Guide for Youth and Family Volunteers

A number of our service opportunities are youth and family friendly. We are committed to providing youth and families with appropriate and meaningful ways to serve. We do require a youth waiver for all persons under the age of 18, which is available on our website. Additionally, in most instances, youth under the age of 16 are required to have a parent present on the day of service.

How to Get Started

Step 1: Register
If you are interested in signing up or expressing interest in a project, you are required to first register on our website.

Please note: Volunteers must be at least 14 years old to legally register on this website. Volunteers less than 14 years of age can volunteer, however, a parent/guardian will have to register or express interest on their behalf. Parents/guardians can create teams that include children under 14 on their account.

Also, all minor volunteers will need a youth volunteer participation form (.pdf), filled out and signed by a parent or guardian, with them in order for them to be able to serve

Step 2:Find Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers have the capability of searching for opportunities on our homepage that are suitable for children, teens, etc. by filtering opportunities. In order to filter volunteer opportunities appropriate for youth please do the following:

  • Go to the Search Opportunity Page
  • Enter all required information in the "Basic Search Box"
  • Under "Aditional Filters" click "Appropriate For"
  • In the "Age of Volunteers" drop-down menu select the appropriate age you want to filter by
  • Select any other filters you wish to search by
  • Click "Refine"

Step 3: Express Interest/Sign Up
Depending on the type of project you select, you will be given the option to Express Interest or to Sign Up.
Express Interest- The organization (with the opportunity) will contact you directly with further information and details on how to sign up. An automated e-mail will also be sent to you, with the organization’s contact information for you to follow up with them directly if you do not get a response in a timely fashion.
Sign Up- When you select this option, you will automatically be signed up for that project and will receive a confirmation e-mail containing all of pertinent information.

Step 4: School Community Service Hours
Whenever you attend a project that is organized by one of our partner organizations, it is important that you get a representative from that organization to verify the hours you have served at the end of the project. Bear in mind that it is often difficult to get verification of hours at a later date.

Please Note: Hands On Hartford will not be able to verify hours for projects that are not managed by our organization.