Young people can volunteer in a variety of ways and more and more schools are encouraging community work during Transition Year. This could of course be extended! Possibilities include "adopting" an animal at Dublin Zoo. There are five categories of sponsorship, ranging from £30 for a meerkat, snowy owl or lemur, to £150 for a hippo, elephant, lion or tapir. You get an adoption certificate and other paraphernalia and the satisfaction of contributing to the food, veterinary care, husbandry needs and enclosure maintenance of an animal. For further information call (01) 6771425. Or you could raise funds for the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Be a good neighbour. Tidy the garden for an elderly or infirm neighbour.
Go carol singing with Carelocal (formerly Care for Dublin's Old Folk Living Alone)
Become part of the Global Action Plan Ecoteam to make your household environment-friendly. Or organise a group of classmates or friends to clean up a local beach or clear rubbish from the roadsides.
Get together with people in a home for the elderly for regular music or story-telling sessions.
For more information on these ideas and others, call the Volunteer Resource Centre. You might also get in touch with Foroige - the National Youth Development Organisation (01) 4501166 or the National Youth Federation - (01) 827993.