One thing I enjoy to do is volunteer. I have done some volunteer work at my son's school, but I would like to find something that him and I could do together. I would love to teach him that a great gift is the gift of your time and to think of others rather than personal gain alone. The only idea I have so far is going to a nursing home and visiting with residents which would be very enjoyable. Any other ideas of things that we could do together for volunteer work that could be done on a week night?
Thanks mamas!
Volunteering at an animal shelter is fun for kids if he likes animals. You could play with the cats or dogs as a "socializer" or you could walk the dogs.
You can be 5 or older to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children. It's fun and fast paced. They are very organized and I think you one on one with a 6 year old would be a lot of fun. http://www.fmsc.org/
What ever you decide, make sure you call ahead to make sure your son is old enough to help.. Especially during flu season..
Some places will not allow children under a certain age.
There are still a ton of things you can do.. I remember the kinder - 2nd grade at the elementary school our daughter attended, used to make "Activity care packages" for the Children's Hospital here in Austin.. They made up fun Word search , connect the dots, crossword puzzles, they included crayons, pencils, stickers, funny masks. glue sticks all sorts of things for different ages. They collected magazines and DVD's for teens in the hospital.
Of course they also organized socks and underwear drives for children in the foster care system.. Toys for Tots. Books for RIF..
Volunteering is addicting. He is going to love it.
When I was younger, I donated my time to work at a booth in the mall that collected donated toys for orphanages. You can help at a soup kitchen, nursing homes, donating old toys and clothes to shelters, an animal shelter with abused and neglected animals (he would probably love that. I know I did), picking up trash from beaches... SO many great things to do.
I've got lots of experience doing volunteer/community service through many years of cub scouts and girl scouts, it's so rewarding!
In our area we have a community website where you can log on and sign up for all kinds of volunteer opportunities, either as a group or individual. You can specify who you want to help: children, elderly, animals, environment, etc. Use google to see if there's anything like that where you live.
Also, because your son is so young, there will be many places he's not allowed to volunteer, they have age restrictions. But I'm sure you will be able to find something!
And also be aware that some young children find nursing homes scary, especially if you are visiting one with the fragile elderly. The wheelchairs, tubes and machines can be frightening to kids. You may want to start by visiting a nursing home with a more active population. My girl scouts delivered homemade heart shaped sugar cookies to a place like that one year on Valentine's Day, the residents were thrilled and so sweet :)
Good luck and have fun!
I did most of the things people llisted...I disliked going to the nursing home, although I was a teen, I still did it, because I loved volunteering, but some patients might scare him? They would invite M. in then scream it was confusing. Although I think at a soup kitchen he might get in the way a little. Maybe collect toys? Pick up trash?
ohhh also if there are nature centers nearby they let kids volunteer to feed the animals they are helping indoors if they're parents come to around us...if not the spca lets kids volunteer and help play with the animals
Check out volunteermatch.org there is a ton of info on there & it is easy to look for something that suits the two of you. Hope you find something!
Wow! Wow! I am impressed of your idea! Taking him to a nursing home to visit old elderly people is a great idea! These old people will be really happy to see little kids come visit and you can tell them stories together.
Loads of Luck! :)
Maybe meals on wheels? I read in the local paper last week that they encouraged young kids to go with their parents who delivered for meals on wheels...that the interaction with the kids is very benifical to the people reciving the meals.
I battle with this idea all the time! I am looking forward to seeing the responses.
When I was about that age, I went and *performed* with a friend at a nursing home. The residents couldn't get enough of us!
I have also done the humane society, although if you or the kids have allergies - RUN far away.
My kids also go with us every year when we donate money to meals on wheels. It is not "volunteer work" per se, but they see us working hard for money and then gladly giving it away to people who need it.
Right now, my kids go through all of their toys and clothes about once every three months and pick out some things to donate. We load up the car and take it down to the shelter.
I also have my kids divide their money up into "save, spend, donate" piles. It doesn't amount to much on the "donate" side, as they don't have much money coming in! But you should see their faces when they hand that $5 to the shelter and the shelter is just thrilled.
write letters to soldiers.
meals on wheels
at Christmas choose a needy person or family and shop together. In the meantime let your child save money...... like 10% of allowance or doing little chores..... put it in a jar so that he can buy something especially from him..... or donate to the charity of his choice.
Make cards for elderly in your community
Serving at a soup kitchen - the 6 year old could go around with a basket of rolls and ask people if they wanted one.
You could make cards for our military, especially those in VA hospitals.
Our city has an annual cleanup, where residents volunteer to clean up various ares just walking around picking up garbage. Various organizations have clean up days. These are usually held on Saturdays.
When my girls were that age, they helped a neighbor rake her leaves.
My daughters (almost 9 and almost 6) like to have a lemonade stand in front of the house and donate the proceeds to the local food bank. They thought of the idea after their school raised money for the food bank, their school is really great about teaching the children to do service! For their upcoming birthday they have asked friends to bring food to donate to the food bank instead of gifts for them. They are such awesome kids! We are also involved in a neighborhood association (NOT an HOA) that runs a community garden that we can work in, they like to weed and water the garden and then deliver tomatoes and zucchini bread to neighbors. Our neighborhood is very poor for the most part so our neighborhood association does a back to school party where we give away backpacks and schools supplies purchased with donations to the local children. My husband and I have been in charge of shopping for the supplies for the past 3 years and our kids have helped us. It is good because it teaches them math when we compare prices and we are teaching them to be savvy shoppers (we go to several stores with a notebook to compare prices so we can buy as many schools supplies as possible). Then they enjoy going to the party where we pass out the backpacks, my oldest was the official photographer last year! Another thing we like to do is to be Secret Santa’s, we pick a family in need from the Angel Tree at our church (there are many organizations you can do this through, or just do it on your own) and buy them presents and goodies to give them anonymously. It helps if you can find a family with a child the same age and gender as your son, then he will have lots of great ideas about what that child would like! I guess the best thing to do is to get involved in service yourself and then you can get your son to do it with you; just find something that you feel passionately about and it is easier to do it! Best of luck!
Take him shopping with you to buy items for a food shelf or a local women and children's shelter. Have him help sort through his toys and clothes that he's outgrown and make a "donation bag." I second the Feed My Starving Children idea. Kids usually enjoy it.
Outside of visiting nursing homes I have found very little for young kids that actually get you out of the house and interacting. We have done in the past visiting animal shelters and bringing needed goods. I sometime take advantage of coupons sales and donate some of the goods to the food shelters. We have done stuff through scouts, most of that has been once again collecting and donating items.
My son is now 12 and it still very limited. I recently found a animal shelter that I am allowed to go with him. Just waiting for next year as their is a local farmstead museum that will allow him to volunteer at. One thing You can do is take time for yourself to volunteer, they pick up on that and is a good example to see.
I'm reading all the other posts..great ideas!
I'm glad to hear that volunteering seems to be part of many families' cultures. I don't volunteer often with organized groups, mainly because my schedule can change at the drop of a hat, and I don't want to not show up somewhere at the last minute.
However, since my family has made volunteering part of our life, every month or so, my 6-year old and I simply pick up a trash bag and clean up the park, along our roads (with little traffic), or at our elderly neighbors' homes. No planning needed. Or if we're making cookies, we make a few extra and deliver them to neighbors. BONUS: Now my son has a bunch of substitute "grandmas" (and extra eyes for Mom) living on our street.
I get very worried about humane society animals and their checkered pasts...my son was viscously bitten in the head by a mutt who "was good with children." (Yes- my son knows dogs--he has 3 and a mom who grew up as a "dog show kid.")
