The Importance of Youth Engagement: Preschool – College

Preschool and Service

Parents with young children are increasingly making volunteering a regular part of their routine, whether it's delivering meals to the homebound, planting flowers at a local park, or spending time with people with disabilities. For busy parents who want to spend time with their kids while still contributing to their community, volunteering as a family is an ideal activity.

The benefits are enormous. Volunteering teaches toddlers and preschoolers about compassion, empathy, tolerance, gratitude, and community responsibility. And children who volunteer are more likely to continue doing so as adults.

Many volunteer jobs are perfect for families with little ones. First, decide whether you're interested in a onetime project (collecting children's books and donating them to a hospital, for instance) or a longer-term commitment, such as serving dinner at the Catholic Worker House.

An easy way to find out about the many volunteer opportunities in the community is to contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley and describe your interests and the ages of your children. The Center will be able to match you with an appropriate volunteer project.

Once you've decided on a project, explain to your children exactly what to expect. Be enthusiastic about what you're doing and explain why the job is important ("When we pick up litter from the park, we make it more fun for everyone to come and play here"). Answer your child's questions about the work and the people you'll be interacting with.

Above all, have fun! Consider teaming up with another family, inviting one of your child's friends to help out, or stopping for a picnic in the park or ice cream on the way home. What initially may seem like another task on your to-do list can become a wonderful bonding experience for your family.

Youth and Volunteering

Are you a young person who's thinking about volunteering? There are many good reasons to get involved in volunteer and service-learning opportunities. Here's a few to consider:

Volunteering can help you to explore your interests

Volunteering can be an opportunity to learn more about something you enjoy doing. If you like working with other kids, get involved at Exceptional Persons, Inc. or help younger students with their schoolwork. If you like to cook, make dinner at the Catholic Worker House or help out at the Salvation Army. Or, if you enjoy sports, play games with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club. Look for opportunities that allow you really explore areas that already interest you. 

Meet people you might not ordinarily meet

By volunteering in a group, you'll meet other people with the same interests you have. If your grandparents live far away and you don't get to see them often, you can become friends with an older adult and adopt them as your "grandma" or "grandpa”. By volunteering with the Committee for Refugees and Immigrants that helps newcomers to the Cedar Valley, you can meet people who have come here from other countries. You'll learn about their culture and help them adapt to life here.

Volunteer activities add value to college applications and work resumes

College admission staffs want to know who you are as a person. They're looking for well-rounded individuals who will give their best both within and outside the classroom. Potential employers want to know if you show up on time, can take direction, are responsible, and work well with others. A good reference from an agency you've volunteered with can help them decide that you'd be a good employee.

It's fun

People who volunteer often say that they get more out of the experience than they give. Giving of your time and energy makes you feel good about yourself and raises your self-esteem. Working with other volunteers builds friendships.

You're sharing your talents and knowledge with others

You have skills, talents, knowledge, experience, personality and passion. Each of us is unique and has something to share with others.

You're advancing the common good

You can help make a positive change in the world through service. Each of us wants to live in a community where families are healthy and strong, where children are given the help they need to succeed in school, where people with disabilities and the elderly are able to live as independently as possible, and where people live in safe, supportive neighborhoods.

By volunteering, you help make your community a better place to live, and you become part of the solution.

College Engagement

It’s no secret that students are in college to learn new skills and to gain experience for their future careers. What if something additional could add to those experiences and up the ante on student’s resumes? Or help them find their interests? Here are the top five reasons why students should engage in volunteerism during college:

1) Meet New People
Volunteering brings all walks of life together and no matter your personality, interests, or background, you're bound to connect with another like yourself through service. You don’t really know who may meet, or what sort of impact they could have on your life, and this brings possibly one of the most exciting aspects to volunteering.

2) Make a Difference In The Community
Volunteering is an extremely rewarding experience. And something so easy to do… find the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley through on-campus resources.

3) Develop Needed Job Skills
Volunteering is one of the best ways to gain hands on experience for future careers. Service opportunities not only provide the opportunities to network with others, but are a great addition to your resume. Volunteerism your chance to gain essential leadership experience that all employers want to see.

4) Enhance Your Education
Sometimes the most valuable lessons are taught out of the classroom. Applying hands-on experience is going to be some of the most valuable assets to your degree, so it's important to get involved early to optimize these opportunities. It's important to show that you are able to achieve a good work-life balance because it paints a better picture of the real you.

5) Explore Other Areas of Interest
Volunteering is a great way to delve into a unique career path or new hobbies you may never had seen yourself taking. Things like weatherizing a home with Green Iowa AmeriCorps or spending a few hours a week at a Country View could result in new interests or passions you didn't know were there.


To secure volunteer opportunities contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at (319) 272-2087 or information@vccv.org. Volunteer opportunities may also be accessed at www.vccv.org.