National Family Volunteer Day is this Saturday, November 19. Family Volunteer Day is a great time to get your family involved in community service. How exactly can your family volunteer as one unit? Our friends at GenerationOn have excellent ideas to get you started this weekend!
So what exactly is this National Family Volunteer Day all about? National Family Volunteer Day was created to mobilize family members young and old within their community. Volunteering together brings family members together for a united cause. Family members can learn more about each other’s passions and interests through volunteering on a project together.
GenerationOn has great topics to get your family involved in various causes.
Volunteering as a family fosters ideas of service within younger family members while empowering older members at the same time.
Follow these tips and show your family that they really can make a difference in their community at any level!
Animal care: Help pets in your local area find loving homes by calling your local shelter or humane society for their volunteering requirements. Raise money for your local guide dog organization. Clean up your local dog park to provide a fun and sanitary environment for your furry friends.
Emergency preparedness: Raise money for those affected by a natural disaster or organization that works with natural disaster victims and clean up. Put together emergency kits for those in need. Organize a supplies drive for areas affected by natural disasters.
Environment: Make and distribute posters in your local community about the importance of being green. Get your family to choose environmentally friendly reusable bags for groceries as opposed to using plastic bags. Host a green thumb party where your family can plant a garden in your neighborhood, school, or retirement home.
Health and Wellness: Visit your local hospital or retirement home to spread holiday cheer to those who need it.
Homelessness: Donate winter clothes and blankets to your local shelter. Contact your local soup kitchen to learn more about how your family can volunteer.
Hunger: Help out at your local food bank by stocking shelves, collecting donations, and serving those who may be in need. Pack lunches for your local homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or food bank so that they may be distributed to other community members.
Literacy: Read to hospitalized children who may be feeling down. Help out with after school tutoring programs. If you are bilingual, help out with a language class.
Military: Send thank you cards to military veterans or active servicemen, put together holiday care packages for those who are still serving overseas, or put flowers on a war memorial close to you. Teaching your children about the military will not only inspire them, but it will also help them feel more tied to the community.
Seniors: Make holiday ornaments for senior homes in your community, spread holiday cheer by singing holiday carols, or send holiday cards to seniors in your area who may not have family to celebrate with.
There are many ways to get your family involved in your community through volunteering. Family volunteer day is an excellent way to begin teaching service to your children through all types of projects. Visit GenerationOn’s website to find more toolkits that will get your started this holiday season. Happy volunteering and share your ideas below!
November 15 is 
Include philanthropic giving in your budget. You don’t have to give away thousands of dollars for your gift to have an impact. You can do a lot of good with a smaller gift every month, or a gift once a year. Set up a budget for giving and time frame to make a donation.
We were lucky enough to have a relationship with Medshare’s CEO Meredith Rentz, who used to be a Points of Light’s COO. She helped pave the way to bring the Atlanta office’s staff to Medshare to spend the morning volunteering.
Be sure to choose a task that doesn’t require any special skills, or plan time to train the employees before the event. The staff at Medshare did a great job of explaining their mission, the work that volunteers would be doing, and how to do the work that Points of Light staff were being asked to do.
Work with organizations that have projects where employees can see and experience the impact of their work. As we packed medical supplies, we got to see the piles of boxes on pallets grow. The staff at Medshare also took the time to tell us short stories throughout the day about the impact our work would have on the recipients of the supplies we were packing.
We had a great time volunteering with Medshare, learned some great lessons about employee volunteer projects and medicine in the developing world, and had a lot of fun while we were doing it!
Operation Honor Cards. Another great project from Blue Star Families, Operation Honor Cards is a simple and sincere ‘thank you’ to active duty military, military families or veterans with a pledge of service in honor of the sacrifices that they’ve made. The 
America celebrates this annual holiday with volunteer work, days off, media specials and parades, but what exactly is the momentous day and why is it so important? Veterans Days has traditionally been celebrated on November 11th since its creation by President Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson first established this day under the name Armistice Day after the worst of World War I in 1918.
November 11th 
These families need support while their loved ones are away and even when they return. These needs can easily be met through the work of communities, organizations, and volunteers. Volunteers can be both a resource for help but also as a source of support for these families. The following are a few suggestions to get your community involved in assisting these families during not only Veterans Day, but also year round.
Children of deployed soldiers tend to have higher anxiety levels than the average; this anxiety tends to increase as the months of deployment increase. The absence of a parent is difficult for any child, especially when that parent is away fighting for his or her country. Military children often feel disconnected from their community because most of their peers do not understand what they are experiencing.
You can help the military children in your community through small projects such as these. A small act of kindness can turn a dark day into a bright day. It is important to serve all those who contribute to the military.
On Wednesday, November 9, around 2PM Eastern, the U.S. Government will be conducting its first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). While most of us are used to regular state and local tests of EAS on our radio and television stations, this is the first time that the entire nation will be activated simultaneously as a “Presidential Emergency Action Notification.”
