In a world that often feels like a never-ending cycle of classes, assignments, and maybe even sports, we are always juggling so much as students. However, there’s a fulfilling way to break free from your routine and give back to people: Volunteering! Charlottesville offers so many great opportunities that students can participate in and give back (plus it’s a great addition to your college application)!
Culture-to-Culture
One of the popular tutoring opportunities at CHS is Culture-to-Culture, which is a peer tutoring program to support English Language Learning (ELL) in a variety of subject areas. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Ms. Vasquez!
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization devoted to creating a community where everyone can find a decent place to live. Anybody can volunteer and there are lots of different ways to help!You can join them directly on the building site, no experience is needed (Youth Builds 16+; General Builds 18+). You can also help at the Habitat for Humanity Store or provide lunch for people working on their builds. Habitat for Humanity says “Whether you are a student, retired, working a full-time job, or raising a family, we have opportunities for you to help!” For more information visit their website.
Raceday Volunteering
A super easy and quick way to volunteer is at races. Throughout the year, there are different running races such as a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon! A volunteer’s jobs vary per race but usually they include packet pickup, parking, course marshals, finish line help, assisting with water coolers, or post-race clean up! Some events also give volunteers a 50% race discount, keep that in mind if you are interested in participating in a race in the future! Runners can also sometimes recruit a volunteer on their behalf and receive a 50% discount off their race entry. If you are interested in this try googling “upcoming running races in Charlottesville” to stay up to date!
The Haven
The Haven is a multi-resource day shelter and housing resource center located downtown. It serves as a sanctuary for those facing homelessness and offers not just shelter but also support and compassion. They have important guidelines for volunteers to ensure their safety. To Volunteer, you must be 18 years of age or older, but they do make exceptions for 16 and up with an adult chaperone. So if you can commit to 1-2 volunteer shifts per month, this is a great community service opportunity! Visit their website to learn more and volunteer for the Haven.
SPCA
If you’re an animal lover the SPCA is a great place to volunteer and they have amazing volunteering opportunities for youth! Volunteers can bag foster food, make enrichment treats for dogs, do laundry, and more. Start by following the directions on their website.
CHS Opportunities
Believe it or not, there are many opportunities at our Charlottesville High School campus! So, whether it’s joining a club, participating in fundraisers, or assisting at school events, there are countless ways to contribute to the school community. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities pay attention to the morning announcements!
Mr. Davis
If you have a knack for gardening, or even if you don’t, the community garden at CHS could always use volunteers. There are so many different ways to help out in the garden, so don’t hesitate to get involved by contacting Mr. Davis!
We are so lucky to live in a great place like Charlottesville that offers a spectrum of opportunities for us as students to give back. Hopefully students in our community will find these volunteering opportunities helpful and utilize them!
