Where you can volunteer depends primarily on how old you are. Because the need for volunteers is so great if you are an adult and you have any skill, there is a need in New York City. You can volunteer to teach a talent you have to children, or you can volunteer to tutor them, which will help them be better prepared for school or standardized tests that get them ready for further education. You can help plant community gardens, assist the elderly, give time to soup kitchens, volunteer to help Churches feed the hungry or collect used clothing. You can take intern projects that help with social services, you can volunteer to read to children that are sick in your local hospital. You can volunteer at the local thrift store (I did that as a teen) or at your neighborhood library (I did this too).

If you are older you can join the Big Brothers and the Big Sisters organization in the city, which lets you hang out with a child and be a role model. You can volunteer to clean up public parks, streets and my personal favorite (which I did) is clean up highway. My friend's father donated two stretches of highway in our names and we kept it clean as teenagers.

For more information I have included a lot of resources in the sources section to help you find someplace to volunteer and good luck as you go out and help others.