Where can high schoolers earn volunteer hours in Orlando?

By: Kelly Trace

It's that time of year again when all of you high schoolers can volunteer your services just in time to pick up a few of those high level scholarships requiring volunteer hours. Think outside of the box and I'm sure you will come up with your own ideas, but here are a few places that would love to see your smiling face and likely welcome your volunteering spirit.

Community Events
Most towns or cities host some sort of walk or benefit for a worthy cause. Some are for raising awareness, others are for raising funds. Each event runs smoothly because of the efforts of volunteers. Check out your local newspaper for upcoming events and give them a call. They will be happy to get another volunteer.

Animal Shelters

Check with your local animal shelter of S.P.C.A. There are always animals in their care and most times they are overwhelmed, overworked and could use your help with feeding, walking or just loving these dogs and cats.

Food Banks
Find out where the food banks are located and stop by to offer your help. They could be in need of your assistance in sorting food or deliveries to homebound recipients. Perhaps, they need help packing groceries up for customers or cleaning up at the end of the day.

Tutoring other students
It is amazing how many children could use your expert knowledge of school subjects. Offer your tutoring skills to the neighborhood elementary or middle schools. You have at least one subject that you really good at and this could be the one that a child struggles with.

Nursing Homes

This is a good volunteer opportunity for you, especially if you enjoy hanging out with those that would love your company. Older folks love the youth and would welcome your time to sit and read to them or even play games. It's a perfect match.

Have other ideas? Send them to me at kellyanntrace at gmail dot com.

Kelly

6 Volunteer Opportunities that Suit Your Skill Set

By: Kelly Trace

It's true that few things in life are more rewarding than giving back. Now, imagine the sense of satisfaction you get when you lift your violin to your chin, slide into the gently worn leather seat of your favorite car, or head off, beaming broadly, to your day job. Combine the two, and you'll have a small glimpse into how incredible it feels to use your innate skills, talents, and abilities to help others change their lives, or, perhaps even better, smile a little bigger.

1. Hairdresser/Barber – If you're skilled at clipping and cutting, use your dexterous digits to help groom others for success. Donate time at a shelter to prepare people to re-enter the work force, visit a nursing home or retirement center to give the ladies a beauty boost, or give a quick crop to cancer patients who can't travel to the salon for a snip.
2. Animal Lovers – Animal shelters are almost always shorthanded, leaving our four-legged furry friends cooped up and hungry for love. Spend a few mornings a week getting the animals out of their kennel and into the sunshine for some exercise and a whole lot of pets.
3. Road Warrior – If you're most at home in the driver's seat, you can satisfy both your need for (safe) speed and your philanthropic yearnings by volunteering your services transporting the elderly and infirm to the grocery store, doctor's office, or senior center.
4. Musician – Music is a universal language we can all understand. Heal and impart happiness by playing a few tunes at a local nursing home, visit a children's hospital and lead a sing along, or teach free group music classes in lower income areas, expose a group of kids to the arts in a way they might never experience otherwise.
5. Outdoorsman/Eagle Scout/Park Ranger – A large percentage of inner city kids grow up with little first-hand knowledge about the world outside of the concrete jungle they live in. Expose them to the beauty of nature and a world beyond apartment buildings and car exhaust by organizing hiking trips or camp outs. Aside from a getting a chance to enjoy the wide open spaces, kids will also get to learn things like sustainability, botany, fishing, wildlife, and survival skills.
6. Bookworms/Librarians – Inside a book's cover are countless reasons to dream. Prompt a little imagination and put a book in the hands of those who may need an escape the most. Encourage friends and family to donate gently used book and magazines, then take your portable collection around to those who aren't mobile enough themselves to get to the library.

In a thriving city like Orlando, there are endless opportunities to give back to the community that has already given you so much. No matter how you choose to volunteer, using your skills to brighten someone's day is a winning situation for all involved.

Kelly

5 Reasons You Should Give Back

By: Kelly Trace

I don't really ever need a reason to volunteer. I'm such a sucker, and by that I mean that I usually cave after the first ask... but I do it because it makes me feel good (and with this head cold, I'm thinking a volunteer sesh is in order as soon as I'm a little better!). And over the years of volunteering, I've started to realized that I do it for more than just "feeling good." and I thought these might be helpful to other people looking for reasons to volunteer. Below you'll find five reasons why you should volunteer other than "It's good for you" and "You get a chance to give back to the community." 


1. You can gain professional career experience.
We're in the middle of a huge learning economy. Gen-Yers are learning constantly and have become very competitive in the job market. By volunteering your time to an organization, you can sharpen your skillz (yup, with a z) and help out a non-profit at the same time.

2. It saves resources. 
The value just ONE HOUR of volunteering saves an organization is $22.14 as stated by the IRS in 2012. There are some employees, upper management even, at non-profits I work with that don't even make that much. That tells you how valuable you can be as a volunteer to an organization.

3. It brings people together.
When you volunteer, you meet people from all kinds of different backgrounds. Who knows, maybe you can even learn a few words in a new language or find out something about a particular culture you never knew. 

4. It shows you go beyond what is required.
By volunteering with organizations, it shows potential or current employers that you're willing to do more than is required of you. 

5. It fights stress.
Group volunteer work can help reduce stress and gives you a greater sense of meaning. Anytime you get the opportunity to change your perspective even the slightest bit, you're giving your body the chance to reduce stressors and give you back control. Research also shows that donating money to organizations has similar effects. Companies could take note of this and have a volunteer day where employees get an afternoon off early to volunteer with their favorite organization. This invites them to come back the next day renewed and ready for work.


What is your reason?

Kelly