HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Jason Breslow, 18, teaches autistic children to swim. Marisa Carlson, 17, helps disabled kids ride horses. Elisheva Taragin, 15, plays with special needs children. April Rastaetter, 16, assists at the Clifton Animal Shelter.

All of these New Jersey teens say they feel enriched because they are enriching others. And the people they aid say the feeling is mutual.

Today's teens often are stereotyped as self-involved, with noses buried in electronic gadgets. But they're becoming an increasingly vital corps of volunteers for tightly budgeted humanitarian groups.

In fact, some experts have noticed a recent increase in volunteerism, which they attribute largely to teenagers who sign up not only to bolster their resumes for college but because they care.

"We are getting a lot more calls these days from kids who are really interested in volunteering," said Celine Fortin, associate executive director of ARC of New Jersey, an advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities. "Students today have a really strong emphasis on doing things for their community and volunteer work. It's being supported by the schools and colleges. The kids themselves are really into the community work."

As a Friendship Circle volunteer the past six years, Taragin has had a play date with a disabled child every weekend.

"Most of these kids are in small programs in school. So maybe they have only one or two friends, and they don't have a lot of stuff to do on weekends," she said. "This gives him something to look forward to, and it gives his parents a break."

Taragin is involved in many activities at Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck, N.J., but says she finds time in her schedule because it means a lot to her "play date."

The experience, she said, "is valuable for life."

"It makes me feel good to see that what I'm doing is making someone else have a great time, and it can put a smile on his face," she said.

"I love being here," Rastaetter said of her 10 hours a week volunteering at the Clifton Animal Shelter. Although Clifton High School, where she is a sophomore, does not require community service, she stepped up because she wants to become a veterinarian. Among her duties are cleaning cages, feeding animals and caring for cats.

Volunteers have always been vital to non-profits, enhancing the services provided, say leaders of groups that serve seniors, the disabled and the needy.

Volunteers are in great demand for all types of social services because funding has not increased in several years and the number of people in need of services increases daily, said Michele Ogden of the Visiting Homemaker Home Health Aide Service of Bergen County in Hackensack, N.J.

"Many volunteer candidates call to offer their time because of their own unemployment. People realize that these are rough times to control budgets and the only way to expand social services is by volunteering," Ogden said. "Volunteers are special; they know the value of sharing their time and talents. Our program would be helping far less people if we didn't have volunteers."

Many of the clients being served find such service groups through word of mouth or advice from a social worker or teacher.

Although some of the teens acknowledge they entered the volunteer ranks because of a community service requirement or to gain work experience, they have discovered that they gain more than what they give.

Breslow, a Pascack Valley High School senior and seven-year volunteer at the Ridgewood YWCA, where he teaches disabled children to swim, said he's amazed by the progress his "swimming buddies" have made. It's made him consider new career options.