These months have undoubtedly been some of the most trying times in anyone’s memory. As parents, it is possible that you have scoured the internet for every parental hack, tip, or trick in order to find something “to do” with your kids. At no other time in our modern world have we seen such a pointed time of isolation, a lack of human activity, and wide spread closures. This is certainly trying and challenging. It is in those times of challenge, when you may feel like you about to give in, hand your kid a device and simply say “I quit.”
The F.A.M. Project understands this and empathizes with you. We are also parents, and we are living in the same world as you, and are not immune to taking on the challenge of our current day and age. Be encouraged and turn it into a positive opportunity that you can point your family toward. Instead of just searching for a new game to play, or place to grab take-out food from, consider doing something that will not only bring you satisfaction, but be a learning experience as well. So what are we offering here? We are suggesting the pursuit of volunteerism. We want to help you by seeing the value in volunteering and giving of your family’s time to community service. This powerful, and give-back approach most especially during this time is sure to bring about positive results in yourself, your family, and ultimately in the others you are impacting positively with the most precious commodity of all – your time.
How to Approach the Volunteering of Your Time
Why Would We Want Volunteer. Because it is more than just a notch on your child’s future resume, or a better social standing for yourself or your family. Approaching community service should not be just about accomplishing a project and ending there. There is value in the giving of your own time. There is the hands-on benefit of knowing that you and your family have positively impacted the very streets that crisscross within your own neighborhood. Wow… that’s powerful stuff right there.
What Are the Benefits to Volunteering. Aside from the obvious benefits of helping out others with the strength of your mind, muscles and additional bodies that you can bring to a cause; there are actual benefits that you reap when you volunteer. The University of Louisville show that those who volunteer are happier than those that do not volunteer their time. Also considering your children, another study done by the same University showed that students who volunteer their time also perform better in the classroom. This is excellent news on more levels than just the welfare of those on the receiving end of your good deeds.
The Purpose for Volunteering Your Time. While there are many different purposes that we could discuss here in this thought process alone, let’s just settle on a couple to touch on so the point can be made. Number 1: volunteering as a family brings you and the others together. The simplicity of teamwork, working together for a cause that is bigger than yourself is time well spent. You will certainly meet others that you would have not otherwise met, and even set up friendships that may impact you for a lifetime. The second is that you and your family are actually making a difference. This is just something nice to say – it is actually true. The donation of the most precious commodity you have here on earth (time), and giving it away for free to others can make a profound difference in the lives of others. For most of us, we cannot wake up every single day with the ability to say that we made a positive difference in the life of a stranger. Go you!
Ideas for How and Where to Volunteer. Alright, this could be a HUGE topic and one that could be a blog post in itself. Buuut… for the sake of time, lets just examine a few quick full-family involvement. Especially now there is a great resource at Here they are:
- Make funny and encouraging videos to be shared with a nursing home looking to spread hope and inspiration to elderly patients at https://carenotcovid.com/
- Have your family write a handwritten letter to an elder who is unable to see family or friends in a group home or similar type setting and take the time to send out letters to those that are not able to see their family: https://loveforourelders.org/
- Last, but perhaps may be the first thing to figure out… is to find out what your child(ren) is interested in doing and passionate about and pursue those avenues for volunteerism. This is KEY to having their buy-in and involvement.. remember, this is not just about you and your desire to reach your family, but the engagement of every family member. Their interests could be:
- music
- animals
- plants
- outdoors
- conservation
The bottom line is that there are endless opportunities to change the world around you, and you can start this week by setting up your first opportunity to volunteer with your entire family!
