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Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

We know that many students want to give back to their community and that many schools require volunteer hours to graduate. So we have put together a variety of ways you can apply to earn hours–from being part of our youth leadership team to helping at programs when you have extra time. Choose what fits your schedule and interests. You’ll earn volunteer hours, build your resume, and earn letters of recommendation, too.

TEEN ADVISORY GROUP

GRADES 8-12 TAG’s mission is to inspire creative youth-driven opportunities for Ypsilanti Area teens by building meaningful connections at the library and in the broader community. We focus on developing teen leadership skills using the Youth Driven Spaces model. Advisory members design and lead teen events, write grants, brainstorm the needs of Ypsi teens and how the library can help meet the needs, make presentations to other youth organizations, and more. There are advisories at all three YDL buildings so teens at each location have a voice in teens services at their home library.

APPLY FOR TAG

SUMMER YOUTH VOLUNTEER CORPS

GRADES 7-12 Every summer we need extra hands to serve lunch, be a reading buddy with younger readers, help at kids’ STEAM programs, sign people up for the Summer Challenge, and more. Training and regular weekly attendance is expected.

Fill out the application and we’ll be in touch in late May. Training dates are in early June, with positions running from mid-June through mid-August. 

LIBRARY EVENT VOLUNTEER

GRADES 7-12 Sign up to be on the event volunteer list. Once you’re on the list, you’ll get an email notification whenever we need an extra hand at a library event for kids or teens. Respond or not depending on your availability.

TEEN LIBRARIAN ASSISTANT

GRADES 9-12 Are you interested in seeing the behind the scenes work that happens in the Youth Department? Librarian Assistants get to earn volunteer hours while they learn how we prep for library events, promote programs and books, and keep materials straightened so everyone can find what they’re looking for. We have a limited number of openings to help for one hour each week or every other week on a regular schedule. If there are openings, we’ll let you know and schedule a meeting. If there are no openings, applications are kept on file for the school year and we’ll email the waiting list when there is an open slot we need to fill.

CREATE YOUR OWN PROJECT

GRADES 10-12 Are you interested in leading a club or meetup such as a regular monthly or weekly K-Pop conversation group or Dungeons and Dragons gaming afternoon? Maybe you want to share a skill with other kids or teens at a one time drawing program, or host a fandom or mystery party.

Tell us your idea and how it promotes use of the library and our resources. If it fits with our mission, event schedule, and budget, we’ll be in touch to schedule a presentation for TAG members to hear more.