Community Service - Make it a Family Affair

Is community service right for your family?  There are two ways to approach the idea of getting your family involved with community service projects.  One is with the notion that you don’t have enough time in your day to spend it helping someone else when there’s so much you already need to do for yourself and your family.  The other one involves embracing not only what your family can do to help the community by getting involved, but appreciating what you can also receive in return. 

The first scenario creates a “me first” attitude.  Don’t do anything for others until you’ve done everything possible for yourself.  The second teaches our kids important lessons about the interaction of members of a community and also shows them that sometimes by helping others we also wind up helping ourselves in the process.

There are many great reasons to get your children involved in community service projects.  It’s never too early to start and the more it becomes a part of your family’s life, the more gratifying it is.  Many high school students scramble to get involved in some sort of service activity because it looks good on their college applications, but to those who get involved only to pad their resume, they miss out on some of the many benefits of helping others.

Volunteering is a great opportunity to connect as a family in our very busy lives.  It is a productive and satisfying way to spend quality time with our children, can be a great source of fun, and promotes feelings of pride and accomplishment.  It teaches kids about responsibility, sacrifice, tolerance and the important idea that one person really can make a difference.  By getting involved together, you can foster a lifelong sense of community responsibility and help kids to learn early that it is not only important to help others, but that it can really make you feel good.  With all of the many benefits of getting involved with volunteering, what’s stopping you?

For many people, that answer is time.  But getting involved doesn’t need to involve a huge commitment of time or effort.  There are many opportunities out there for all levels of involvement.  The important thing is to find something that interests the whole family and that is doable in the time that you have available.  Think of time you would normally spend doing a family activity, and incorporate volunteering into that time as a family activity.  Volunteering needn’t be a source of added stress in our lives.  It should be fun and rewarding.  

Another obstacle is that people just don’t know what to do.  There are so many opportunities out there and so many deserving organizations that need help.  The most important thing is to sit down together as a family and decide what interests you, how much time you have to commit to volunteering, what skills you can offer, and what you hope to get out of the experience.  For many people, the idea of having to ask for money or donations turns them off, so they prefer to give of their time and talent.  Some can commit to a regular weekly schedule, while others focus on specific times of the year that they can incorporate giving and helping into their lives (like holiday time).  Just figure out what works best for your family and then go from there.

Below is a list of five volunteering opportunities that are available in most areas and that are accommodating to families with children of all ages.  Of course, there are many, many more than this, and once you know what you would like to do, it is easier to find them.  There are websites that can match volunteer opportunities in your area with your skills and interests (checkout sites like www.volunteermatch.org or www.networkforgood.org).   Not all organizations will welcome children, so be sure to specify that you would like to volunteer with your kids.

5 Community Service Ideas for Families:

1. Food bank or soup kitchen.  Collect food or organize a food drive.  If you don’t want to spend or ask for money, offer to help organize shelves or serve meals.  Make a new family tradition by creating a holiday food basket each thanksgiving or offering to stock shelves before the winter holidays when donations usually increase.

2. Pet organizations/animal shelters.  Collect food and supplies.  Create blankets or toys for pets in a shelter.  Or offer to clean, walk, or do other small chores for the animal shelter.

3. Support the troops.  There are many items that can be collected and sent to the troops.  If you don’t want to spend much money, our servicemen and women always appreciate hand written letters or used items such as DVDs or books (see organizations such as www.amillionthanks.org, www.anysoldier.com, www.operationdvd.net, www.operationpaperback.org for ways to help without spending much money)

4. Participate in a walk or other event to raise money for your favorite charity.  There are many great organizations that run these events and they’re lots of fun!  Some examples are Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society (www.relayforlife.org) , Race for the Cure to benefit Susan G. Komen (www.komen.org) , Walk Now for Autism to benefit Autism Speaks (www.walknowforautism.org) , and Walk to Cure Diabetes to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (www.walk.jdrf.org) .  There are many, many more events in every community, so once you know what type of organization you would like to benefit from your efforts, it’s easy to find an event to participate in.

5. Women’s shelters.  Many shelters need everyday supplies as well as gently used clothing and children’s items.  Most women who arrive at the shelter have nothing but the shirts on their backs or a small bag, and many have children with them.  This is another way to easily help without actually collecting or spending money.

These are just a few of the many, many choices for doing good around your community.  You can help in any way that suits your family.  Visit a nursing home, clean streets or a park, organize a car wash with the proceeds going to a local family in need, bake cookies for the volunteer firefighters in your town, shovel or rake for an elderly neighbor, or even help to keep your local roads cleaner and safer by picking up trash or asking your municipality what you can do to keep drivers alert while behind the wheel.  The possibilities for community service are endless and the benefits are priceless!