What is Family Volunteering?

Family volunteering occurs when the members of a family volunteer together. A “family” is “any group of two or more people who consider themselves a family.” Family volunteering can be done by the whole family together, by one parent and one child or teen, by siblings together or by extended family such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It can be as simple as drawing cards for children in the hospital or as complex as joining hundreds of families for a day of community volunteer work at a park or making a long term family commitment to an agency or a cause.

Why Should Your Family Volunteer?

Family volunteering is a hands-on way to teach children the values of kindness, compassion, tolerance, community responsibility and good citizenship. When volunteering as a family, all family members can use their existing talents, learn new skills and feel valued for their contributions. And, it is fun!

Other benefits to your family include:

Strengthens family communication and bonds
Allows family members to be role models
Builds shared memories
Increases commitment to volunteering and community
Provides quality family time

Getting Started

Maybe your children have heard about someone or some place in town that needs help, or maybe you’ve seen something on the television that has caused you to think that your family could help. Or, maybe you think that it is time you all did something together for the good of someone or something else. Gather your family and discuss the following:

What are we interested in? Each member of your family will probably have their own interest or cause. Animals, the environment, a sick child or a lonely senior? Find out what each member is passionate about.
What do we like to do? What are our skills or talents? Sports, arts and crafts, cooking, gardening, working with computers? Alls of these interests and more can be shared with those in need.
What projects fit the ages of our family? Try and choose a project or a variety of projects where all can participate in some way. Even babies and toddlers have something to offer to the elderly living in nursing homes.
What is our availability? Do you want to try a one-time event such as a local walk-a-thon to raise money for a cause or make a long-term commitment such as tutoring at an after school community center?
What do we want to get from our volunteer experience? Would you like to meet other volunteers who like the same things as your family? How about meeting a more diverse group with different cultures and economic situations? How about problem solving and teamwork, or knowing that your efforts have made a difference even if for just a day?

Finding an Opportunity

If you want to find out what is already available in your community or need help in connecting to an agency you can contact:

A local Volunteer Center – Go to www.1-800-Volunteer.org to search for a local opportunity by issue and zip code.
A school
A faith-based institution
A community center
A shelter or soup kitchen
A food bank or pantry
A nursing or retirement home
A national organization that might provide local opportunities such as Special Olympics, Meals for Wheels, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, March for Dimes or Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
The local social services or human services department

Before and After Your Project

If you need more ideas for projects, check FamilyCares Project Ideas. http://www.familycares.org/projects/default.cfm To introduce young children to project issues, see FamilyCares Book Talk for a list of books pertaining to social issues. Before you get started, check out see FamilyCares Tips for Successful Volunteering. If you are going to volunteer with an agency or an organization, learn about the organization and talk with your family about the organization’s purpose and its activities. Explain to your children why it is important to do this project.

Before starting the project or heading out, ask family members what they expect (and tell them what you expect from them if you are volunteering outside of your home!); ask what they are looking forward to; what they are apprehensive about. Show enthusiasm – its contagious!

After your project – debrief – allow time to reflect on what your family has done, it can be in the car on the way home, at home or during a family “celebration” of the time you spent helping others, by going for ice-cream or sharing a special dinner together.
Through volunteering together, your family will reap many benefits as a family and make a difference in your community.