Age Requirements
The Teen Volunteer Program is for ages 12-18.
**If you are 18 years old and finished with high school, please apply for the Adult Volunteer Program.
What Does a Teen Volunteer Do?
Teen volunteers come from all over the greater League City area to serve at Helen Hall, making up nearly 2/3 of our Volunteer Services team members! Teen Volunteer tasks and responsibilities will vary depending on the needs of the library at the time of the volunteer shift. Their jobs can be anything from assiting with crafts for a children's program or cleaning around the library to shelving books and helping the Circulation Department with inventory checks, or assisting at community outreach events.
Some volunteers may become parts of more specificied teams such as Book Review Team, Photography/Video Team, or Program Assistants, and will serve when/how their team is needed specifically.
Volunteers are always invited and encouraged to present new ideas for programs or creative ways to volunteer. As long as your idea helps fulfill the mission of Helen Hall Library, we'll work together to try and make your idea happen!
What's the commitment?
Learning all of the different tasks and jobs that wiill help you be most effective as a volunteer at the library takes time and training. As such, a Teen Volunteer is asked to commit to working at least 8 hours per semester, or 24 hours in a fiscal year (October-September), to be considered an active member of the volunteer team. Our semester break down is as follows:
**At the end of every semester, the Volunteer Coordinator will do an hours check to confirm volunteers are keeping up with their commitment. Those who have not kept their commitment will be encouraged to either re-committ for the next semester or will be asked to resign from the program until such a time that their schedule allows for their commitment to be upheld.
Summer Volunteer Program
The Summer Volunteer Program is for Teens who only wish to volunteer during their summer break. The program is from May - August.
Due to limited availability of shifts and work load, spaces for this program are limited and invitations will be extended to previous volunteers first. Only volunteers who can make a 15-hour commitment will be considered. Orientations for the Summer program begin in early May and are held until early June.
The deadline for summer applications is June 2, 2023.
**Orientation dates will be assigned based on date of application received. Orientations are held on Wednesdays at 6:30pm at the library and will be held on the following dates:
May 3, May 17, and June 7.
If there is enough demand due to scheduling conflict, a Saturday morning orientation may be scheduled as well.
Credit for Earning Hours
Teens needing to earn service hours for school or other organizations are encouraged to begin volunteering several months before their due dates, to make sure they have enough time to meet their commitment by deadline. If you are on a short deadline for your hours, the volunteer program at Helen Hall may not be the right choice for you, as we require application screening and volunteer orientation before you can begin.
A Letter of Hours Confirmation, as well as forms that require a final signature, will only be given out once a volunteer has fulfilled their commitment to the library.
A Letter of Recommendation from the Volunteer Coordinator for college admission or scholarship awards, as well as job references, will only be written for volunteers who have completed at least two active semesters worth of volunteering (i.e. at least 16 hours served)
Please keep in mind that our volunteer positions provide a job-like experience and we trust and expect our volunteers to behave in a professional manner. You are responsible for keeping up with communications from and communicating to the Volunteer Coordinator. If you need documentation confirming your service hours, you are required to ask via email at least one week in advance of when you need it. We cannot guarantee your service hours will be confirmed otherwise.
Helen Hall Library's Teen Advisory Board (TAB) is a service group whose members are library ambassadors and community leaders. Members help plan teen activities, assist with library events, promote the library, and more. The Teen Advisory Board meets from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month (no meetings in May, August, and December).
Teens join the Teen Advisory Board to:
Teen Advisory Board member requirements:
Interested in joining Helen Hall Library's Teen Advisory Board? Visit our Teen Programs page or email Teen Services Librarian Sheldon Stevens at sheldon.stevens@leaguecitytx.gov for more information.
