In the article "Young Volunteers: The Benefits of Community Service", the author, Molly Latham, explains that many teens are volunteering and why. She explains that youth have many personal reasons to volunteer, as well as the fact that youth can reap many benefits from volunteer work. For example, teens learn leadership skills, respect, and patience. ______________________________________ This should be read 1st. This article is essential because it highlights both how many teens volunteer and why. It contains a lot of important vocabulary and also points out ways that you can get more teens to volunteer.
In the article "Why Don't Men Volunteer as Much as Women?", the author, Dan Kopf, explains that Women are more likely to volunteer that men. He begins by explaining the gender gap in volunteering and how big it is. Then he goes into why men don't volunteer as much, which may be because of cultural expectations. ______________________________________ This should be read 2nd. This article is essential because it contains many statistics on volunteering in america and has many vocabulary words. It also points out that there may be cultural expectations that are contributing to the gender gap.
In the article "Teens Who Help, Help Their Hearts", the author, Vicki Zakrzewski, explains that volunteering can have both social and emotional benefits. For example, more positive emotions, lower levels of risk behavior, increased moral reasoning, etc. The author also mentions that it may help teens feel a stronger connection to people. ______________________________________ This should be read 3rd. This article is essential because it talks about social, emotional, and physical benefits. It also talks about it from the organizations perspective, rather than just the statistical standpoint.
In the article "Volunteering reduces teens' risk of addiction", the author, Karen Hawthorne, explains that volunteering can reduce teens' risk of substance abuse. She explains that certain areas are more at risk, and then goes on to talk about the benefits of volunteering as a teen. ______________________________________ This should be read 4th. This article is essential because it explains that volunteering can be good for mental health too. It has important vocabulary as well, and builds on previous information about the benefits to volunteering in your teen years.