Kick off the holiday season with an act of kindness on Saturday, Nov. 21 (the weekend before Thanksgiving) to celebrate the 25th Annual Family Volunteer Day, brought to you by generationOn and Disney Friends for Change.
Family Volunteer Day is a day of service that celebrates the power of families who work together to support their neighbors and neighborhoods. Each year, thousands of families use the day to teach children valuable, real-life lessons about compassion and caring. Volunteering also can be a great way for kids and adults to develop skills, learn more about their community and make friends.
It doesn’t take a lot of time to make a big difference.
There are lots of easy and fun ways to get involved no matter how much time you have. From small acts of kindness like donating books or toys to enlisting your family to take part in a community service project, doing good with your family is easy and the list of possible activities is endless.
According to author Karen Bantuveris of VolunteerSpot in a recent Parenting Magazine article entitled Simple Ways to Volunteer with your Family this Holiday Season: “Here are some ideas for service activities for kids of all ages:
Younger Kids can:
- Decorate reusable grocery bags and fill them with their favorite non-perishable food items. Feeding America offers a Food Bank locator, searchable by zip code.
- Stuff new, warm socks with water bottles and granola bars to give to homeless men and women you pass on street corners.
- Decorate holiday cards for soldiers overseas. Red Cross-sponsored Holiday Mail for Heroes will deliver letters postmarked before Dec. 10, 2010.
Older Kids can:
- Donate their gently used books and DVDs to a local children’s hospital.
- Make holiday decorations and sing songs for nursing home residents. Call ahead to schedule a visit.
- Rake Leaves or shovel snow for an elderly neighbor.
- Collect used towels and pet toys for the local animal shelter.
- Host a hot chocolate or cider stand and donate the proceeds to a charity of their choosing.
- Adopt a family for the Holidays through a local business or faith group, and have your kids help with the shopping for that family.
Making it Stick
Volunteering as a family while kids are young cultivates a positive service habit that sticks long into adulthood. Here are a few tips to help ensure your kids understand the impact of their good work.
- If donating goods or money to a local charity, deliver the items in person with your kids so they can better visualize how they made a difference.
- Be sure to talk about your family’s service experience. Discuss what you did, why you did it, how it felt, and what you learned.
- Celebrate your service!
- Build on your kids’ enthusiasm and choose your next service project together.
Family Volunteering Resources
- Family Friendly Volunteering: Ideas from A-Z – a free eBook by VolunteerSpot
- generationOn – resources for kids, teens, parents and teachers.
- Doing Good Together – project ideas for home and out in the community.”
Visit generationon.org/fvd-splash for access to project guides, volunteer opportunities and more!
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