Community service, especially onsite volunteering, is an amazing way to give back to your community. It builds empathy, strengthens self esteem, and can be a great way to make connections. Make it your priority this holiday season to give back, and you’ll notice the fruits of your labor almost immediately. Below are some local non-profits known to recruit high school students.
Grandma’s House of Hope – Grandma’s House of Hope is a non profit organization in Anaheim, which provides women in distress with transitory housing. These women are typically survivors of human trafficking, domestic abuse, addiction, and brain disorders. Grandma’s House of Hope offers food, clothing, case management, counseling, career mentorship, group therapy, and child care services in hopes of giving these women back their power and equipping them with the confidence to live a self-sufficient lifestyle. This organization is incredible, and addresses an issue affecting over 1,000 women. They frequently host events, and always need at least a handful of volunteers (and it’s nearby, about 17 miles).
Orangewood – The Orangewood foundation is a foster community that works with distressed youth to provide shelter, consistent meals, and counseling. They focus on four areas of development: health & wellness, housing, life skills, and employment in hopes of placing their youth into healthy homes. They also make time to teach the kids skills normally taught by one’s parents, preparing them to live healthy adult lives. They have tons of individual or group volunteer opportunities that include cooking in their onsite kitchen and helping with events. For the past five years, my family has donated Christmas gifts onsite to the kids living there, and it’s always an incredible experience. I highly encourage getting involved.
Ronald McDonald – RMHC houses the families of sick, hospitalized children, allowing them to focus on their child’s illness instead of typical household tasks. Their program helps alleviate financial burdens in regard to medical bills and they help families save over $611 million in hotel and meal expenses. There are weekly opportunities to cook meals in their onsite kitchen at their location in Orange and there are daily opportunities to entertain the siblings of the hospitalized children. Isabella McNair (11) articulates how “I’ve cooked for families staying at the Orange location and it’s incredibly fulfilling to see how cooking a simple meal for them can relieve ample stress.”
Operation Christmas Child – Samaritan’s Purse hosts an event called Operation Christmas Child every holiday season. People donate toys, sanitary products, clothes ect., and volunteers pack them into shoeboxes to be sent to children in second and third world countries. Good Samaritan also provides international crisis relief, and has other projects like Operation Heal our Patriots, and the Children’s Heart Project. These projects are super easy to get involved in and are easy ways to log lots of hours (especially Operation Christmas Child).
These are some of the most widely credited non profits known for welcoming teenagers. Even if you’ve already fulfilled your community service requirement, I highly encourage making an effort to volunteer this holiday season.
