by Eric Bailey

Created on: October 24, 2009

Volunteering is a tremendously important endeavor, simply because if our society were entirely compromised of greedy, selfish, profiteering people, our culture would be miserable! Fortunately, there exist kind souls who are willing to lend a hand without monetary compensation, often even for long hours on a regular basis doing hard work.

Some people may not understand the appeal of volunteerism, and your teenager may be one of them. As is often true in parenting, the best course of action is to enable them to make their own judgment and decision; but in order for them to do so in the most responsible manner, there are a few empowering steps you can take.

Explain The Benefits

At first it sounds unreasonable: Why would someone actually intentionally do work for someone else, without being paid for their services or even receiving a gift of any sort? Yet, as thousands upon thousands of active volunteers know, the experience can be both enjoyable and fulfilling.

While it may be difficult to clearly explain the intangible benefits of volunteering in terms such as joy, satisfaction, duty, etc., volunteerism can actually offer some rewards that can be more broadly accepted. For instance, your teen may want to consider how well even a little volunteer work will reflect on their eventual resume. You can even stress that in college, where job openings are tight, having volunteer work in their experience will put them at a competitive edge over other applicants. In addition, some more specialized volunteer opportunities, like certain internship or work-study positions, can actually open the door to possibly gaining a regular paycheck later. If you believe you are an asset to the workforce, then showing a company your skills in a real environment in a volunteer setting may be very impressive and lead to a hire.

Use Existing Connections

Volunteering does not have to be a strange, awkward scenario of walking into a dingy warehouse and performing grunt work all day. Instead, it can be a chance to connect or reconnect with organizations your teen is already fond of. Be creative and consider what chances may exist at your local schools, churches, youth organizations, athletic clubs, charitable institutions, or the workplaces of friends and relatives. Once you find a good fit in a field your teenager already loves, volunteering will not seem like a chore!

Walk The Talk

This step may not even be necessary after the previous two, but if needed, it can be a bold move that serves the double purpose of uniting you and your son or daughter in a common interest. If you are preaching the virtues of volunteering, your teenager may raise an eyebrow and ask why you are so insistent that they do this despite your own inaction.

In which case, suggest that you do it together! Even if your child immediately balks at the idea of something as uncool as doing this with their mom or dad, just laugh it off and make it clear that you both can volunteer for separate organizations, but with the same intentions. Pledge to complete a certain amount of hours, and suddenly it can even be a friendly family competition. Get your spouse involved, and soon enough you all will be making healthy, fun contributions to your respective organizations.

The appeal of volunteering can be strange at first, but as many can confidently testify, it is seldom an endeavor that is regretted. Once your child (and possibly you!) are volunteering, you can take great pride in the irrefutable fact that you are doing your humble part to make a positive difference in the world. That is certainly a phenomenon worth encouraging.

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