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Young people can serve in many volunteer capacities. Exactly what they do will depend on their age, skills and their level of supervision and training. Here are some thoughts from Rick Lynch, co-author of Essential Volunteer Management, Heritage Arts Publishing, Downers Grove, Ill. 708-964-1194; and Martha Mercer, Department of Health, in Washington state.

Young people of all ages can be excellent volunteers. In some limited cases (e.g., trick-or-treating for UNICEF) even very young children can be effective volunteers. [Editor's Note: The opportunities for preschoolers and young school-age children are not so limited—they are actually endless—if you consider things they can do with their families or as part of a YMCA program (e.g., Christmas caroling door-to-door to raise money for YMCA World Service; making get-well cards for their peers in the hospital; visiting the home-bound elderly—even babies have been known to be drafted into this kind of service!)

Older elementary school students can be quite effective if the volunteer position is structured so they feel a sense of control and security in the work environment. This can be achieved by having the students work in small groups with an adult or high school student who is actively involved in the project providing training and making sure the students feel empowered to take action in the group volunteer position. Middle school students are able to work more independently, but still require a highly structured program. This would include close supervision, clearly defined responsibilities and a defined work environment.

High school students have reached an age where they are capable of making independent decisions and are able to assume responsibility for their actions. Their role still must be clearly defined by the program and they need to receive positive guidance and support from their supervisors and the organization. (Managing Volunteer Diversity, 1992)

The basic definition of a YMCA volunteer is "anyone who willingly gives time to help the YMCA accomplish its mission without getting paid by the YMCA." In the Y movement, we have five categories of volunteers:

1. Program volunteers help lead programs or assist in delivering programs (e.g., a program instructor, coach, aide or member of a program advisory council). This category also includes those who offer community service as participants in a YMCA program (e.g., the members of a Hi-Y club, or school-age children who interact with adults as part of an intergenerational buddy program).

2. Support volunteers serve in the office, at the front desk, in the locker room or on the grounds.

3. Fundraising volunteers raise money by working in annual, sustaining, capital or other special campaigns; working on endowment development; or by working at or running special events.

4. Policy volunteers serve on the Y's board of directors, on a committee or task force.

5. Managerial volunteers help manage and administer YMCA operations and programs (e.g., a pro-bono accountant or P.R. specialist).

Please note that young people can serve in all of the above capacities as long as, like adults, they have the proper skills, training and supervision. They are probably most likely to serve as program volunteers—doing anything from cleaning up rivers as part of a YMCA Earth Service Corps program to teaching aerobics to serving as a counselor-in-training at camp. It's less likely that they would serve as managerial volunteers, though it's entirely possible.

Consider, for example, a high-school computer whiz helping your office become computerized. As a matter of policy, there should be a teen representative on your board of directors as a policy volunteer. This person might be the designated representative of a Youth Advisory Council—a group that reports to your board and advises it on the needs and wants of teenagers. Young people of all ages have been known to be fundraisers either for the program they are involved in (e.g., selling candy) or even as campaigners in an annual sustaining campaign. They can also be helpful as support volunteers.

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