The Volunteer Toolkit
Helping instill the importance of giving back
What Will You Find Inside?
KidsCan is a community service project to help young people understand the importance of helping
others, investing in the community and sharing their talents with the world. The resources inside
this toolkit are a great way to model the importance of volunteerism to a young person — all while
having fun! Look inside for a variety of resources to guide discussions about giving back, volunteer
activity ideas and where to look for more information.
Helping instill the importance of giving back
Reasons to Volunteer
Volunteers donate their time and talents for a variety of reasons.
Here are just a few benefits kids will gain from the experience.
• Learn something about
yourself
• Make a difference
• Have fun!
• Feel involved
• Explore career possibilities
• Get off the couch
• Contribute to a cause that you
care about
• Learn some new skills
• Meet new people
• Connect with your community
• Fulfill graduation requirements • Explore new areas of interest
• Make someone else’s day
• Expand your horizons
• Be proud of yourself
• Get out of the house
• Help others
• Make new friends
What are your reasons for volunteering?
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Projects to do with your Little
• Hang, sort or process donated goods at a
thrift store. Bring some things to donate!
• Create some accessories for Meals on
Wheels You could sew a set of cloth
coasters or decorate cloth napkins with
paints, jewels or lace.
• Make valentine cards or bookmarks for
residents of an assisted living facility.
• Plant an herb container garden of herbs
to give away.
• Practice a book to act out at a hospital or
assisted living facility while an adult reads
the story.
• Create Valentine’s Day cards for
elementary school kids who do not have
any to give away.
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• Make flower arrangements with donated
flowers and vases and donate to a
hospital.
• Walk the dog of a neighbor recuperating
from hospitalization or injury.
• Paint a wall mural showing kids
volunteering.
• Create a pictorial “volunteer” book that
shows ways to volunteer.
• Write an e-mail or letter to a soldier. It will
only take a few minutes, and it will bring
some joy to men and women who are far
from home.
• Adopt a grandparent. Ask the volunteer
coordinator at a local nursing home about
the process and then choose an elderly
person to visit regularly.
Create flash cards on math or spelling and
give them to an after-school program.
• Become a chemo angel. Chemo angels
provide small gifts and cards to someone
Write a children’s inspirational book of
undergoing chemotherapy. “Angels” send
sayings on the value of giving back and
one to two small gifts or cards a week durdonate to a school or church.
ing the person’s treatment.
Make a poster on kids volunteering to
www.chemoangels.com
place at schools, churches, recreation
• Assemble birthday bags to donate to your
centers and other public places.
local food pantry. Fill gift bags with candy,
Create a “chore chart” of volunteer activity
small toys, coloring books, a cake mix and
ideas for other children to use.
candles.
Learn to tie a tie to be able to help other
www.cheerfulgivers.org
kids who cannot.
• Write poems or stories for community
centers and volunteer to read them.
Helping instill the importance of giving back
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Find out more about being
a volunteer on the Internet!
Here are some great Web sites that can help you learn more about volunteering and find the
volunteer project or job that’s perfect for you:
Volunteer Match
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Search by zip code to find all kinds of volunteer
opportunities for you and your family.
Serve Net
http://www.servenet.org/
This site from Youth Service America lets you enter your
zip code, city, state, skills, interests, and availability to get
matched with organizations needing help.
Do Something
http://www.dosomething.org/
This organization helps young people who want to
“change their world” and make a difference.
YouthNOISE
http://www.youthnoise.com/Home/
YouthNOISE is a group of young people — from all 50
states, the District of Columbia and more than 176 countries — together with a small group of adults working
to provide information from more than 300 nonprofit
partners that will spark youth action and voice.
Idealist: Kids and Teens
http://www.idealist.org/kt/index.html
This Web site helps people of all ages connect
with volunteer work.
1-800-Volunteer
http://www.1-800-volunteer.org
Search this national database for opportunities in your
area to work with nonprofit organizations.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://www.hud.gov/volunteering/index.cfm
Visit this site for information on federal and national
volunteer programs, other websites providing
volunteer opportunities, and even an opportunity to set
up a page for your own neighborhood!
Compassionate Kids
www.compassionatekids.com
Geared to younger children, this non-profit organization
has members on six continents and focuses on three
main areas of concern—the Earth, People and Animals.
Doing Good Together
www.doinggoodtogether.org
Doing Good Together provides all the material and
services a family needs to start volunteering, as well as
custom-made support, advice, assistance and events for
schools, churches, community, civic and other charities.
Network for Good
www.networkforgood.com
A global fund-raising resource connecting donors with
more than a million charities and non-profit organizations worldwide. The Youth Volunteer Network offers
advice on awards, grants and scholarships, as well as
volunteer toolkits, ideas on how to make a difference in
the community, and suggestions for donations.
Kids Care Clubs
www.kidscare.org
Aimed at elementary and middle school children, Kids
Care Clubs have a roll call of more than 1,400 registered
clubs and 75,000 children in the US and many other
countries. This organization fosters hands-on children’s
volunteer programs which can vary in size from a small
group of friends to an entire school grade, and be custom-made to the specific needs of the local community.
Each new club receives a detailed Start-up Handbook
and monthly newsletters with information and advice on
projects, activities, grants and community issues.
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Volunteer Crossword
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Find the Answers at:
Volunteer Crossword
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/emotions/volunteering/
print_crossword.html
Helping instill the importance of giving back
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Great books about volunteering
Kid’s Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make
a Difference by Barbara A. Lewis and Pamela Espeland
This guide has something for everyone who wants to make a difference, from simple projects to large scale
commitments. Kids can choose from a variety of topics, including animals, crime fighting, the environment,
friendship, hunger, literacy, politics and government, and transformation.
Teens with the Courage to Give: Young People Who Triumphed Over Tragedy and Volunteered
to Make a Difference by Jackie Waldman
This book compiles the personal stories of 30 teens who overcame difficulty in their lives through the help
of volunteers, or who changed their lives through volunteering. There are stories of courage and transcendence as each teen tells, in their own words, their personal tale. It’s an easy and inspiring read intended to
encourage teens to reach out and help others as a way of helping themselves.
Catch the Spirit: Teen Volunteers Tell How They Made a Difference by Susan K. Perry
“Catch the Spirit” is a collection of twenty real-life stories about teens that have made a difference. Through
their volunteer efforts, these young people have improved the lives of others and often provided hope in
seemingly hopeless situations.
It’s Our World, Too! by Phillip M. Hoose
This book is a collection of essays about children who have made notable achievements.
More titles to consider
Helping Out, George Ancona
Tight Times, Barbara Shook Hazen
Silver Packages, Cynthia Rylant
Mr. Bow-Tie, Karen Barbour
Alfie Gives a Hand, Shirley Hughes
Magical Hands, Marjorie Barker
The Doorbell Rang, Pat Hutchins
In the Children’s Garden, Carole Lexa
Schaefer
Smoky Night, Eve Bunting
Chicken Soup for Little Souls: The
Braids Girl, Robert Kraus
A River Ran Wild: An
Environmental History, Lynne Cherry
The Lady in the Box, Ann McGovern
The Mitten Tree, Candace Christiansen
The Christmas Cup, Nancy Patterson
Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney
The Trees of the Dancing Goats,
Patricia Polacco
I Got Community, Melrose Cooper
It Takes a Village, Jane Cowen-Fletcher
The Can-Do Thanksgiving, Marion Hess
Pomerac
City Green, DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
The Christmas Dolls, Candice Ransom
Uncle Willy & the Soup Kitchen,
DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
The Greatest Table, Michael Rosen
Mrs. Rose’s Garden, Elaine Greenstein
An Angel for Solomon Singer,
Cynthia Rylant
The Old Man & His Door, Gary Soto
The Garden of Happiness, Erika Tamar
Somewhere Today: A Book of
Peace, Shelley Moore Thomas
What Goes Around Comes Around,
Sally Ward
A Chair for My Mother, Vera Williams
Something Special for Me, Vera Williams
A Special Trade, Sally Wittman