I want to support kids less fortunate than myself in my area, but I don't know how I could! What could I do?

Question

I am going to do the Invisible Children thing, but I want to do MORE. I want to be able to do something for someone who is less fortunate than others...like I want to be able to go and talk to kids in an orphanage or something like that, but WHAT COULD I DO?!? Where and who do I go to to be able to do something like that? F.Y.I, I am in the Rialto/San Bernardino, CA area.

Answer 1

That's GREAT that you want to give back!!!!

I haven't heard of the Invisible Children thing, but have some ideas for you!

-The Boys and Girls Club is always looking for volunteers.

-A local food bank could probably use a volunteer to help with organizing food, or you could do a fundraiser to collect non-perishable food for them.

-You could go to your local community centre (YMCA ect) and find out if there is a single parents group ect...perhaps volunteering to work with young children...

-You could collect items for children in foster care (closest thing to an orphanage in North America)...there are several orphanages in Mexico however. Children often have to move from home to home, living out of a garbage bag (taking their clothing ect in a bag) so collecting backpacks would be very much appreciated I bet! Clothing, toys ect would also be very

much appreciated by children in foster care!

-Not sure of any organizations names down there, but there may be an agency that provides peers/volunteers for kids/teens/adults with disabilities to hang out with. Here we have an agency called Recreation Integration, where people can volunteer to hang out with a person with a disability doing an activity that both of you like...swimming, basketball, movie, ect ect....

-You could do a fundraiser at your school. Get students and teachers to collect something (do a bottle drive, or a coin collection, or a can collection (cans of food) or anything else that you think people would get involved in) and then use that money for a local cause, or send it somewhere else (for instance an orphange in Mexico)

I'm almost positive that there is an agency that supports youth living on the street in or near your community. Perhaps you could volunteer at the agency's hang out...or help with making meals/snacks,  or help with doing activities/games ect with them...or do a fundraiser to collect clothing, hygiene products for teens living in poverty/living on the street.

Hope that that helps!

Good Luck and keep up the good work! I am sure that you will inspire others to give back too!!

If you want more info on an orphanage in Mexico send me a private email...I just went down there in Feb to volunteer at an orphanage....it was an awesome experience!!!

Answer 2

You can find volunteering opportunities focused on children via these web sites:

VolunteerMatch, http://www.volunteermatch.org

Idealist, http://www.idealist.org

Change.org, http://www.change.org

CraigsList, http://www.craigslist.com

Network for Good, http://www.networkforgood.org

http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/

ServeNet, http://servenet.org/

If you see an organization that you would like to help, but don't see a volunteering opportunity posted by that organization, it's okay to call them and say you would like to volunteer -- they may have opportunities they haven't posted. Also, many organizations are open to your own suggestions for volunteering activities.

Answer 3

That is really neat that you want to do that! i felt like that too, until about 6 months ago. i read in a World Vision magazine about how you can sponser a child. you send in $30 a month, and it helps pay for clean water, food, school supplies, and other things like that. also, about twice a year, you will recieve a letter that has an updated pic. of them and they draw you a picture of write a letter. most of these kids live in africa, or asia, though. what i did was go to worldvision.com and i went to the sponser a child part of the site, and i was able to put in a birthday, (it searches for a child that matches your suggestion) and i found a little girl named Kendry, and she lives in Colombia, South America. She has the same birthday as me! (i put in my birthday) I have really enjoyed doing this, and i am making a difference in her life as well!

good luck!

Answer 4

A couple of suggestions.  Check with a local church and see if they have an outreach program.  Check with a local hospital and see if you can do something for their pediatric ward.  In New York you can visit, bring some of the children to a play room, read to some of the kids, decorate or bring in crafts.  Does you High School have a peer mentoring program?  They may know of something.  I am assuming you are young and many of the possibilities are currently out of your ability but you can always do a little now and plan bigger in the future.  Wish you well.