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Parent-Teen

The Spirit of Volunteering

     For families with teens, summer vacation is a time to put the stress of high school aside. There are no looming homework deadlines, morning routines loose their urgency and parents find themselves reconnecting with their high schooler.
     While camping or a destination vacation can be the perfect setting for bonding with your teen, they are not the only option. This summer try something different. Volunteering can be a great way to catch up with your teenager and boost his college resume.
     “We are seeing more families,” said Beth Jansson, community programs manager at HandsOn Bay Area, a San Francisco–based nonprofit that connects volunteers with local organizations. She added that there has also been an increase in teens looking to fill the service hours required for high school graduation.
 

The Housers

     With three young boys and a full-time job, the last thing you would think Donna Houser of El Cerrito wanted to do was be volunteer at her children’s school. But she made it her passion, even gaining the reputation as a taskmaster.
     And she wasn’t alone. Now grown, Matthew (24), Ethan (19) and Zachary (18) have done everything from helping man booths at the city of El Cerrito’s Fourth of July Festival to dressing up as Clifford the Dog for the local elementary school book sale.
     “We have always done it as a family,” said Houser. “As a family it has really made us close.”
     Volunteering with their mom has benefited all three with their college applications; Zachary will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall. It also helped Zachary fulfill El Cerrito High School’s graduation requirement of 10 service hours.
     “They never were, ‘I’m not going to do it!’ ” said Houser. “It was never a huge issue in the family.”

The Right Time

     Many volunteer-powered Bay Area organizations see a drop off in numbers after Thanksgiving and Christmas. For some, the greatest need is during the summer months.
     “The summer months are increasingly busy,” said Charlie Beyer, volunteer manager at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. “Food banks have been working more and more with fresh produce. That means we need more hands to sort and box food.”
     Beth Jansson at HandsOn Bay Area can account for rush to get projects done during the summer. Many environmental projects occur toward the end of spring and into early summer, long after Earth Day in April.
     “We find that a lot of our families enjoy our environmental projects,” said Jansson. Opportunities fill up fast because they are good for beginners, but there are volunteer projects available year-round, she said.
     Beyer said that food banks are a great place to start volunteering. With limited commitment guidelines and training needed, food banks can be a way for busy families to help out without cutting into their normal schedule.
     Volunteers at the Alameda County Community Food Bank should be at least 10 years old. There needs to be a ratio of one adult to every five youth ages 17 under. Beyer estimated that 30 percent to 30 percent of volunteers at the food bank are younger than 18.
     “Our schedule tends to be open in the summer, and we are very happy to have families and groups volunteer,” said Beyer.
 

Taking on a Commitment

      For families who find they might want to extend volunteering through the summer, the East Bay SPCA is an organization that requires a six-month commitment, six hours of training and working regular shifts.
     With two locations, one in Dublin and one in Oakland, there are tons of volunteer slots available for teens and their parents on a regular basis. Volunteers who are 16 and older do not require parent participation.
     Volunteer coordinator Cathy Stevens said that volunteers must receive proper training before they begin working with the animals, adding that the SPCA cannot accommodate families looking for drop-in volunteer opportunities. 
     “People want to just come and pet the animals, but they can’t,” said volunteer coordinator Cathy Stevens. “If they really want to volunteer, they can come in and rake the yard.”
      Stevens estimated that 50 percent of the volunteers at the Dublin site are parent-child teams. In Oakland it is close to 30 percent. A large number of teens come in without their parents. There is always work to be done at the shelters, volunteers can groom animals, clean cages, or even assist in obedience training.
     “For families it is an outward way of bonding without being intimate,” said Stevens. “For that day they are getting the love from the animals and letting go for that day.”
 

Projects for Younger Kids

    You don’t have to wait until your child needs to fulfill community service requirements for high school or to boost their college resume; volunteering is a wonderful way to bring preteens and younger children out of their shells.
“During a time of angst, volunteering helps build responsibility and unconditional acceptance and love,” said Stevens.
     Many websites focused on placing volunteers have sections for families with younger children. In 2009 Disney issued a call to service, with millions of families pledging volunteer hours. There are also churches, children’s groups and schools that make community service a family event. New York–based www.Idealist.org even has a section for families who want to take service vacations to other countries.
      “The whole part of volunteering is getting to know each other and giving back to the community,” said Jannson of HandsOn Bay Area.