Addie's Advice: Summer Volunteer Tips
{Photo by Antionette Kerr/Davidson Local}
The long-awaited summer has finally arrived! As we settle in to relax for the summer and set out on our much-needed vacations, so many new opportunities also arise for our teens. Summer programs, internships, jobs, and so much more become readily available and accessible. Davidson County offers many opportunities for those things, especially volunteer work. We aim to cover in our upcoming articles, showcasing the many ways teens can get involved in their local community with volunteer work!
Volunteering as a teen offers so many new opportunities for the future, such as: personal, career, and professional growth, networking, and experience. Volunteering at a young age can be so beneficial to someone and can help them develop their skills for their future career. For example, volunteering in a rescue shelter can prepare someone for a career to do with animals, volunteering in a social setting could help someone develop the social skills needed for collaboration in an office setting, etc.
There are many amazing opportunities here in Lexington! One such being the Lexington Public Library. The volunteer program is centered around everyday tasks, such as sorting books, preparing for upcoming events, and organization. Tasks such as these can provide an opportunity to learn practical and collaborative skills.
I, Addie, have personally been volunteering at the Davidson library for around 2 years as of now. Overall for me I’d say it has been a great opportunity. It has helped me grow as a worker and has helped me develop socially. Overall it's been a positive experience, thanks to the help of the coordinators and the amazing atmosphere.
The coordinator I’ve been working with for the longest is Eric Compean-Garcia. He works at the library as a technician and teen coordinator. He works mainly with young adults, performing tasks such as doing outreach visits to different schools to raise interest in reading, planning summer reading programs, and setting up different crafts activities.
This summer the library is offering many different programs for teens wishing to participate in their local community and to simply get into reading more. With things such as reading programs and puppet shows for the younger kids.
In conclusion, now that the summer’s here, it's time to get out there! Help your local community and help yourself by taking the time to go up to the library! It’s an amazing opportunity with amazing people and coordinators there to help you out.
