15 Winter Volunteer Programs for High School Students

Volunteering is one of the most practical ways for high school students to grow outside the classroom. It helps you learn how to communicate clearly, manage your time, and work toward shared goals. Just as important, it exposes you to communities, causes, and challenges that shape how you see the world.

Winter is a strong time to volunteer because it allows for focus without distraction. Instead of trying to fit service into a packed school schedule, winter volunteer programs let you engage more fully, even if only for a short period. Many programs focus on education support, public health, environmental work, or community outreach, helping you build useful skills while making a real contribution. These experiences add depth to your academic and personal journey. They reflect commitment, empathy, and self-direction. 

To help you explore options that fit well with the winter break, we have compiled a list of 15 winter volunteer programs for high school students!

15 Winter Volunteer Programs for High School Students

1. Feeding America Holiday Food Drive

Location: Virtual, or anywhere in the USA

Cost: None

Dates: Flexible and self-organized (e.g., 1-month Thanksgiving drive) or extended as needed

Deadline: Rolling 

Eligibility: Students and youth groups (such as high school clubs)

Feeding America’s Holiday Food Drive lets you get involved in hunger relief in a very direct, practical way during the winter months. You help organize food drives at your school or in your neighborhood, spread the word to encourage donations, and coordinate with local food banks so what’s collected actually reaches families who need it. Some students also run virtual food drives, raising money that food banks use to buy exactly what’s in short supply. The work gives you a clear look at how large nonprofits operate at the local level, while building real experience in organizing people, communicating with your community, and turning effort into measurable impact.

2. Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center – Teen Volunteer Program

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Cost: None

Dates: Rolling start dates

Application Deadline: Year-round; monthly interviews

Eligibility: High school students who can complete 100 hours

Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center Teen Volunteer Program places you inside a working hospital for a full year, where you support staff with patient-facing and administrative tasks. After completing required onboarding like health screenings, orientation, and background checks, you begin helping with visitor guidance, patient communication, paperwork flow, and unit support so departments can run smoothly. Over time, you learn how a large medical center actually functions day to day, from how patients move through the system to how teams coordinate care behind the scenes. If you speak additional languages, that skill can be especially useful when assisting a diverse patient population, making the experience more hands-on and meaningful.

3. Cedars-Sinai High School Student Volunteer Program

Location: Los Angeles, CA (multiple sites)

Cost: None. $30 for the required volunteer jacket

Dates: January 26-April 5 

Application Deadline: Winter: Dec 1 - 4

Eligibility: High school student aged 14 - 18 years; minimum GPA of 3.2

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s volunteer program places you inside the hospital’s daily operations, where you help keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. You might work at front desks, help organize records, manage phone calls, assist with deliveries between departments, or support patient services teams, depending on where you’re placed. The schedule is structured, so you show up consistently and build real responsibility over time rather than doing one-off tasks. While you’re not involved in medical procedures, you see how different hospital departments coordinate, how patients move through the system, and how much organization and communication it takes to keep a major medical center functioning.

4. Jersey City Medical Center High School Volunteer Program

Location: Jersey City, NJ

Cost: None

Dates: Year-round, including winters. 50 hours (minimum commitment)

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: High school student aged 16+ years; medical clearance

This volunteer program provides hands-on exposure to hospital operations through responsibilities such as patient escorting, clerical support, and internal messenger services. As a volunteer, you gain insight into how hospital departments communicate, manage visitor flow, and maintain organization at the unit level. The program offers flexible weekly shifts during the school year, with increased availability during the summer months. Before starting, you complete orientation and required health clearances to ensure you are prepared for the clinical environment. Upon completing a minimum of 50 service hours, volunteers receive formal documentation.

5. League of Women Voters of Houston Youth Engagement Internship

Location: Houston, TX

Cost: None

Dates: Year-round, including during the winter months in December 

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: High school students living in Houston

League of Women Voters of Houston’s Youth Engagement Internship puts you directly into local civic work, where you help people understand how voting works and how to take part in elections. You spend time at voter registration drives, libraries, and community events, answering questions, sharing accurate information, and helping outreach efforts run smoothly. Some days involve setting up booths or helping with materials and coordination, other days are about talking to community members and making sure they know where and how to vote. Through the work, you see how a nonpartisan civic organization operates on the ground and builds real skills in communication, organization, and public-facing responsibility.

6. San Francisco Center for the Book Youth Volunteer Opportunities

Location: San Francisco, CA

Cost: None

Dates: Year-round, including winters (event-based)

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Age 14+ years

San Francisco Center for the Book’s youth volunteer roles place you inside a working printmaking and book arts studio, helping real programs happen. You assist with workshops and public events by setting up materials, organizing tools, and supporting instructors during demonstrations, which means you’re constantly moving and paying attention to detail. Over time, you become comfortable around presses, binding equipment, and studio tools, learning how they’re handled and cared for, even if you’re not operating them yourself. You spend a lot of time around artists, educators, and other volunteers, getting a clear sense of how creative instruction works behind the scenes and how community arts organizations actually run day to day.

7. Asian Art Museum – Volunteer Program

Location: San Francisco, CA

Cost: None

Dates: Year-round, including winters 

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Age 16+ years

Asian Art Museum’s volunteer program places you inside the day-to-day life of a major museum, where you help support cultural events, workshops, and public programs throughout the year. Your work can include setting up events, assisting visitors, organizing materials, and helping different departments stay coordinated during busy programs. Because the commitment is long-term, you gradually take on more responsibility and start to understand how exhibitions, education teams, and public programming actually function together.

8. Hospital of Central Connecticut Teen Volunteer Program

Location: New Britain, CT

Cost: None

Dates: Year-round, including winter ( at least 40 volunteer hours)

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Age 14+ years

As a hospital volunteer, you assist with patient transport, reception duties, and unit coordination, providing hands-on support to staff while interacting with patients and their families. You gain insight into hospital operations, learning how departments communicate and workflows are managed to ensure smooth daily functioning. To participate, you complete an interview, submit clearance documentation, and provide a recommendation, preparing you for a professional environment. 

9. Stamford Health Junior Volunteer Program

Location: Stamford, CT

Cost: None

Dates: Winter session: September - February

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Age 16 - 17 years

Volunteering at Stamford Hospital gives you the chance to make a real impact in non-clinical areas such as the emergency department, cancer services, and patient experience teams. Depending on your placement, you may assist with reception duties, provide comfort services to patients, or support administrative projects. Weekly shifts help you develop professionalism, reliability, and strong communication skills. Before starting, all volunteers complete a health clearance, and the program may offer additional perks such as access to special events and staff privileges. 

10. International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ): Teen Volunteer Abroad Programs

Location: 50+ countries, including Costa Rica, Tanzania, Nepal, Bali, Fiji, and Peru

Cost: Cost varies by country; Stipend $20/day 

Dates: Flexible start dates year-round

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Ages 16–18 for teen programs; under-18 applicants require parental consent.

International Volunteer HQ’s teen volunteer abroad programs let you spend time working on real community projects in another country rather than doing surface-level travel. You choose a placement based on what you care about, whether that’s helping in classrooms, supporting conservation efforts, or assisting with childcare or community programs, and you work under local supervision with clear structure and expectations. Before you begin, you receive orientation and on-the-ground support so you understand the culture, safety norms, and daily responsibilities. The experience is designed to be responsible and sustainable, with projects shaped around community needs.

11. Habitat for Humanity – Youth Construction Volunteer

Location: Local Habitat for Humanity sites (national network)

Cost: Free 

Dates: Year-round (build projects operate through winter in many regions)

Application Deadline: None

Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (16–18) generally qualify for construction volunteering with parent consent.

Habitat for Humanity offers high school students meaningful, hands-on opportunities to support affordable housing while developing practical skills. As a student volunteer, you can take part in safe, supervised activities such as painting, gardening, landscaping, organizing materials, and helping at Habitat ReStores by sorting donations and assisting with store operations. You may also join community outreach efforts, fundraising drives, awareness campaigns, and local events, where you help plan activities and interact with the community. Through these experiences, you strengthen teamwork, leadership, communication, and organizational skills while directly contributing to projects that help families build, repair, and maintain safe homes.

12. Local Food Bank – Feeding America Volunteer

Location: Local food banks (Feeding America affiliates nationwide)

Cost: Free

Dates: Year-round (including winter)

Application Deadline: None 

Eligibility: Open to volunteers of all ages, with middle school students typically participating under parental supervision or as part of a school group.

The Feeding America Volunteer Program allows students to take meaningful action against hunger while learning how a large food relief network operates. Through local food banks, students can help sort, pack, and distribute food donations to families facing food insecurity. During a typical volunteer shift, you may bag groceries, stock shelves, assemble meal kits, or assist at food distribution sites, gaining a behind-the-scenes understanding of how communities respond to hunger. These hands-on activities help you develop organization, teamwork, and responsibility while seeing the immediate impact of your efforts on people in need.

13. Operation Kindness – Junior Volunteering Program

Location: Operation Kindness (Carrollton, TX, near Dallas)

Cost: $15 program fee for 4 hours

Dates: Several cohorts per year (including winter sessions)

Application Deadline: Varies by session (see website)

Eligibility: Youth ages 13–18 (teenagers ages 13-15 must be accompanied by an adult)

The Operation Kindness Junior Volunteering Program allows students to explore the world of animal care while supporting one of Texas’s leading no-kill shelters. Through supervised, behind-the-scenes activities, you help with daily shelter tasks and spend time caring for and bonding with cats and dogs. The program helps you develop empathy, responsibility, and confidence while gaining hands-on experience in animal welfare. It also offers insight into careers in veterinary science, animal rescue, and shelter management, while strengthening teamwork and communication skills.

14. San Francisco Free Clinic – School-Aged Volunteer Program

Location: San Francisco Free Clinic, San Francisco, CA

Cost: Free

Dates: Year-round 

Application Deadline: Rolling (program has a waitlist)

Eligibility: Middle and high school students (grades 6–12)

The San Francisco Free Clinic Youth Volunteer Program welcomes middle and high school students who are interested in exploring healthcare careers. As a young volunteer, you can help with front-office and back-office tasks such as filing, greeting patients, and supporting staff in the waiting area. Through a year-long commitment, you gain firsthand insight into how a public health clinic operates and how care is delivered to the community. The highly selective program offers mentorship from experienced medical professionals, helping you develop strong organizational, communication, and professional skills.

15. Olathe Public Library – Teen Volunteer Program

Location: Olathe Public Library, Olathe, KS

Cost: Free

Dates: Year-round (volunteer meetings and shifts monthly)

Application Deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Middle and high school students (grades 6–12)

At Olathe Public Library, you have the chance to take an active role in your community while developing important skills. As a Teen Ambassador, you attend planning meetings, help coordinate youth programs, assist at community events, and promote library services to your peers. You can also volunteer as a Gaming Assistant or Tech Assistant, where you run game sessions or lead tech workshops for younger children. Beyond these roles, you might help with storytime programs, craft workshops, or summer reading initiatives, and assist with shelving books or creating displays. 

One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.

Image Source - Feeding America logo