Published May 27, 2022
Big Benefits for Little Volunteers
Heads up! This article was published 2 years ago.
How many times has a child stepped up to be your helper? Starting at a young age, children often express an interest in being involved in just about everything adults are doing. Fostering the idea of being a helper is a great way to cultivate a sense of community in children — especially when they can make a difference doing something they enjoy.
Five Rivers MetroParks has many ways for school-age children and teens to volunteer their time in the great outdoors with their families, community groups and schools.
Service Saturdays: Perfect for students who have limited time during the week, Service Saturdays are held every third Saturday of the month May through September from 9 a.m. to noon.
New volunteer projects are added each month and include a variety of tasks, such as prairie seed collection and garden bed maintenance. Many opportunities are suited for older children and tweens/teens. Children younger than age 14 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Group projects: Giving back is more fun with friends, which is why community groups — such as Scouts, church and neighborhood groups, and clubs — can be assigned short-term volunteer opportunities in one of many MetroParks locations. These opportunities often focus on completing a specific task in one of the parks.
Volunteering as a family: Those who wish to volunteer as a family have multiple opportunities to do so throughout the year. Volunteer during an annual service day, such as Adopt-A-Park and Make a Difference Day, or during monthly Service Saturday to spend a morning volunteering with the community.
Families also can inquire about short-term projects or ongoing opportunities that can be done as a family, such as gardening and projects for the parks and conservation
department.
Fulfilling service hours: For many high school students, volunteer service hours are required. Students can volunteer during the year as individuals, a group or a class to help fulfill these hours. Summer is a great time for teens to get ahead on required service hours!
These new public volunteer days are an easy, convenient way to support your MetroParks and make a difference! Volunteers of all ages and abilities will help with a variety of projects from 9 a.m. to noon. Register online through Get Connected.
