Planning Youth Service Projects With Teens
Helping Kids Combine Leadership with Helping
Sep 18, 2008
Most adults who work with kids realize the benefits of service learning. Teens can work on their emerging organizational and planning skills, learn teamwork and cooperation, and expand their awareness of the needs of others. Many youth workers, however, are reluctant to take on such projects; they fear that kids may not be able to get the job done, and that the bulk of the planning and follow through will fall to the adults.
It doesn’t have to be that way. With a little forethought and structured guidance from adult advisors, teens can often accomplish more than we realize. Try this process for helping kids not only serve, but assume leadership roles, as well.
Brainstorming Possible Service Projects
Use chart paper or another visual aid that allows teens to see all of their suggestions at one time. The group can select one person to act as recording secretary to jot down suggestions. Adults should limit their involvement in this step to posing questions that may stimulate thinking. For example, do students want to engage in a project that is global, national, local, or personal in scale? Do they want the project tied to a specific cause or issue that students feel strongly about, and if so, what are some ways they can help? Do they want to join in with an already established project (such as Habitat for Humanity, for example) or start something new?
Researching Service Projects
Once the brainstorming is complete, ask for volunteers to research the particulars about several ideas. Students can volunteer to research ideas they are personally interested in and then “pitch” it to the rest of the group, or the group can vote on ideas and research can be done on the resulting “Top Five.” Research can include information about the specific need or cause, how the money, goods, or services will reach the intended group, and how people will benefit from the project.
Deciding on a Service Project
After an appropriate amount of research and discussion, team members should vote on possible project options. Ask a student to be in charge of the voting process. One way is to give each teen one vote. Or, if there are many possibilities and kids feel strongly about several issues, kids can vote for their “top three.” Ideas that are not selected for this project can be saved for another time.
Service Project Plans
Outline (again using chart paper so all kids can see) the steps and details needed to make the project come together. Be sure to include ALL necessary components. Again, utilize a student to record/lead the discussion, and confine adult roles to questioning and probing where appropriate. Questions might include things like: “How will you accomplish that?” or “What will that look like?” to get kids to expand their plans and consider potential problems.
Service Project Roles
Once students have outlined the details needed to make the project come alive, its time to assign tasks. Be sure the group doesn’t make a habit out of assigning the same kids to the same types of roles. Instead, encourage kids to expand past their comfort zone and take on more challenging responsibilities.
Implementing Service Projects
Once everyone knows her role, it’s time to put the plan in motion. Be sure there are students assigned to supervise and make sure the project components are on track. Have students “report in” regularly to make sure things are going smoothly, or set up a regular meeting time where wrinkles can be ironed out. A calendar is a good tool to ensure that details are being handles and timelines are being met.
Evaluating Service Projects
After the project is finished, analyze how things went so you can apply what has been learned to the next project. Look at both what worked well and what didn’t work so well. Does more time need to be put into planning? Does the group need to do a better job of communicating? What obstacles arose that were not predicted, and how were they handled? What would the group do differently if they were to do this same project again?
Service projects provide kids with multiple opportunities to learn and practice skills, and help them develop empathy in the process. With thoughtful adult guidance, kids can develop strong leadership skills through this process, as well.
