Community service is a great thing that can benefit so many people. Fortunately, there are many places to volunteer in Solano County, so that any teenager can make a difference in their community.

A lot of families don’t get enough of the food that they desperately need, so a good place to volunteer at would be the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano County. Volunteers as young as nine years old (with a guardian accompanying them) can volunteer at this food bank to help sort through donations and make sure families in need get the food that they come for. Another food service that teens can volunteer at is Meals on Wheels of Solano County. Both of these services are a huge benefit to the less fortunate people of our community.

For people who love animals, there are two local places to volunteer at that would be perfect! Solano County Animal Care Services and the Suisun Wildlife Center both offer volunteer work to individuals as young as 18 who are willing to help take care of animals. Dolores Almanza Martinez has a lot of animals back at home, so she has dreamed about working with even more animals at a place like this. “Since I know so much about animals and I love them so much, I think it would be great if I could volunteer at one of these animal centers. Anything that will help animals in need is great work in my opinion.”

Other students here at Armijo have volunteered at the NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield. For example, Melissa Theodorus has completed 130 hours of volunteer work here, running errands for busy staff, helping transport lab work, and restocking supplies. Theodorus said “I decided to volunteer at the hospital because I thought it was a great way to help people who were in need. Not only was I able to work in a professional environment, but I also gained new experiences and got to see what goes on behind the scenes of a hospital.”

If anyone is interested in volunteering for some of these jobs, or learning about other opportunities, you can simply go to http://www.fairfield.california.gov to get more information on volunteer opportunities in and near Fairfield.