Teen Ink Community Service Awards What do you do to make your community a better place? How has volunteering changed you and the way you view the world? Write an essay describing your experiences and win $100 for yourself and $100 for your favorite charity.
20 Ways for Teenagers to Help This site has 20 suggestions for teens to get involved with community service. If you are trying to brainstorm some ways to help, this is an excellent site for you.
United Way If you want to volunteer, United Way can refer you to opportunities at hundreds of nonprofit agencies in your state. They'll help you find the right match based on your interests, skills and availability.
Youth Build Youth Build helps, with the time and the energy of young people, to rebuild neighborhoods and find housing and employment for those in need. This group is nationwide.
Activism 2000 Project A national clearinghouse which encourages youth to participate in public policy decision-making on health, educational, environmental, crime and other community problems.
America's Second Harvest The largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a national network of over 200 food banks and food-rescue programs.
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Learn about the pet adoption process and how to care for your pet. You can also learn what this organization does to help out animals. Search the National Shelter Directory for volunteer opportunities near you.
Americorps Volunteer with VISTA, NCCC, or one of nearly 1,000 national or local programs. Programs address community needs in education, public safety, human services and the environment.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America A national youth-serving organization based on one-to-one mentoring between an adult volunteer and an at-risk child. Consists of more than 500 agencies in all 50 states.
City Year "Young Enough To Want To Change The World, Old Enough To Do It" - A year-long community-based volunteer program with 13 sites nationwide. Corps members are between the ages of 17-24.
CityCares CityCares national organization includes over 25 city organizations, known as "Cares" or "Hands On" groups. These volunteer programs engage over 200,000 individuals in direct, hands-on service within their local communities each year.
Do Something A national non-profit organization that belives young people have the power to change the world. Sponsors the annual BRICK Award for Community Leadership. Join Do Something today!
Give Five The Give Five Campaign works to raise public awareness about the important role that giving and volunteering play in our communities. Read their tips on giving and volunteering wisely, and get general information on volunteerism.
Habitat for Humanity Brings volunteers and communities together to build affordable housing. Get involved through the Campus Chapters & Youth Program or the Collegiate Challenge, a weeklong service program for high school and college students.
Helping.org An easy-to-use, one-stop online resource designed to help people find volunteer and giving opportunities in their own communities and beyond.
Idealist Find 20,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 140 countries, which you can search by name, location or mission. Includes job and internship listings, as well as volunteer opportunities in the US and abroad.
Impact A nonprofit deciated to helping people get involved in their community. Includes Volunteermatch
Junior Achievement Teaches youth essential lessons about building careers and valuing free enterprise system. Students can participate as members of this national program or get involved as volunteers.
Literacy Volunteers of America A national network of local volunteer literacy programs that assist adults and their families to acquire literacy skills through professionally trained and managed volunteer tutors.
Make A Difference Day Look around your community. Are people hungry, homeless, ill or illiterate? Are parks or schools dirty or neglected? No matter where you live, there's a nearby need. Each year, millions of Americans roll up their sleeves to help others.
March of Dimes: WalkAmerica The March of Dimes' biggest fund-raiser, WalkAmerica, supports lifesaving research and community programs that save babies from birth defects, low birthweight and infant death. Annual walk takes place in 1,400 communities in all 50 states.
National Exchange Club Working together to make our communities better places to live through programs of service in Americanism, Community Service, Youth Activities, and the Prevention of Child Abuse.
National Youth Leadership Council The National Youth Leadership Council's mission is to build vital, just communities with young people through service-learning.
Nonprofit Career Network Check out this site's Volunteer Section, which includes a listing of organizations across the country seeking volunteers and/or interns.
Oxfam An international organization dedicated to creating lasting solutions to hunger, poverty and social injustice. Search their site to find out about volunteering opportunities near you.
Points of Light Foundation Service is a powerful tool for connecting young people to their communities, and a win-win opportunity for young people, agencies and communities.
SERVEnet SERVEnet is your one-stop portal for information and resources on service and volunteering. Post and find volunteer and career opportunities, service news, events and other resources.
Teens, Crime and the Community A national program about teens getting involved in crime prevention to make themselves safer and their communities stronger.
The MS Walk Sponsored by The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The annual MS Walk is offered in 700 cities across the nation, and is for both walkers and volunteers.
The National Mentoring Partnership A national organization working to expand mentoring opportunities for young people. The "Find a Mentor" section outlines the importance of mentoring, and how and where you can find a mentor.
YMCA of America The largest not-for-profit community service organizations in America, working to meet the health and social service needs of men, women and children. On their site, search for a Y near you where you can volunteer.
Youth as Resources A community-based program that provides small grants to young people to design and carry out service projects that address social problems and contribute to significant community change.
Youth Service America (YSA) is a resource center and the premier alliance of 200+ organizations committed to increasing the quantity and quality of opportunities for young Americans to serve locally, nationally, or globally.
Youth Venture By earning community respect, teens can transform themselves and society.
Youth Volunteer Corps of America Projects include tutoring young children, visiting lonely older people, building homes for the homeless, putting on skits for children, etc. Map of current site, ways you can start your own.
Got a favorite site you want to share? We want to hear about it!
Please contact us at Resources@TeenInk.com with your suggestions and feedback, or to let us know if a link is incorrect or broken.
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