Why Volunteering is Important for Youth in a Community
Did you know that youth volunteering has been steadily on the increase over the past decade? It seems that more and more young people are actively seeking out opportunities to make an improvement upon our world. When they feel that they can have an impact on creating a better planet for all while impacting their own future directly, you can see how this push to be a more active volunteer would come to be.
Communities reap the rewards of youth volunteer initiatives in so many ways:
Generational gaps can be bridged
Adults often accompany youth volunteers, resulting in the building of family quality time
A generation of actively involved and caring youth is created and supported
Commitment to improvement grows within circles of friends, families, and organizations
A youth volunteer is highly likely to become an adult volunteer
Statistically speaking, youth volunteers who take part in even one hour of volunteer work per week are 50% less likely to engage in destructive behavior. The skills gained from volunteering tie directly into the skills required for leadership, such as cultivating patience and an understanding and acceptance of others.
Here at the CFRB, we have seen that having youth actively engaged in volunteering with us has left them - along with ourselves - uplifted. Being able to take part in recovering food from going to landfill, and sorting and displaying the food gives them a hands on experience with food while meeting new people and gaining new skills.
There is a lot of great information out there about the importance of getting children involved in food preparation at home. Volunteering in a food recovery program offers children the opportunity to learn even more about the importance of sustainability, ecology, food security and food sovereignty, and supporting their community.
Please contact us with any questions, or to see about signing up as a youth volunteer!