Volunteering with children

[michelle1k]

(x-posted in the childhood years and learning at home forums)

Hi, please tell me what kinds of active volunteering your children are engaged in - either with you or by themselves. (By active I mean, not just tagging along with a caregiver or parent but actively participating). Please also list the age(s) of your children.

Thanks!

[KarenEMT]

I've been a volunteer with our local ambulance and DS (almost 13) helps out there too (with or without me). Some of the things he's done include stuffing envelopes for the membership drive, manning the stand at local carnivals (dime toss, wheel, "Instant Bingo"), and helping prepare salads for our spaghetti dinner. He would like to become an active junior member when he can.

He helps my dad out with his Smokey Bear display and education at preschools and various other places by leading my dad around in the costume (it's so hard to see in there) and by distributing the hand-outs, running the PowerPoint presentation, etc.

He also helps me shop for food bank items and for MDC moms in need. He helps me take items to the local thrift shop and decide what to donate.

Since my son has Asperger's and is naturally focused on himself, I want him to help out and learn about helping others as much as possible.

[spruce]

Where I live, we have a soup kitchen where kids can help (they do have to be 13).

There is a yearly toy drive and wrapping drive during the holiday season, and kids get together in groups to help sort and wrap and tag gifts for other kids.

Our food bank takes a lot of what we grow here, which is a nice reminder for my kids about helping others.

My Dh is the Deputy Chief of our FD and I was a FF/EMT with the same dept until this January...our kids wash rigs, help with things like yearly fundraisers, etc. They are allowed to actively volunteer as Cadets at 16.

Our 4-H group is service-oriented, and the kids (14.5, almost 12, and 6 now) were very actively involved in helping set up a library, including collecting, stamping, and posting TONS of books to a small town up here (Alaska). They also have had spaghetti feeds and dances where the kids do the cooking, cleaning, serving, etc., to raise funds for different things (like kids with cancer).

edited to add: You might look into your local Red Cross. As many issues financially as they have, if there is a fire and a family loses its home, you can ask to be notified so that you and your children can collect and donate age-appropriate and household items. Teenagers especially seem to get left out when a home burns, and they end up with very little while the family gets new cookware and the little ones get new clothes and toys.


love, penelope

[GinaRae]

My kids help me foster kittens and cats in our home for a non-profit rescue/spay/neuter organization. We work with kittens of feral moms and formerly feral young cats. They help me tame them down, get them used to being with a family, etc.. We then go to Petco on Saturdays for the organization's adoption days. Though the kids have stopped going with me on Saturdays, they still help with the cats.

As a family we've discussed working together on a nearby educational ranch, cleaning and working with various animals.

Sometimes it's hard to find an organization that will accept all of us at our ages to work together. Some places are hard to get into.

If we ever have the space, we may do fresh-air for the summer to host an inner city kid or something. I don't know yet.

[DiannaK]

my DD1 is 12, and will be beginning a foray into (I hope) a world of life-long volunteering this year.


Next week, she will be a teen helper at our church's bible school. Over the course of the school year, she will be more involved in service activities. 7th/8th graders have to do service hours (not sure how many) as part of their Confirmation preparation.

When she moves on to high school, they require service hours as well. What her future high school has decided is that the girls need to concentrate a portion of their hours with ONE agency ... instead of having a hodge-podge of activities. They feel that this way, the girls will have more of a connection with the particular agency/organization, and feel like they are making more of a difference. Makes sense to me.

I'll post again on how she does with her first few times volunteering. I feel like it's an important thing to foster in young adults ... to remind them to be thankful for what they have, and that they are called to help others.


Dianna

[smillerhouse]

Both my kids are still involved with scouts. Daughter, 14 is working on silver project. This is making cat toys for cat shelter. We have been to homeless shelter. We give clothes/food to organizations that will spread them around. I think it is an attitude of service. My son helps and volunteers with a number of progjects and currently is helping with a fenicng camp this summer. Sallie (He is nearly 17.)

[BedHead]

My kids like to help out at Vacation Bible School at my parents church every year. Our church doesn't run one. My 15 year old son just got back from a week in Bella Bella, BC volunteering to help with a mission trip to teach VBS there.

They also like to help at the summer daycamps offered by one of the churches that's near us. They basically just act as extra eyeballs to keep an eye on the kids.

My kids ages are 17, 15 and 13 right now.