Volunteering Opportunities in Your Community

Volunteer Opportunities

• Find a nonprofit in your area that aligns with your interests, such as environmental issues, animal cruelty, poverty, or homelessness.
• Consider local organizations like soup kitchens, food pantries, community gardens, homeless shelters, and public libraries.
• Look into nationwide organizations like Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Red Cross, and Boys and Girls Club.
• Healthcare facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities often have volunteer opportunities.
• Check your school and public library for programs in mentorship, tutoring, or teaching languages.
• You can also volunteer to help individuals or families in need in your community.

Establishing Healthy Relationships

• Show respect by using simple actions like using a person's name, making eye contact, and active listening.
• Demonstrate confidence by using a friendly but firm tone and avoiding overly confident or aggressive behavior.
• Be receptive to feedback by listening thoughtfully and asking questions.
• Acknowledge others by showing appreciation and gratitude.
• Proofread communication to ensure it is clear, correct, and free of errors.

Maintaining Healthy Boundaries

• Set boundaries to establish what is and is not acceptable in a given setting.
• Examples of boundaries include physical boundaries, work breaks, and technology use.
• Learn and follow the rules set by your employer to avoid violating policies.
• Maintain healthy boundaries in other community relationships, such as those at school.

Skills for Healthy Community Relationships

• Build and maintain healthy relationships by using skills like respect, confidence, and receptiveness to feedback.
• Interacting with people from diverse backgrounds can increase your understanding and appreciation of different perspectives.
• Stay curious and open-minded when interacting with people from different backgrounds.
• Urge others to respect diversity and challenge biased or unfair beliefs.

Communicating Effectively

• Use effective communication skills in all relationships, including those in your community.
• Speak clearly and concisely, and listen closely to others.
• Be open-minded and ask questions to clarify.
• Make sure your body language matches your message.

Relationships in Your Community

• As you grow up, you will have more relationships outside your family, including those with adults and others in your community.
• Teens have relationships with people they see frequently, such as teachers, neighbors, and other students.
• Sometimes teens find it easier to take advice from mentors, who can help guide them in positive ways.
• Feeling like you are part of a community can help you develop a sense of belonging, support, and identity.

Changes in the Family

• All families encounter changes over time, such as a physical or mental health condition, loss of a job, or relocation to a new community.
• These changes can create stress and disrupt family relationships.
• Strategies for coping with changes include acknowledging emotions, reflecting on other transitions, and seeking support from friends, adults, or mentors.

Relationships with Grandparents

• Many teens benefit from relationships with grandparents.
• Grandparents can share wisdom and give valuable advice.
• They may help teens better understand their parents and provide support.
• Respect grandparents' rules and expectations, even if they are different from those at home.

Skills for Relationships with Grandparents

• Be mindful of what you share with your grandparents.
• Learn a skill that your grandparents know, such as how to fish or cook.
• Offer to help with household tasks.
• Ask grandparents questions about their lives.
• Stay in touch and find ways to communicate if you live far away.

Local and Global Health

• All around the world, parents and guardians love and want the best for their children, including teens.
• Cultural values and practices influence how parents and guardians interact and communicate with children and teens.
• Differences in cultural values and norms impact how much independence parents give their children.
• Interpersonal skills, such as showing respect, honesty, and trust, are important in all parent-and-child relationships.

Relationships with Siblings

• Sibling relationships are often the earliest family relationships people have.
• Siblings may have different personalities, interests, and ways of handling major life events.
• Competition and sibling rivalry can create conflict.
• Strategies for managing sibling relationships include expressing feelings, getting away from tense situations, respecting each other's space, compromising, and designating personal space.

Skills for Healthy Family Relationships

• Building and maintaining family relationships requires many of the same strategies used to build healthy relationships with peers.
• Share your plans with your parent or guardian ahead of time.
• Discuss family rules and follow them, even if you disagree.
• Remain calm and spend time doing enjoyable activities with your family.### Diverse Family Structures
• A variety of family structures exist, including families with half-siblings, without children, emancipated teens, foster families, and those with adopted children.
• Other types of family structures include single-parent families, step-families, and families living with additional relatives.
• Guardians or grandparents can also serve as heads of household.

Family Responsibilities

• Families provide for their members' physical needs, such as food, clothing, and housing.
• Healthy families ensure their members' safety and health, including regular doctor and dentist visits.
• Families also meet their members' mental and emotional needs, such as providing love, acceptance, and emotional comfort.
• Family support and love contribute to individuals' sense of security and self-worth.

Supporting Family and Community Relationships

• Building healthy relationships with family members, such as parents, guardians, siblings, and grandparents, is important.
• Strategies for promoting healthy relationships include resolving conflicts maturely and engaging in activities that bring families together.
• Coping with changes within families is crucial, and community relationships can provide support.

Community Relationships

• Relationships extend beyond the family to include connections with friends, classmates, community members, and dating partners.
• Building healthy community relationships is essential for overall well-being.

Key Terms

• Extended family refers to relatives beyond the immediate family.
• Immediate family includes parents, guardians, and siblings.
• Mentors are trusted individuals who provide guidance and support.
• Traditions are customs or practices passed down within families or communities.