TEENS IN ACTION
Volunteering Resources
and Go-to Sites for Getting Involved

Cool People Care
The motto of Cool People Care is "Saving the World, Five Minutes at a Time." Check the Partners link for a U.S. map showing cities with Cool People Care events, including volunteer opportunities. There are also ideas on the home page for making a difference in five minutes - and what else you can do if you have longer to give.

On Your Feet Project
This national nonprofit works to encourage young people to engage in community service and activism. Currently, there are chapters in five major cities: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Check out the Boston home page (www.oyfp.org/BOS) for a listening preview of "Rock On Your Feet," OYFP's first-annual charity concert, on April 10.

Youth Service America
This serving-learning site offers information on special events for volunteering. A newly launched initiative for this election year is ServiceVote 2008. Visit www.servicevote.org/ to learn about the ServiceVote Challenge. It asks young people to choose an issue you care about and then develop an action plan to address and solve it through community service, civic participation, and political engagement.

Volunteers of America
If your community is one of the 400 in 44 states where Volunteers of America operates programs for those in need, then you can find many ways to get involved to help. Volunteers of America is a nonprofit, faith-based organization that serves more than 2 million people nationwide. Volunteers of America also partners with the Major League Baseball Players Trust on the Action Team national youth volunteer program. Visit the Volunteers of America national site to investigate volunteer opportunities in your area.

VolunteerMatch
Did you make a resolution to volunteer more this year? VolunteerMatch promises to be your "resolution solution." This easy-to-use site connects volunteers with volunteer opportunities. You can select an area of interest - such as volunteering with children, animals, environmental causes and many more - and specify the distance from your area. Then type in your zip code for a list of local groups requesting volunteers. Or find online volunteering opportunities by choosing "Virtual" for your search.

Best Buddies International
Best Buddies works to help people with intellectual disabilities by promoting friendships between disabled and non-disabled peers. This nonprofit organization was founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver in 1989. (His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is the founder of the Special Olympics.) There are programs for high schools as well as middle schools and colleges. Buddies can be matched locally for one-on-one activities. There is also an e-Buddies program that connects students for online sharing. Visit the home page and access the "High Schools" information to find out more about the program, including how to start a Best Buddies chapter in your school.

Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly
Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly (LBFE) welcomes volunteers who want to help and befriend the elderly. Its motto is "flowers before bread" - which emphasizes the group's focus on being friends to the elderly as well as helping with basic needs. Among the Little Brothers' activities are special parties for elderly members and volunteers, to bring seniors together for social activities. There are currently Little Brothers chapters in the following locations: Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati; Houghton County, Michigan; Miami; Omaha; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul). Visit the national site to find out more and to get contact information for the city chapters.

Make a Date . . . to Volunteer in March

March: Youth Art Month
Sponsored by the Council for Art Education
Youth Art Month promotes the value of art education for children and teens. Among the activities sponsored by the Council for Art Education to observe the month is a student flag designing contest. Click here to learn more about the contest and other ways to promote art in your community during March. And check with a local arts council or art teachers at your school about Youth Art Month activities that you can help with as a volunteer.

March: Music In Our Schools Month
Sponsored by the National Association for Music Education

This annual month celebrates music in elementary, middle school, and high school programs. Click here for more information, including an activities calendar and a program list for participating in the "World's Largest Concert," a sing-along scheduled for 1:00 P.M. EST on March 13. Volunteer to help with music events planned by your school. Or adapt an idea from the Thornton Academy Action Team in Saco, Maine (see Service in Action). Invite a group of senior citizens to attend a school choir or band concert planned during March. Hold a pre-performance get-together with your senior guests and sit with them during the concert.

March-May: Reading with Kids Challenge
Sponsored by Reading Is Fundamental and US Airways

Got a minute to read with children in a local Head Start or other preschool program? You can be part of a nationwide effort to log in one million minutes of reading with children by May 31, 2008. To register, you must be 18 years or older, so enlist a parent or teacher to complete the official sign-up form. (Registering makes participants eligible to win prizes, including a trip to DisneyWorld.) You can check the minutes read so far on the Million Minute Meter without signing up. For activities to do with children as a literacy volunteer, check the March Reading Activity Calendar (available to download in English or Spanish).
Learn about opportunities for volunteering in a Reading Is Fundamental program.

March-September: Easter Seals "Walk With Me" Fund-raising Walks
Sponsored by Easter Seals Disability Services

Spring walks are getting underway this month - March 8 in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Youngstown, Ohio. Most walks around the country are scheduled for April, May, and June, with a few planned for July and September. Check the event locator and get more information on walking to help children and adults with disabilities.

March 15-17: St. Patrick's Weekend and Day

All those traditional parades and other community activities planned for the weekend before and on St. Patrick's Day can be an opportunity to get involved as a volunteer. Check VolunteerMatch.org for teen volunteers needed for activities near you. Or plan a way to make St. Patrick's Day a "lucky day" for those in need in your community, such as by organizing a weekend yard cleanup for elderly or disabled residents in your neighborhood. You and fellow students can also make St. Patrick's Day a true "green" holiday by volunteering to clean up a park, beach, playground, or other public area.

March 16-22: Poison Prevention Week
Sponsored by the Poison Prevention Week Council

This annual week was declared by Congress and signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Since then, it has helped to reduce children's deaths from poisoning. However, there are still more than two million poison emergencies each year, and most involve young children age 5 and under. So get involved to help spread the word about poison prevention to families. There are 61 Poison Control Centers around the country. Look for one in your area and check for opportunities to volunteer. Or offer to help with Poison Prevention Week activities for a local Head Start or preschool program in your community. Make sure all families know the national poison emergency number: 1-800-222-1222. It works anywhere in the country and connects callers automatically to their nearest Poison Control Center. Visit www.poisonprevention.org for more information and materials, including a downloadable guide, "Clean and Safe in the 21st Century."

March 20: Absolutely Incredible Kid Day
Sponsored by Camp Fire USA

This annual day, always the third Thursday of March, is a letter-writing campaign. The goal is for every child in America to receive a letter explaining what an incredible kid he or she is. Camp Fire USA encourages civic groups and others to get involved to write letters. Volunteer with a local Camp Fire council to help promote the day and write letters to children in your community. Learn more.

Here's how the Action Teams work: Major League Baseball players committed to community service work with Volunteers of America to recruit and help train high school students who are dedicated volunteers and eager to motivate others.

These students become Action Team Captains, who spread the players' message about the importance of community service to teens in their area.

To date, more than 8,000 students have made a difference in their communities through the Action Teams, helping over 38,000 people where they live.

What do Action Team members do? They volunteer in ways their communities need--from assisting in local day care and reading programs, to serving meals in shelters and soup kitchens.

With offices around the country, Volunteers of America connects Action Team students with local programs and people who need the help of energetic teens.