According to The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Portrait, young people who are raised in homes that family members who volunteer are involved in civic and political activity from volunteering to campaigning for a cause. Adult volunteers in a home can inspire young people to volunteer either on their own or as part of group.

Volunteering as a family can show the younger members of the family the importance of being engaged in the community, and can have a number of benefits for the family.

• Family volunteering can bring the family closer together. Family volunteering provides a shared experience that can help to build and strengthen family bonds.
• Values are strengthened by volunteering. Family volunteering gives parents the opportunity to model behavior that they are trying to instill in their children.
• Volunteering as a family can provide self-satisfaction. When everyone in the family is working towards a common goal at their volunteer event, it can provide a sense of self–satisfaction to everyone involved.
• Strength in numbers. When a family volunteers together, even the littlest hands can make big tasks easier. Families that volunteer together can get more done together than an individual working alone.
• Benefits to youth. Youth who volunteer frequently can benefit from their family volunteer experiences when applying for jobs or college.
• Children see another side of life. Children that volunteer outside of their home and neighborhood get to see a different part of life than they normally see.
• Having a positive impact. Families that volunteer together get to see the positive impact that they have by volunteering when they reflect on their volunteer experience together.
• Family volunteering is fun! Volunteering as a family can be a social experience and give everyone an experience that is outside of their day-to-day life of work and school.

There are a host of benefits that families who volunteer together gain from the experience. There are some costs to family, such as adding stress to family life, but in Family Volunteering: An Exploratory Study on the Impact of Families, only about 25% of families that volunteer agreed that volunteering makes their life more hectic. The benefits of volunteering as a family seem to outweigh the potential costs.

What is your favorite thing about volunteering as a family? How often does your family volunteer? What types of volunteer activities does your family like to do best? Let us know in the comments!