How to Give to Charity As a Teen

Find a charity or store in your local area, that you want to help out. Find out whether it does pick-ups or whether you need to visit and drop off items. If you want to donate volunteering time, you'll need to be able to get there easily, so work out which bus routes or see if there is someone who can take you. Make sure the store is for a charity that you support.

Always do your research before you donate your time, money, or old things. Be sure that the charity has the values that matter to you. Think about what you are passionate about and what big problems you want to solve. Then, find a charity that aims to solve said problems. If you're passionate about the cause you're helping with, doing charity work won't feel like a chore.

Assemble old clothes that you no longer need. For example, they may not fit you anymore or you've just stopped liking them. Make sure that the clothes you choose are in good condition. Ripped clothes aren't very helpful and may just get thrown away. Consider wearing them at home or donating them as blankets at an animal shelter. Then, you can take the clothes in better condition to a charity store or have them collected. Moreover, you can ask your friends to get together and bring clothes they don't need, and donate them together. Check that nobody else in your family wants the clothes first. Charity can start at home.

Donate other unwanted items. For example, your old toys (dolls, stuffed animals, etc.), jewelry, books, etc. can be useful for donating to charity when you no longer need them. Ensure that the items are in good condition, clean and likely to be wanted by someone else. Broken and dirty items are best recycled or disposed of.

Donate money. If you have an income or allowance, consider putting aside a little each week to donate to the charity of your choice. For example, Make a Wish, which helps to grant wishes to young children with disease.

Donate time. If you are allowed to spend some time volunteering, this can be a good choice. There are laws about what age you can volunteer in many places, and the charity itself may also have its own restrictions, especially if you're dealing directly with people or animals. Also, you'll need to get your parent's permission. Once that's all clear, consider giving a few hours of your time each week or month to help out at such places as animal welfare centers, charity stores, soup kitchens, backroom sorting, and so forth. Call the charity that is of interest to you and tell them that you're interested in volunteering and see what they have to offer. You could offer to collect funds once a year or every now and then, such as at the mall or on the street on that charity's designated collection day. You will need to follow the charity's rules, be clearly identified as collecting for that charity and ensure that you are somewhere safe.

Start saving up for even more money to buy stuff for charity. If you do that, it will be easier!

Tell your friends about your great time volunteering. Encourage more people to join you in making the world a better place!

Ask your school. High schools or middle schools often require volunteer work. They should have something for you to try there such as working at a senior center or cleaning up the park. You can do these with your friends too!

Sometimes, physically helping out can be inconvenient or clashes with your schedule. Another alternative would be to donate to thousands of different online charities as well! You can even volunteer, which would still count as charity. There are many volunteer projects waiting for you, no matter where you live, or how old you are!