August Snapshot: St. Louis Volunteen
Especially after seeing what 9-year-old Rachel Beckwith did for the nonprofit, Charity: Water, we know that young people can have a huge impact. That’s why for the month of August we’re excited to introduce you to our friend St. Louis Volunteen, a non-profit run for teens, by teens. Simone and Jake Bernstein developed this website at the ages of 17 (Jake) and 19 (Simone).
Their goal? Create an online space for teens to search out volunteer opportunities and get involved in their communities.
How it Works
Teens (ages 10-17) in the St. Louis metropolis are able to search the website via age, category, or take an interest survey to find a volunteer opportunity. These opportunities range from volunteering at senior living centers, to the Red Cross, to animal shelters or libraries. Each option lists an age range, task descriptions, and contact information. All the information your pre-teen or teen needs to start getting involved.
St. Louis Volunteen also organizes an annual spring St. Louis Youth and Family Volunteer Fair and plans their own quarterly youth service projects. They are also currently offering a free tennis clinic for youth on the autism spectrum. And this fall they’re working on a a large-scale 9-11 Park Clean-Up “Serve to Remember” project.
If you’d like to host your own project for the tenth anniversary of 9/11, click here.
I’m not in the area, so what can I do?
Essentially, yes, St. Louis Volunteen is for the teens in the St. Louis metropolis. But if you’re a parent, teacher, youth leader in the area, use their website as a starting point to encourage the teens in your life to begin volunteering. If you’re not in the St. Louis area, why not take the initiative? Start a similar website for teens in your own community or think of other ways to get them involved.
As for Simone and Jake, they are definitely not going to stop with St. Louis. They’re going national. Look for their national site, volunTEENnation.com, launching in October 2011.
We’d love you to share your knowledge with us.
Do you know of other websites/resources dedicated to helping teens volunteer?
