Where can I help out in Chicago?

Question

I'm a teenager and I live about a 45 minutes away from Chicago. I want to help out with some charities or something around or outside of Chicago. Where can I find some and how do I get involved?

Answer 1

Young Chicago Author

Big Brother & Big Sisters- Greater Chicago Area

Salvation army

http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Answer 2

i am a huge animal advocate and every single animal place will take vol. it looks amazing on resumes and applications for colleges. If you care about animals its great. Its also a great learning experience to be able to take care of animals and bond with them.  All you need to do with most is go to one and ask if they need help they will prolly have you fill out some paper work but then you can come in a help on a regular basis if you would like.

Answer 3

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.

Also, contact your local volunteer center; you can find this via the Points of Light Foundation web site,

http://www.pointsoflight.org/centers/

There's also this government sponsored site, http://volunteer.gov/gov/ which provides volunteer positions through USA federal land agencies like Fish & Wildlife, Forest Service, National Parks, etc.

Remember that finding a volunteering gig can be like finding a job: you may have to interview several times before you are chosen for an assignment.

If you want to be a volunteer to help with the consequences of a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, you need to register and prepare NOW. Here's a web site where you can register and start your preparation so that you can help the next time disaster strikes:

http://www.helpindisaster.org/