Tips for Volunteering with Kids

1.  Start Small - You are more likely to instill in your child a sense of giving if you can do more smaller acts than one large stressful one.  Both Penny Harvest and Pennies for Peace focus on the simple act of collecting and donating pennies.


2.  Model Giving - If you are involved in a charity help your child understand what you do to help that organization.  If you are on an event committee, bring your child the day of the event to help set up.  Bring them to the organization that benefits from the event.


3. Think of Ideas That Tie into Your Child's Interests - For example:

• If your child likes BMX racing, Legos or dance - have them do a lemonade stand to raise money to go toward helping someone get a camp scholarship for their favorite activity.  It doesn't matter if they raise enough.  It's just getting them to think about the idea that's important.

• If your child likes to read - have them go to a nonprofit pre-school, like Storyteller Children's Center or Main Family Resource Center and have them read to preschoolers.  They can also read for the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic annual record-a-thon.

• If your child likes art - have them bring a simple art project to a non-profit preschool, like Storyteller Children's Center or Main Family Resource Center or have them make Valentine's Day cards for the residence of a retirement community or for an organization like Angel's Bearing Gifts.  It can also be Easter Cards or St. Patrick Day cards or Happy Spring cards.

• If your child likes music - have them perform at a retirement community

• If your child likes sports - have them collect and donate used sports gear or have them enter a race and raise money toward a cause.

• If your child likes math - Have them collect and sell used toys for Kidz for a Cure,  founded by a kid.  You don't need much stuff to participate and your child can work on adding up the purchase tickets from your booth for the main checkout.  You can also give your child a dollar amount and a grocery bag and have them fill it with a certain dollar value of groceries to donate to Unity Shoppe. Make this a monthly ritual. You can volunteer on site at Unity Shoppe sorting food and stocking shelves as well.

•  If your child likes to be active - have them pick fruit for Backyard Bounty

• If you child likes animals -   have them volunteer at B.U.N.S.

 

• If you child likes to bake - have them bake and sell cupcakes for Cupcakes for Cancer.  A cancer surviving teen founded this organization and has been recognized by the Independent as a 2010 local hero. 

• If your family likes international travel - take a tour of Direct Relief International.  You can also arrange to make personal care and dental kits.  When traveling abroad, see if DRI has one of their many partners in that country and see if there are any supplies you can bring with you to donate upon arrival.          

• If your child likes the beach - You can adopt-a-beach via Coastal Clean Up  or just unofficially adopt-a-beach as a family and go and do a beach clean-up day.  You can also contact Heal the Ocean about their Junior Council.     

4.  Give charity as a gift for your child's birthday - this doesn't mean he/she doesn't get other gifts, but make one of their gifts a charity gift card so they chose where to spend the money.  See Global Giving  or Tis Best for examples.  Or, give them a KIVA gift card which they should get to give again and again each time the loan is paid back.


5.  Additional Resources:

All For Good - Website helps you find volunteer opportunities for both children and adults in your town.

77 Creative Ways Kids Can Serve - book by 16 year old Sondra Clark

Ripple Kids  and  KooDooZ  - websites focused on youth volunteerism.

CALL TO ACTION:  Pick one thing from the list above that you will do within the next 30 days with your children.

MY ACTION:  I have actually done many of the suggestions above.  My next action is, I am going to have my kids make Valentine's Day cards for Angels Bearing Gifts and in March, I am going to buy a charity gift card for my daughter's 10th birthday.
 
I'd love to hear you ideas.