The United Way of Greater St. Louis Volunteer Center answers the question, “Where do you find local volunteer opportunities?”
It’s a question I’ve had many times over the years. When my kids were younger, we were in search of family-friendly volunteering opportunities, and as they’ve gotten older, we have sought ways for them to volunteer on their own.
Whether your kids need community service hours or your family is looking for ways to give back, finding organizations in need of help can require some serious research. Which is why the United Way of Greater St. Louis Volunteer Center website exists! United Way of Greater St. Louis provides funding and support for over 160 nonprofits and helps over one million people each year. They operate the nation’s second-oldest Volunteer Center, now celebrating 91 years, and are recognized as the region’s foremost experts in volunteer management.
1. Types of Volunteer Opportunities
When you open the Volunteer Center website, you can immediately find the volunteer experience you’re looking for. If you don’t have a specific goal in mind, you can simply search for ways to help that are close to home. Whether you are volunteering on your own or with a group of family members or friends, you can search by those criteria. Do you want to find a long-term opportunity where you can regularly commit time, or do you want a one-time commitment? The Volunteer Center is as flexible as your schedule and needs!
2. Find Your Passions
When it comes to volunteering, nothing compares to finding a passion and dedicating yourself to it. Especially for youth and teens, bridging passions with service helps make giving back more enriching. There are so many categories to choose from on Volunteer Center, including working with animals, arts and culture, the environment, homelessness, older adult services and more. Encourage your teen to search within areas they’re passionate about and encourage them to try something different, to spark a new passion!
3. Volunteer from Home
We all know there are not enough hours in the day, and while we’d like to volunteer, we just can’t figure out how to fit it in. Volunteer Center has a list of ways you can give back on your own time from home. Whether you write letters to seniors, prepare sack lunches, assemble hygiene kits, or organize a clean-up day in the community, there are so many ways to help on your own time!
4. Volunteering as a Family
Volunteering as a family is a great way to instill empathy and a sense of community in your children. Finding ways to help with younger kids can sometimes be a challenge, which is why the Volunteer Center provides ways that everyone can help! Under their Youth, Teen, and Families tab, simply select the age of your youngest family member, and you’ll get a list of age-appropriate ways to serve!
My daughter is currently part of a service club at her high school. She often wants to find ways to volunteer with friends. She tends to seek out one-time opportunities but sometimes wants the security of a long-term commitment so that she can guarantee her hours are met. Utilizing the Volunteer Center resource allows her to jump in and find exactly what she is looking for. When she clicks on an opportunity, it lays out the responsibilities and requirements so that she can tell if it’s a good fit for her. We can also join her as a family when she volunteers, giving her the hours she needs and us time together as a family, doing something so gratifying.
5. Signing Up is Simple!
Clicking through the available options on the Volunteer Center page, my daughter found so many fun ways to give back! She is particularly interested in signing up for BOOterfly Books at the Butterfly House in October. With a quick click she saw that they need people who love to read books to children and families, that she meets the minimum age requirement (14+), and that once she has a profile set up in the system, selecting the date and time she is available will secure a spot to volunteer! Easy even for a high schooler to navigate!
Explore opportunities through the United Way of Greater St. Louis Volunteer Center today and incorporate service into your routine!
