Volunteering can be tough.

Everyone is pressed for time. The problem's too deep, too intractable. What difference could one person actually make anyway?

But for people like the group of dedicated volunteers we have profiled in this space over the last few days, there are no mental or physical barriers too high to dissuade them from reaching out to those in greater need. They say the true benefit is personal, almost selfish. They gain as much as they give.

And they are in good company, it turns out. By the end of last year, The Volunteer Center of United Way, based in Tarrytown, helped connect 18,890 people of all ages to do 276,651 hours of volunteer services. They estimated the value of that labor at nearly $8.5 million.

Together with The Volunteer Center, Patch is highlighting the work of these dedicated volunteers in celebration of national Make a Difference Day on Oct. 23. Patch itself has a corporate mission of volunteerism. Learn more about our Give 5 program here.

To find a volunteer opportunity in your community, click here. You can also help feed a local family for a day. Click here to find out how.

Lauren Blum greeted Angel, a teen resident at Children's Village, with a hug, and they talked briefly about what he is reading.

Angel is one of the stars of the Books for Boys program, an innovative literacy program that Blum has worked with in her eight years as a volunteer at Children's Village, a residential facility for youth in crisis located in Dobbs Ferry.

Books for Boys' mission is to create life-long readers and writers. The group operates on the premise that if you do something you love, you'll do it well. It sounds simple enough, but many of the boys at Children's Village did not grow up in a "reading culture," Blum said. 

"The idea is to change the culture by exposing them to books," said Blum, who works as a nurse practitioner. It was not exactly an easy order.

Residents of Children's Village have often have suffered abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or caregivers, have bounced around the foster care system, or have been referred by the criminal justice system. In many cases, the boys entering Children's Village read far below grade level. Some have significant emotional and behavioral issues.

First off,  Books for Boys volunteers created "libraries" around the campus, including the cottages where the boys live, and stocked them with books that would appeal to the boys, who were told they could read whatever they wanted from the library.

"We found interesting books that inner-city kids can relate to," Blum said. "And the cover has to look cool."

Before the Books for Boys program began, Blum said, "It was not a cool thing to be a reader. Now it is."

A culture doesn't change overnight, of course, and cultivating these nascent readers took time.

"Charismatic, motivated kids can change a culture more than volunteers can," Blum said. "We knew who those kids were. We brought them together, bought them pizza and said, 'You have the power to turn other kids on to reading."

Authors like James Patterson (his books are very popular with the boys) have visited the program to read and answer questions. Participants also write and share their own stories and poetry.

Blum, who lives in Hastings on Hudson and has three children, developed and found funding for another Children's Village program called FLY, which stands for Foundations for Literate Youth. FLY volunteers give individual reading help to younger residents.

Books for Boys is always looking for volunteer mentors to read aloud to groups, occasionally provide one-on-one help, or just be there to talk informally to the boys about what they're reading. Children's Village also seeks volunteers who have the time and commitment to be an all-around mentor to an individual resident – most often a teen who can benefit the most from a solid, positive adult relationship.

The key to volunteering at Children's Village is consistency, Blum said. Many of the boys have never had a consistent adult role model in their lives.

"The kids are a little mistrustful," she said. "You don't see the benefits until you keep showing up. Then you start seeing a difference."

These are kids who crave individual attention and very often blossom when they receive it. "They are so appreciative," Blum said. "They are so sweet to me. They hold the door and carry my books."

Visit the Children's Village website to learn more about volunteer opportunities.