A Meaningful Volunteer Experience for Teens

According to aUniversity of Nevada report by Molly Latham, young people areincreasingly seeking out opportunities to improve the world byvolunteering their service to projects they deem to be important. This leads us to ask the question ‘what are the benefits of youth volunteerism?’ With the introduction of the new Global Volunteer Network Youth Tour inVietnam teens aged 15-17 years old will have the opportunity take partin a rewarding and challenging volunteer program. “The idea behind the youth tour is to enable teens to experience one ofour volunteer projects in a supportive and secure environment. We wantto introduce them to and give them a taste for the wonders ofvolunteering and fundraising at a young age in the hope that this issomething they will continue to contribute to as they become adults.” A report by Maria R. T. de Guzman at the University of Nebraskasuggests that youth volunteerism contributes to identity development,enhancement of skills, increased self-esteem, and the development ofempathy for others. Amanda Corwin, a GVN volunteer, is currently in Peru volunteering withher teenage daughter. “So far, I think the biggest thing that she haslearned is that in many parts of the world life is very difficult. Weare working in a village where there is no running water orelectricity, as well as other problems. [Morgan] loves the kids and hasa better understanding of their difficulties. I brought my otherdaughter to volunteer in Tanzania for a month also through GVN. At thetime she was 17. She loved it so much that she deferred her freshmanyear of college this year and volunteered for 6 months in Uganda andEthiopia. After Tanzania, she came back a more confident person becauseshe had to teach art and English, as well as giving her the perspectiveof the world rather than just our home town. She had a very differentoutlook on life than anyone in her grade could ever imagine. Morecurrently, she was given a $10,000 scholarship to the university thatshe will be attending this fall because of her volunteering experience.” The Vietnam Youth Tour provides enormous benefits to both the volunteerand the local community. Participants will have the opportunity toimmerse themselves in another culture and location whilst helping acommunity in need and in return the community benefits from havingcaring volunteers provide love, affection and education. If you or anyone you know would like further information on thisprogram please visit: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/youth_tour/vietnam/

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