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It doesn’t matter the ages of your children. You’re never too young to volunteer. There are plenty of age-appropriate ways to give back to your community as a family and reap the benefits of volunteering.
One of the best ways for busy parents to spend time with their children is to volunteer as a family. It’s a win-win-win. You and your kids get quality time together. Your children reap the rewards of making a positive difference in the lives of others and gain an added appreciation for what they have. And you make your community a better place to live.
It doesn’t matter whether your kids are toddlers, preschoolers or in kindergarten. You’re never too young to volunteer. There are plenty of age-appropriate ways you can give back to your community as a family. Young children may not fully understand the concept of volunteering but committing to service projects at an early age can help establish it as a regular part of their lives.
Why you should volunteer as a family
There are many benefits to volunteering as a family including:
- Makes a positive difference in the lives of others
- Cultivates empathy, compassion, tolerance, gratitude, and community responsibility
- Helps children recognize their own good fortune
- Strengthens your family bonds, memories, and traditions
- Fosters a positive service habit that can extend into adulthood
- Builds strong morals
- Deepens ties to your community
- Develops leadership, teamwork, and project planning skills
- Creates feelings of satisfaction, pride, and fulfillment
- Understand what it means to make and keep a commitment
- Empowers children to know that one person can make a difference
How to create an impact with your volunteering
Performing the actual volunteer work will make your children feel good about themselves and their actions. But you can do more than that!
Be sure to:
Choose volunteer projects together
Give your children a voice in what service work you pursue as a family. They’ll be more invested in the project knowing they had a say it how it all came together.
Involve your children in all aspects of volunteering
Have your kids be part of the planning process as well as the actual work. Then let them see for themselves the difference they make. If you’re donating goods or food, have your children accompany you to the charitable organization so they can see how their efforts will make a difference.
Set expectations
Explain to your children what they should expect from their volunteer work and why it’s important. Be positive about your service work and answer all their questions.
Make it fun
You could team up with another family on a service project or invite your children’s friends to help. After your volunteer work is complete, celebrate with ice cream or a fun activity.
Talk about it
Discuss your volunteer work and why you did it. How did it make you feel? What did you learn?
Make it a habit
Volunteering doesn’t have to be an annual event around the holidays. Find ways to work even simple actions (donating clothes, preparing food for a homeless shelter or visiting a nursing home) into your routine.
Encourage your children to join organizations like scouting programs, youth groups, or extracurricular school programs that feature volunteer opportunities. You can also find organizations that connect to your children’s interests like the environment, animal welfare, social justice, and working with kids or the elderly.
However you choose to include volunteering in your life, parents need to lead by example. When your children see mom and dad giving back to the community, it’s easier for them to get involved.
Ideas for volunteering as a family
Before embarking on some of these projects, you may want to contact local community organizations first. They may have specific needs or requests for donations so your efforts can have an even greater impact. If you’re stuck on how to get started, contact a local volunteer organization, which can match volunteers with community organizations or help put you in touch with service groups in your area.
Try different types of activities. You may not find the perfect fit for your family right away.
- Deliver meals to the homebound and/or provide them companionship.
- Spend time with the elderly at a senior home or retirement community.
- Volunteer at a local food back (Food Bank Locator) to sort food.
- Gather gently used clothing and deliver them to a local family shelter, refugee center or thrift store.
- Donate gently used books, toys, and DVDs to a local children’s hospital or an organization like the Ronald McDonald House Charities that support families when their children are ill.
- Rake leaves or shovel snow for elderly neighbors.
- Collect pet toys for a local animal shelter or volunteer to care for the animals.
- Open a lemonade stand or hold a bake sale and donate the proceeds to a good cause.
- Participate in an adopt-a-family program for the holidays through your place of worship or local social service agency and have your kids help shop for gifts, wrap them, and make homemade cards.
- Donate to a food pantry (check to see what they need first) and have your children select the items from the grocery store.
- Take part in a walk for awareness of an issue or disease. Children as young as five can walk a few miles. Push the little ones in a stroller.
- Decorate shoe boxes and fill them with games, activities and/or books for children at a local hospital.
- Read stories to children in the hospital.
- Take part in a community clean-up day or beautify a park or neighborhood by planting flowers or trees, raking leaves, and picking up garbage.
- Volunteer at a wildlife preserve or refuge or environmental education center helping with the animals and preserving their habitats.
- Organize a canned food drive for a local food pantry. Collect and organize the donations and deliver them to the pantry.
- Serve meals at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.
- Take food to people who are homebound and visit with them.
Family Volunteering Resources
generationOn provides programs, tools, and resources to engage kids and teens in service and volunteering. Check out their projects and causes for a variety of issues areas that may interest your family.
Doing Good Together offers unique programs and events, valuable services, and fun activities that promote kindness and giving. The organization lists family-friendly volunteer projects in several major U.S. cities.
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