Often, the summer months can lead to a dip in volunteering for organizations. Many families are traveling, and rhythms that may include volunteering during the school year are put on hold for new activities and commitments. However, summer is a great time to capitalize on all the students who are out of school for the next several weeks. Many schools and honors programs require, or highly encourage, students to spend time volunteering in their community. Beyond school requirements, teen volunteerism also looks great on college and job applications, so teens are often looking for ways to get involved. Today, we are sharing with you three ways to engage your teen volunteers this summer.

1. Create Teen Volunteer Positions

While teens can do many of the same volunteer projects as adults, make it clear you have specific jobs for teenagers in your community. This helps them feel confident they are in the right spot, and it also allows you to capitalize on activities they are especially great at doing. Many organizations have a teen volunteer page or list of teen opportunities. CERVIS makes it easy to create a registration page on your website specifically listing teen volunteer positions and even allows you to limit sign ups to only that age group.

Some ideas for teen positions:

• Manual labor (e.g. mowing lawns, gardening, painting walls)

• Social media specific roles (e.g. teen IG takeovers, photography, content creation)

• Larger projects that friends or youth groups can do together (e.g. stuffing envelopes, sorting donations, putting together meal boxes)

Having a designated teen volunteer program, or even simply creating teen volunteer positions, can easily guide teenagers to opportunities that are a great fit for them.

2. Market to Teens

While you likely already have avenues in place for reaching new volunteers, take the time to specifically target and market to teens. Mission and purpose are big motivators for the younger generation, so make sure you share your cause’s story in a way that is relatable to teenagers, and direct them to easy-to-achieve next steps. Having an uncomplicated way to view teen volunteer opportunities and sign up instantly online is also important when trying to reach teenagers. At CERVIS, we are able to seamlessly integrate with your website, allowing you to tag all “teen” events and link directly to them. This allows teenagers to see all their options and sign up for the best fit, all in one place.

Some other ideas for marketing to teens:

• Reach out to schools and youth groups in your community, and ask if you can get placed on a volunteer list.

• Ask schools and youth groups if you can speak to teens and invite them to join the work you are doing. 

• Share teen volunteer opportunities on your social media, inviting people to tag those who may be interested.

• Highlight teens who are already working with your organization.

When you take the time to speak directly to teenagers in your community, they are more likely to catch your vision and be excited to serve with you.

3. Easily Share Volunteer Records with Your Teens

It is vital to have a system in place to easily and automatically track and record volunteer hours for your teen volunteers. This enables them to submit proof of their summer volunteerism to their school or showcase it on their resumes. Teenagers do not want to jump through a bunch of hoops to get the data they need, and a well-organized report is greatly appreciated by the schools in your community. CERVIS makes it easy for volunteers to print their own volunteer history report, saving you precious time and headaches. Branded with your logo and contact information, the report also includes a verification link to ensure the data wasn’t altered. We even have an easy-to-follow video on our YouTube page that shows volunteers how to generate this report. In addition, our phenomenal Customer Support Team is ready to help if needed. When you make it hassle-free for teens to volunteer with you, it is more likely they will be back again and tell their friends/siblings about their time with you.

Summertime may throw off your typical volunteer rhythm, but creating teen volunteer programs and opportunities can bring a new, fresh set of volunteers to your door for the summer months! To learn more about how CERVIS can help you reach teen volunteers, click here for a free demo.

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