Volunteering is an enriching experience, and there are now more opportunities – and more reasons –than ever for families to volunteer together .
Feeling Better by Giving More
Many people, in our rather angst inducing early 21st century, grapple with mixed feelings of national or personal loss and a conflicting sense of gratitude for their own well-being and safety. Community service is a great way to sort through these feelings and to make the most of traditional times of giving and sharing like holidays.
More important, by volunteering together as a family, children receive an unparalleled education in social action, or at the very least, in social interest.
Family Volunteering
The Family Matters initiative, developed by the Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network, recognizes that it's one thing to encourage children to volunteer their help in the community, but it's another thing entirely for them to see their parents volunteering, too.
The initiative is based on the research grounded idea that families who volunteer together benefit at least as much as those they're helping, and that family volunteerism promotes community service to a younger generation.
The Family Cares project page of the Points of Light Foundation features an ever-growing list of family oriented volunteer opportunities, searchable by geographic area and interests.
Volunteer opportunities that children can enjoy include helping out in nursing homes, making things for hospital patients or animal shelters, and assisting with environmental projects.
Benefits of Volunteering
Volunteering together offers a good opportunity for parents to voice their opinions and thoughts to children, and to try to get children to form some of their own regarding their communities. What do they see? What do they think? Do they have any suggestions for improving things? What kind of changes can the entire family make in the community?
In Family Volunteering: An Exploratory Study of the Impact on Families, by the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Purdue, families reported on the benefits of volunteering together. The greatest impact appeared to be on children who volunteered with their families. The children acknowledged feeling good after volunteering, enjoying the feeling of giving to others and cheering people up.
Further, when asked how they felt about their parents after volunteering with them, the study reported that children said they appreciated and respected their parents more and enjoyed “seeing how much they care for the community” . The study also noted that parents noticed a change in their children’s attitudes towards each other, and that “ they get along better and see that they need each other for success”.
At a time when it's easy to feel helpless, few things are as empowering as helping others. Community service is good for everyone, from those helping to those helped. And the investment of time and caring now will return dividends to our children and our communities for years to come.
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