The holiday season is filled with giving. Central students from all grades are giving their time to the community. With the National Honors Society application deadline coming in late January, with a required 20 hours of recorded volunteering, as well as current NHS members looking for hours, it can be easy to feel lost in where to give your time. Here is a list of 10 great places to give your time for hours or just for the good of the community.

DuPage Pads-

If you are an early bird, Pads may be right for you. DuPage Pads or Pads for short, provides short term and long term based housing for the homeless and is always looking for volunteers. One can help support the short term based housing by providing volunteer support at the housing centers. Currently there are open shifts at the Hinsdale location early Saturday morning from 3 a.m.-6 a.m.

Read to Lead-

In this club at Central and an organization that provides NHS volunteer hours, students after school travel to local elementary schools in the area and assist younger students in reading and homework.

Robert Crown-

Robert Crown is a center for health education located in Hinsdale. They have been known to take volunteers and have a teen-based executive board that is considering doling out volunteer positions at their upcoming events. Upcoming events include the Happy to Be Me women’s celebration on Feb. 21 and community open house on Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Adventist Hinsdale Hospital-

Adventist Hinsdale Hospital is looking for volunteers for their Gift shop, patient escort lobby, and in many other areas and are flexible with hours for teens under 18. According to their flyer, there will be orientation training, and one can obtain, on average, two hours a week.

The MS Association of America-

Want to get volunteer hours just by sitting at your computer? Multiple Sclerosis Association for America will give you a volunteer credit online. Provide 10 social media interactions (posts, likes, etc.) and you will receive one hour of credit!

ASD Climber Foundation-

Looking for a volunteer opportunity that will turn into something more in just a few hours? The ASD Climber Foundation works with families with children on the autism spectrum on creating a, “home based social skills program called the Son-Rise Program” and is around two hours a week with initial training, but the ASD Climber Foundation is looking for teen volunteers to stick around for six months or more.

Lifetime Fitness-

Always felt more comfortable on water than land? Lifetime Fitness in Burr Ridge has a volunteer opportunity in which you will work with children with sensory-processing impairments or those undergoing orthopedic surgery as they workout in the pool to aquatic therapy. One must be over 16 to volunteer and it lasts from 1:45-6:00 pm, but scheduling can be flexible.

People’s Resource Center-

Enjoy meeting new people? People’s Resource Center is looking for teen volunteers to encourage grocery shoppers to donate to the Holiday Dinner People’s Resource center which provides for the needy. You would work around a two hour shift up until Christmas on weekdays at either the Wheaton or Westmont Jewel.

Hospice Advantage-

Have a musical talent? Hospices looking for a music therapy volunteer to play for those in need. Other retirement homes such as Cordia in Westment have been reported to allow student combos to play for residence members and those and need for recorded volunteer hours.