When you volunteer your time in service of others – the time you spend is its own reward. From the simplest gesture to long, hard hours, volunteers bring a warm heart and happy smile to situations of need.
What a better way to teach the gift of volunteering than involving our kids? While the opportunities aren’t everywhere, we’ve tried to do a little creative thinking to maybe get you out there a little!
- Nursing homes. Contact a local nursing home and see if you and your child can come visit a patient or make a card.
- Make a card for a child suffering an illness or for a soldier.
- Run an Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This is a wonderful opportunity to involve your children in giving back. This also makes a fun summer activity!
- We recently went sorted a herd of stuffed animals that live in my house – do these things multiply? What to do with them? Well, we were tipped off by this post from Rookie Moms. So, what a better thing to do than to send them out to children who could really use a bright day, my kids were on board – except that rabbit, and that elephant, oh and that teddy bear…not to worry, we will still have PLENTY to send after the dibs are called.
- Call your local library and find out if they have any volunteer opportunities for you to do with your child
- Got a favorite park? Head over with a small trash bag and help clean it up – you’ll teach your child a great lesson about taking care of the earth and sharing spaces with others!
Got a good idea? Share it with us below!
Getting children involved in service builds compassion, empathy and understanding. It’s one step we can take to make the world a better place for our own families and for future generations. Check out the wonderful organization, Doing Good Together (www.doinggoodtogether.org), for ideas on how you can get started volunteering as a family.