May Tech Success - Youth and Family Volunteering

For some volunteers finding the right opportunity seems easy but if you're under 18 or a family with young children you might be wondering how you can get involved in volunteering. Luckily there are things you can do to help you find an opportunity that accepts volunteers under 18.


Your first step starts with learning more about how youth and children can volunteer by visiting our information page specifically for teens and children. All volunteers under 18 must complete the Permission for Minor Child to Participate and Consent for Medical Treatment form before you'll be able to register for a volunteer opportunity. Once you've downloaded and completed the form you can send it in via fax, email or mail and a Volunteer Center team member will update your account and notify you that you're able to register for a volunteer opportunity.

Once you've completed the registration process the best way to find age appropriate volunteer opportunities is to utilize the Search feature. There are three options you can search by.

1. There you can search by age using the "Search for projects where a volunteer who is ___ years old can volunteer" field. You can put in any age and all opportunities that accept that age of volunteer will be displayed.

2. You can select the Project Attribute "Family Friendly" which will display any projects that were designated as being good for families with children. Even though the project may be family friendly remember there could still be an age limit the project can accept.

3. You can select the Project Attribute "Good for Teens Unaccompanied by an Adult". We have been told that these projects can accept unaccompanied teens. There may be additional requirements to participate without a parent such as providing a signed permission form from a parent/guardian, having your own transportation or attending an orientation/training session. Each organization will let you know if they have additional requirements.

Remember when using the search feature sometimes selecting too many options will give you fewer results. It's best to start with one maybe two features and see what comes back. If you don't receive any results try only selecting one feature to see if anything is available. The available volunteer opportunities change frequently so if you don't find anything today check back in a week because our partner organizations send new opportunities on a regular basis.

If you don't find an opportunity that works for you there is always the option to browse our list of partner organizations and contact those that interest you. Some may have opportunities that aren't posted or events coming up in the future that haven't been posted yet. Other organizations will accept youth and family volunteers on a case by case basis depending on their organizations needs. It never hurts to contact an organization you are interested in working with to see if they can utilize your specific skills and talents.