Engaging Youth Volunteers at South Bay Community Services

By Liz Ertel, VIP Fellow at South Bay Community Services, a partner site of Jewish Family Service

Youth are often thought of as the recipient of community resources, rather than the solution to community problems. As a result, nonprofits don’t always look to young people when recruiting volunteers. However, youth are an untapped resource of volunteers. They are excited, energetic, eager to help, and full of fresh ideas.  High school students, and now even middle school students, have required service hours for school, service clubs, and college applications. Utilizing youth volunteers simply requires a different approach because these volunteers need constant engagement, stimulation, and unique schedules.

Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School students help put together food packages for families at South Bay Community Services’ food bank.

Here at South Bay Community Services - a nonprofit social services organization serving youth, children, and families in Chula Vista, CA - requests from youth needing volunteer opportunities for school or for court are very common. Unfortunately, we could not accommodate every request. After turning away what felt like hoards of youth, we set out to create new opportunities to engage more young volunteers in various programs to involve them in their own community. Since SBCS started off as a youth drop-in center in 1971 and has a history of utilizing youth to further its goals to improve the lives of families in the South Bay, we wanted to build upon that legacy.

Youth volunteers from United Methodist Church Westlake village pose during a graffiti clean-up. The church youth group chose to spend their spring break volunteering at SBCS. 

Recently, SBCS begun a Buff-a-Block program in partnership with the city of Chula Vista to clean up trash and graffiti in an assigned area of the city.  This was one of our first volunteer programs geared specifically towards youth volunteers. After only a few months, the program has proven to be very successful in cleaning up the city of Chula Vista and serves as a great way for youth to volunteer in the community during the afterschool hours.

Here at SBCS, we hope to continue to open up more youth volunteer opportunities and that other non-profits will do the same. If non-profits are creative and open to new partnerships, they can give youth the opportunity to take responsibility for their own communities.  When youth volunteer, they gain confidence, take on more leadership roles, and begin the journey to a lifetime of service.