‘Tis the season of giving, but most student budgets are pretty tight. How can you honor the season without breaking the bank? Donate your time to a worthy cause. You’ll feel good about yourself, and you’ll make a difference – to your community, your planet, or someone in need.
The Benefits of Giving
Nothing helps you embrace the spirit of the season more than making someone’s day. Doing the right thing is its own reward.
But there’s another wonderful side-effect of giving: earning respect. Society honors those who give – those who make the world a better place. That kind of respect goes a long way on a college application or resume. Participating in volunteer projects also helps you develop valuable leadership and organizational skills, while learning empathy and gratitude. Giving is a true win-win scenario.
Great Organizations Taking Volunteers
There are plenty of world-changing organizations that would welcome your efforts. Look for groups tied to the causes you’re most passionate about. Here are just a few examples:
The Environment – Interested in saving our planet? There are countless opportunities to work in conversation, all over the world. Notable organizations include:
- The Nature Conservancy – For this organization, “Every day is Earth Day.” Their website helps volunteers connect with nature by providing an easy search tool, organizing volunteer opportunities by state.
- Green Impact Campaign provides student volunteers with virtual training and cloud-based tools to conduct energy assessments for local businesses.
- GreenPeace – This global conservation group is most famous for protecting the ocean and sea life, but is also heavily involved in preventing climate change, preserving the forests, fostering peace and disarmament, etc. On the Greenpeace Greenwire website, you can connect with other volunteers, activists and groups working on environmental campaigns all across the country.
World Hunger – Few images are more heart-wrenching than those of starving people – especially when it’s children. Here are some great ways you can take up the fight against hunger – in your community, or across the world.
- Volunteer Match / Fight Hunger – The Volunteer Match website has an interactive state map that lets you easily connect with volunteer opportunities near you. This site is not restricted to anti-hunger campaigns, and also lets you search by any cause you care about, such as Human Rights or Animals. Hunger-fighting efforts include everything from planning meals for the elderly in your community, to helping serve Christmas Eve dinner for the needy.
- Stop Hunger Now – Volunteer work for this organization includes activities such as packaging meals, supporting warehouse operations, and assisting with administration duties.
Education – The pathway to a better tomorrow starts with education. You can help less-fortunate students achieve their education goals through organizations such as:
- Classroom Central – which collects and distributes free school supplies to help students living in poverty participate in classroom activities and learn more effectively.
- United We Serve, which provides toolkits for leading a variety of volunteer efforts, will help you address education-related causes such as illiteracy and the achievement gap with projects like Read with Children and Become a STEM Mentor.
Travel
– Seeing the world isn’t exactly a cause, but it’s something that many students are passionate about! Here’s a brief list of organizations that help connect you to volunteer opportunities overseas:
Lead Your Own Initiative
If you’re not finding the right cause or volunteer opportunity in this list, why not take the reins and form your own charitable organization or project? Reach out to your community and get others involved. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop leadership qualities while “paying it forward” and contributing toward a happy holiday season in your local area.
How are you giving back this season? Do you know of great volunteer organizations that you can share with other students?
background-image: a building with the American flag in front of it