers in a storeroom and contact paper-making companies to give new papers in exchange for that.

ii) Old Clothes, toys, shoe collection- Volunteers can work to contact the orphanages and shelter homes to know their requirements of clothes, stationery, etc. Festivals are a great time to collect unused toys, and clothes from students as most of them buy new things. Donating things that they no longer need is a great way to help children who might need clothes, toys, shoes, etc.

iii) Recycling- This is a great opportunity for students to learn about the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). Volunteers can work to segregate the waste at the source and set up recycling bins for paper, plastic, metal, and glass. They can also make school charts and posters to spread awareness about the importance of recycling.

iv) Clean Campus and Washrooms- Schools get a lot of issues about keeping the campus clean, volunteers can take charge to ensure that students do not litter on the campus and some of them can take charge of washrooms to ensure less wastage of water and tissue papers by creating awareness and doing the regular inspection.

v) Audit Schools- Another area for volunteering is where students can help the school by auditing the electric consumption, and water consumption. Find solutions by suggesting water-saving faucets, making the AC water outlets drain in the garden, recycling water used in washrooms, etc.

In my experience, I have also seen that many students prefer to come up with their ideas when it comes to volunteering.

Here are some ideas for students who would like to start their volunteering services:

Baking- Some of the students might choose to bake for kids in the orphanages, they also bake to generate money to donate to charity.

Playing Music/ Talk buddies- Some students might choose to play music for people in old age homes and become their talk buddies because generally, people in hospitals and old age homes are lonely.

Selling Art and Craft- Some students might choose to sell their art and craft and create funds for a charity or spend time teaching art to kids in orphanages.

Teach their classmates- Some students might volunteer to take classes for their classmates who might need help in certain subjects, this is preferred by many students.

Teach any skill like dance/or any instrument- Some students volunteer to teach dance, robotics, coding, or any musical instrument to those who might be interested in learning.

This is a great way to become an independent course instructor and learn something by teaching others.

There are many opportunities for students to volunteer, and the list mentioned above is just a glimpse. The important aspect is that these activities help in creating a sense of community and social responsibility in students at an early age. When young people learn to give back to society, it becomes a part of their character and they grow up to be responsible citizens.

An important step:

Students volunteering outside the school or on campus must have a platform to discuss their experiences and share their stories with others in their class, they should be able to share in writing or by talking about it during the assembly. This helps other students in deciding to volunteer and also understand the benefits of volunteering.

Volunteers should be appreciated for their contribution, in many schools a certificate of appreciation is given to the volunteers. This helps in increasing the number of students who want to volunteer and also feel appreciated for their work.

The benefits of volunteering are immense, and students who volunteer during their school years reap these benefits. Some of the key benefits are:

1. Develops leadership skills: Volunteering allows students to develop leadership skills as they take on new responsibilities and learn how to manage and organize events or activities.

2. Helps build character: Volunteering teaches students the value of teamwork and how to work together for a common goal. It also helps them learn how to be responsible and reliable, as they are often given tasks to complete on their own.

3. Teaches empathy and compassion: By working with people from different backgrounds and cultures, students learn to empathize with others and develop compassion for those who are less fortunate than them.

4. Enhances academic skills: Volunteering allows students to gain hands-on experience in various fields, which can help them excel in their studies. It also teaches them important life skills such as time management and organizational skills.

5. Helps prepare for the workforce: Volunteering provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills and gain experience in the workforce. This can help them stand out from the crowd when they enter the job market.

6.Students having community experience have better chances to be accepted when applying for colleges but the colleges need – detailed experience to know the kind of work the student has done and feedback from the organizations as well.

7. Improves mental and physical health: Volunteering is a great way for students to stay active and healthy. It also helps relieve stress and anxiety and promotes a sense of well-being.

8. Enriches the community: When students volunteer their time and energy to help others, it enriches the community as a whole. It creates a sense of contentedness and fosters goodwill between people.

There are many ways in which school students can volunteer and help the school. The opportunities are endless and it solely depends on the creativity of the volunteers and their willingness to help. Schools should encourage their students to volunteer as it helps in inculcating a sense of responsibility and builds character. It also teaches them how to work in a team and develop leadership skills. Most importantly, it helps students in getting to know their school better and makes them feel more connected to it.

Volunteering is a great way for students to give back to their community and learn new skills that will benefit them both academically and professionally. Schools should encourage their students to volunteer and provide them with opportunities to do so.

You can read more here https://www.joinprisma.com/blog/service-learning-projects-for-kids

Do let me know if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer.