Time Well Spent : Teens can keep busy doing variety of volunteer jobs.

The whole idea of how teenagers spend their summer vacation has changed during the past five years, says Aletha Ludowitz, former chairwoman of the Directors of Volunteers in Agencies, an organization that coordinates volunteer activities in the Valley.

Rather than uninterrupted days of sun and sand--or TV and video games--volunteer work is showing up on kids’ summer schedules. “It’s been on the increase for the last five years because the schools are requiring it for graduation. And it looks good on their resume when they apply for a job or college,” Ludowitz has noted.

A sign of the times was the scene last weekend at a “Servathon” organized by L.A. Works, a six-year-old private charitable organization. About 1,000 teens joined in on the citywide day of neighborhood cleanup and fix-up. At one Pacoima housing project, more than 100 youths showed up to lay sod, paint over graffiti, repair park equipment and plant trees.

L.A. Works will continue to offer volunteer opportunities through the summer. The group’s executive director, Tanner Methvin, says part of the appeal of volunteerism--something teens discover only after they’ve done it--is the horizon-broadening experience of meeting people of different ages and backgrounds.

Teen interest in volunteer work tends to be concentrated in certain fields, according to Cambria Smith, outreach coordinator for the Volunteer Center Assistance League of Southern California. “It’s a challenge finding places for the teens who want to volunteer,” she says, especially in hospitals where it’s particularly necessary to inquire early and perhaps at several places.

But there are lots of summer opportunities for teens who want to work in libraries or retirement homes, tutor younger kids in year-round school, supervise playgrounds or help with neighborhood-rebuilding projects.

The Valley has a robust culture of volunteer organizations that collaborate to link interested teens with the right activity.

* Volunteer Center Assistance League of Southern California refers prospective volunteers, ages 16 and up, to agencies in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. Call Jessica Leifeld, Teen Outreach Program, at (818) 908-5151.

* The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation has locations in every part of the Valley where kids 13-17 can be counselors-in-training for the summer, assisting the professional staff to supervise and coach younger kids in the day-camp programs. Youths are advised to call a recreation facility near their home.

* The state Parks and Recreation Department uses high school students as volunteers in programs from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Santa Clarita area. Call Jim Holt at (310) 457-8142.

* High school youths who want to volunteer at National Park Service facilities in the Valley and nearby should call Mike Malone at (818) 597-9192.

* For information about L.A. Works’ Long Term Programs in tutoring and neighborhood renovation, call (888) LA WORKS.