Young Black girl in volunteer shirt, smiling, kneeling in dirt planting garden

An Easy How-to Guide to Start Volunteering as a Student

Getting involved as a student volunteer not only helps others but also can boost your college applications and résumé. Here's how to get started!

Almost everyone would agree that serving as a volunteer is a great way to give of yourself while gaining valuable experience. Fortunately, no single path must be followed to get involved in volunteering during high school and college. Here are a few easy ways that students can start giving back right now.

Find local groups

Perhaps the simplest approach is to contact a local organization and ask if there’s a need for volunteers. If you don’t already have a specific target in mind, do a little homework and identify possible nonprofits you connect with. A great place to start is the nearest United Way affiliate, since its purpose is to represent a variety of organizations. Other possibilities include community foundations and centers for volunteerism operated by colleges and universities.

Related: Secrets to Finding a Great Volunteer Site

Ask for suggestions

“There is a myriad of ways for students to get involved in service,” says Josh Ambrose, Executive Director of the Center for Experience and Opportunity at McDaniel College. “Ask your teacher, your neighbor, your spiritual leader, your friends—the opportunities are out there.” In Ambrose’s community, local options include literacy initiatives, youth programs, medical and hospice care, support for the homeless, and helping with tech nonprofits. The word-of-mouth approach has much value; if you have friends or relatives who regularly volunteer, ask about their experiences and consider any advice they might offer. The same goes for working professionals in your interest areas.

Look online

You can also take advantage of online resources that provide details on volunteer opportunities. For example, JustServe.org identifies the volunteer needs of organizations, and you can search for places to serve in the community. Similarly, All for Good functions as a digital hub for volunteerism and community engagement. It shares info from a number of other sites on a wide range of volunteer opportunities. The same is true of VolunteerMatch, which serves 120,000 participating nonprofits while offering listings of interest to prospective volunteers. The federal government also operates its own portal where you can identify volunteer roles across the country, or focus your search on individual states or within 30 miles of your search ZIP code.

Related: 5 Ways to Give Back During Spring Break

Consider why you want to volunteer

“A key part of the process is looking inward,” says Benjamin Caldarelli, founder of Benjamin College Consulting. He advises asking a few basic questions: Why do I want to volunteer? What can I offer? What do I feel strongly about? What am I curious to learn more about? “There are a lot of ways to contribute to society, but volunteering is part of being an engaged citizen and learner,” he says. Like Ambrose, he suggests volunteering locally even if you’re concerned with national or international issues.“Meaningful service doesn’t necessarily mean going far from home,” Caldarelli says. “The dictum ‘think global, act local’ is a good place to start.”

Advice for new volunteers

Keep in mind, volunteering doesn’t always have to be a long-term commitment. Some roles only last a single day or weekend, and even where longer-term service is preferred, you can often do a trial run or commit only for the length of a specific project. For example, with Habitat for Humanity you might help with painting interior walls on a single Saturday, or you could work one day a week for several weeks to help complete an entire house. Maybe that’s where your involvement stops, or you might continue pitching in with a new construction project. If you find that a given volunteer activity isn’t what you expected, that’s okay. While it’s important to complete any work you have agreed to, after that point you can always part ways with any organization. Ideally that won’t be the end of your volunteer experience, and you will go on to volunteer in a different way and for other organizations.

Related: Great Opportunities for Students to Volunteer Online

Once you settle on one or more volunteer roles, keep a record of your experiences. Track your dates served, the names of the sponsoring organization, your duties performed, and the contact info for your supervisor and the organization itself. That way you’ll have the necessary information at hand for résumés, job applications, college applications, or scholarships in the future. After all, the most important reason to volunteer is to support worthwhile causes, but don’t overlook the potential to strengthen your own personal profile as well. When you pursue the right volunteer opportunities, everyone wins!

Find schools that are as passionate about volunteering as you are with our College Search tool!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Mark Rowh

Mark Rowh is a Virginia-based writer and educator.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Lorena Bacallao

Lorena Bacallao

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress was the foundation of my college search process. Because of CollegeXpress, I was able to make a more informed and confident decision as to where it was best to pursue my higher education. I have recommended this website to fellow peers and for first-generation students like me. It’s a website I will continue to promote because of how simple it was to use and how many opportunities were offered to me at my fingertips!

Caio Matos

Caio Matos

High School Class of 2022

Starting the college admissions process as an international student was daunting. Thankfully, CollegeXpress was the first website I used for that cause and it helped me so much, from knowing where to start to deciding what my next move would be. I'll take a gap year, but I’m certainly using the website again when applying for fall 2023.

Kayla

Kayla

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress helped me organize the schools I wanted to choose from in one place, which I could then easily compare and find the school that was right for me!

Priscilla Yeboah

Priscilla Yeboah

High School Student

I was afraid and timid throughout my search for colleges, but I finally found the college that was fit for me and luckily I got accepted. One of the most influential things that helped me was the articles and advice on CollegeXpress. They've helped me a lot and benefited me as a senior to make the right choices in life. Thank you!

Laura Wallace

Laura Wallace

High School Class of 2019

My favorite part of CollegeXpress is that it features student writers so I get an inside perspective from students slightly older and farther along than me. I realize that other college websites also utilize student writers; however, I relate the most to the college writers that I read articles from on CollegeXpress.

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA

Southwestern University

Georgetown, TX

Thiel College

Greenville, PA