Make a Difference: Put Your Teen Energy and Enthusiasm to Work! by Liz Suneby
“A LT H O U G H T H E W O R L D IS FULL OF SUFFERING, IT IS FULL ALSO O F T H E O V E R C O M I N G O F I T. ” Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) This quote from Helen Keller—author, political activist, lecturer, and the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree—is one of my favorites. It inspires me to take responsibility for repairing the world and it gives me hope that I can make a difference. TeenLife developed this guide to inspire you to make the world a better place and to provide you with practical advice for doing so. If you are not sure where to begin, this guide will help you get going. If you already have ideas, this guide will give you new ones to consider. Lend a hand. It feels good to do good.
WHY COMMIT TO COMMUNITY SERVICE? Many middle and high schools require community service as a condition of graduation. Whether or not your school does, service offers many benefits—to others as well as to yourself.
But, by working with others to help chip away at universal problems, you can have a positive impact on the world, as well.
Accept responsibility as a citizen of the world Whether you choose to focus on people, animals, or the environment, there are countless ways to make a difference. In fact, there are so many problems in the world that it’s natural to question whether you can actually have a positive effect. Don’t get stymied. Accept responsibility for doing your part.
Gain a sense of empowerment Service gives you the chance to develop your leadership, communications, and interpersonal skills, as well as an overall sense of accomplishment. It broadens your worldview and even has the potential to introduce you to career choices.
Appreciate all that you have Make the world a little better Yes, you can single-handedly improve the lives of others. Consider the impact of helping an elderly neighbor who no longer can handle yard work, grocery shopping, or simply reading the Sunday newspaper. Or how you could brighten the days of children in the hospital by making cards, craft kits, and playlists of upbeat tunes. Or the importance of providing essentials to families in need by donating books, school supplies, and clothing to a local shelter. Other issues are too big for any one person to overcome alone, like saving animals from extinction, curing genetic diseases, reversing global warming, or ensuring access to clean water.
As a busy student, it is easy to obsess about the very real pressures you face. But seeing firsthand the challenges others face and the ways people overcome their challenges provides valuable perspective for your own life.
Strengthen your college application In-depth service experiences make you a more multi- dimensional and interesting person and consequently, a stronger candidate for acceptance. College admissions officers see through checklist or superficial involvement, so discover your philanthropic priorities and pursue them with passion.
GETTING STARTED Even if you are committed to the idea of community service, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed about how and where to get started. As anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978) said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Looking Within
Interests & Talents: The best place to start is by looking within—to your interests and talents. Connecting your passions to fixing problems in the world will lead you to ideas in the short-term, and hopefully to a lifelong commitment to social justice and service to others. Think about favorite academic subjects, after-school activities, or issues that you care deeply about. Is reading the way you like to relax? Is speaking Spanish how you like to converse? Does hiking in nature bring you joy? What about making movies on your laptop? Are you happiest when you are playing the piano? Or kicking a soccer ball? Do you have a grandparent with Alzheimer’s disease? A friend with Type 1 diabetes? Do you know someone serving overseas in the military? Take a look at the table on the right to start brainstorming.
STUDENTSforSERVICE teen volunteers help MILLIONTreesNYC plant 20,000 trees in parks throughout New York in one single day. See listing on page 26.
Favorite school subjects: Math, art, biology, chemistry, environmental science, history, foreign languages, English…
Extracurricular interests: Acting, ceramics, band, chorus, dance, team or individual sports, student government, babysitting…
Hobbies/passions: Animals, biking, cooking, travel, crafts, camping, computers/electronics, gardening, movies, photography, yoga…
Universal issues: Education for girls, clean water, global warming, adoption, bullying, eating disorders, depression, domestic violence…
Ways to Help: Once you have a philanthropic focus, there are many ways you can make a difference. You can: Make your voice heard: We live in a democracy where every citizen’s voice counts. When you turn 18 years old you can vote for people whose beliefs are similar to yours to represent your views in town, state, and national government. But you don’t have to wait until you turn 18 to make your voice heard. Make your opinion known to government officials and encourage others to do so as well. Write letters to the editor in local and national publications about issues of concern to you. Spearhead an essay contest at your school with a teacher or administrator as your sponsor.
Volunteer your time: Have you ever heard the expression “Time is money”? There’s no better gift than the gift of your time, effort, and energy. Depending on the opportunity, you can volunteer alone, with a friend, a group, or with a parent or other grown-up. You can work directly with the individuals the non-profit serves, help with administrative duties in the office, clean up or paint, or assist at special events. Try to devote AT LEAST 10 hours of your time to one organization to have more impact. Consider opportunities right at your school, in your community, and/or a summer service opportunity in locations across the country and the world.
Practice deliberate acts of kindness: While deliberate acts of kindness do not qualify for community service hours, it is important to live your life with integrity, compassion, and respect. Perhaps the writer Henry James summed it up best when he proclaimed, “Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”
Collect goods for donation: What do you have that you don’t need anymore, but someone else could use? Go through your closet: what clothes have you outgrown that someone else could wear? How about used sports equipment or books that are in good shape? Think about broadening your reach by collecting items from friends, neighbors, even stores to distribute to others in need.
Looking Outward Raise funds: There are multiple ways to raise funds for donation. You can earn money by charging for your services, such as sorting recyclables and dispensing trash, shoveling snow, babysitting, or fixing computers. Have you ever thought about organizing your own fundraiser, such as a bake sale or carwash? You could participate in a charity run/walk/ readathon and raise money through sponsorships.
Buy items that help others: Another way to raise funds is to purchase from organizations that donate a percent of the money they earn to charity. When you buy these brands of food or clothing, for example, you not only get something you want, but also you help others. Certain web sites and catalogs do the same thing. Look carefully when you go shopping and encourage other people to change the world with a simple purchase!
Identify organizations to support: How can you find national or local organizations that could benefit from your involvement? Start your research right here with the organizations listed in TeenLife’s 2012 Guide to Community Service. Also, speak to as many people as possible about organizations that they know of or are involved with that fit your interests, including your:
• guidance counselor • teachers • parents and other relatives • neighbors • clergy and lay leaders at your house of worship • friends
Clarify community service graduation requirements: Be sure you are aware of all parameters, including:
• number of hours per year or in total • approved activities • approved organizations • forms, signatures, and deadlines for submission
Create a plan: Once you have ideas for what you’d like to do and potential organizations you would like to help, draft an action plan to organize your thinking. Include:
• a succinct overview of the service project • objectives/goals • names and contact information for people you will need to work with • required materials and approximate costs • schedule, noting key milestones and dates • success measurements, including how others and you will benefit
TEEN COMMUNITY SERVICE EXAMPLES These real-life stories illustrate how a few teens have put their various interests and talents to work for others.
High School Girls Focus on Suicide Prevention According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind accidents and homicide, of people aged 15 to 24. While this statistic is startling, it was the personal connection to classmates who had taken their lives that caused Lexy and Jennifer, two high school seniors, to focus on suicide prevention for their community service project. These girls approached a local, family-owned clothing shop in their town with an idea to sell hand-braided bracelets in their store. The shop donated colorful cloth and an assortment of buttons and the girls braided and sold the bracelets in the store. All proceeds were donated to AFSP (www.afsp.org) to support their work in suicide prevention.
Middle School Boys Organize Bone Marrow Registration Drives For people with certain blood cancers or disorders, a bone marrow transplant is the only hope for survival. Saving a life is the ultimate service, and exactly how middle school boys Andrew and Jake wanted to make their mark on the world. Together, and with the help of their mothers, the boys organized two bone marrow registration drives for Gift of Life (www.giftoflife.org) at events in their town. To spread the word, the boys posted fliers around town, and got their local paper to write a story. Thanks to their hard work, 134 people joined the registry.
Schoolmate Gives the Gift of Friendship Sam attends a big public school and realized he never had the chance to interact with any of the kids with special needs
who were in a classroom of their own. So he approached the special needs teacher and together they devised a plan. She paired Sam with a boy with Down syndrome, and the two boys ate lunch together once a week in the school cafeteria for the entire school year. As the year progressed, both boys often brought friends to join them. Over lunch, Sam and his buddy spoke about sports, food, and school and formed a mutually-beneficial friendship.
Math Student Tutors Younger Kids High-school student Lindsay’s favorite subject in school is math. Since middle school, she has been volunteering to tutor elementary school kids in math at a program in Teaneck, New Jersey called Math Adventures and Word Play that offers free access to the entire community. For two hours on Saturdays, Lindsay helps kids complete their homework and study for tests. Many of the students in the program are not able to afford a tutor, which makes it especially rewarding for Lindsay to help other kids understand and enjoy a subject she knows so well.
Actor, Singer, and Musician Shares Love of Music Alex is an actor, singer, and musician, who by seventh grade had credits on stage and TV. Appreciative of the arts education he enjoyed in his own school district, he wanted to help kids in other districts that were not able to offer the same level of opportunities to their students. Alex used the money he earned from his acting jobs to purchase 21 new and used musical instruments (4 guitars, 5 trumpets, 5 clarinets, 6 flutes, and a drum set) and donated them to a performing arts public school in Yonkers, New York. As a high school student, Alex continues to use his creative talents to help others. In addition to performing locally for charitable events, he has traveled to Latin America four times on community service trips and always finds a way to incorporate music, including performing in the local villages where he has lived. Not surprisingly, in college Alex plans to double major in music and Latin American studies in order to make positive change in that part of the world through music, business, and education.
Tennis Enthusiast Raises Money for Multiple Sclerosis Society Jillian, a middle-school tennis player, hosted a parent/child tennis tournament to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, a disease that affects her aunt and grandmother. Jillian got her tennis club to donate the space, local supermarkets and restaurants to donate food, and several
businesses to donate prizes for the winners. Jillian asked people to donate $25 with a check made out directly to Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org). To maximize contributions, she even encouraged non-tennis players to attend to watch some great tennis for a great cause.
Grateful Survivor Cooks for a Cure Hannah, a cancer survivor, cooked up her family's favorite recipe for delicious hot fudge sauce to raise money for the playroom at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at The Dana Farber Cancer Institute (www.jimmyfund.org). After years of making the sauce with her mom to give as holiday gifts, she came up with the idea to sell it instead to raise money for the children's playroom where she had spent many hours during treatment for leukemia. Her mom approached a locally-owned gift shop, and that was where Hannah launched her sales. This first successful retail experience was the beginning of more to come.
NON-PROFITS VALUE TEENS Hear directly from several non-profit executives about their perspectives on teen volunteerism. “We appreciate the incredible energy and enthusiasm of teen volunteers at our annual events such as at our fundraising walk, NAMIWalks (May 12, 2012, Artesani Park, Soldiers Field Road, Boston), and at our Advocacy Day at the State House (April 2, 2012). At our Advocacy Day, teen volunteers interested in government and public policy also get to learn about mental health issues in the state and meet aides to our state’s elected officials.” Cindy Nelson, Volunteer Coordinator, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts (www. namimass.org)—improving the quality of life both for people with mental illnesses and for their families through awareness, advocacy, and support. Adds Nelson, “Here’s my advice to teens—volunteer for an organization or cause that you are truly passionate about. It is important to know yourself—do you want to work with other teens in a group, or are you willing to work alone? Do you need some direction, or can you work independently? What skills do you have—and what volunteer opportunities are a good match?” "Also, be creative! If you can't find a volunteer opportunity that interests you, then write a proposal to an organization that addresses why you value their work, presents how you can help them achieve their mission, outlines the resources you will need (staff assistance, office space, etc.), and the time you are willing to commit,” says Nelson.
“One way teens help Heifer is by writing personalized notes thanking friends for their donation and interest, and informing them of upcoming Heifer events. Donors have expressed their gratitude for a personalized card and how impressed they are that a teen has taken the initiative to get involved,” remarks Rachel, Area Volunteer Coordinator, Eastern MA, Heifer International, Inc. (www.heifer.org)— giving families in 128 countries self-reliance and hope with a source of food rather than short-term relief. “Providing a venue for people of all ages to give back to their communities is central to Cradles to Crayons’ mission. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, so it is important to engage them in high-quality volunteer experiences and leadership programs. We aim to inspire youth to find their passion for helping others and take the lead in creating change." "Teens make a difference every day at Cradles to Crayons. Just this month, a high school student saw our high need for winter coats. She saved up over $500 from her babysitting money to purchase 20 brand-new, high-quality coats. Teens like Karly Oettgen featured on page 21 also shine as volunteers in our Teen Leadership Corps. These students take an entire group of 20-25 volunteers into a project area, give them orientation, and lead the team through a two-hour volunteer shift. These teens have the confidence and initiative to direct adults and peers, answer questions, and ensure that quality work is being done,” explains Ashley Tarbet, Giving Corps Volunteer Manager, Cradles to Crayons (www. cradlestocrayons.org)—providing homeless and low-income children with the essentials they require to thrive: to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. Volunteering in any capacity makes you a better person, inspires you to spread goodwill, and helps you grow in so many ways on a personal level. It is a win win for all involved.
Liz Suneby is the author of books for children and teens, including The Mitzvah Project Book: Making Mitzvah Part of Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah…and Your Life, published by Jewish Lights, and the Children’s Choice award-winning, See What You Can Be: Explore Careers That Could Be For You.