Archive for the ‘Kids’ Category
Monday, April 23rd, 2012
The birds are chirping, the weather is perfect, and you need an activity to get you outside and active! Spring is the time to organize a community sports activity! There is no better reason than perfect weather to get your community together for a fun activity?
Studies show that most people are inactive because they have do not have fun exercising or they are unsure what activity to participate in. A community sports team or competition is a great way to get on the move!
Below you will find the necessary steps to get your neighbors up and active through team sports!
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Recruit project leaders: Contact your friends, family members, and neighbors to find out who would be interested in helping you plan and execute the project.
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Identify your space: Does your neighborhood have an open public space that you could use? If your neighborhood does not, contact your local school to use their field.
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Define a project plan and timeline: Define your goals and schedule for the project. Decide whether or not
you would like to collect donations or you will charge for admission. Determine your space size and how many participants it can hold.
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Recruit other volunteers and assign roles: Maximize your participants’ skills after you have your leaders assigned. Make sure you have a manager, a designer, and sports equipment.
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Promote: Use your team to develop and promote and print fliers, email, obtain newspaper advertisements, and engage social media in order to mobilize your network of participants and volunteers. Use all necessary sources to get the word out about the event.
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Execute the plan: Once you have your teammates and managers begin practicing and playing games! Break the ice with your teammates by hosting a BBQ, picnic, or social. Make sure your teammates feel comfortable with each other to ensure a successful team makeup. Learn from you mistakes and successes to build upon success.
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Reflect and recognize: Once your season of team action is over reflect upon the successes and weaknesses of the past season. Record what can be improved upon and what worked for future sports seasons.
Forming a sports team is a great way to start the process of neighboring in your community. Whether you form a little league baseball team or an adult swim team it is a great way to be social with your community members, while improving overall health through being active.
How has your community bonded through active competition? Share with us in the comments below, we would love to hear about it!
Tags: Community, sports
Posted in Kids, Neighboring | 4 Comments »
Friday, April 13th, 2012
If you are spooked by Friday the 13th, don’t be! This week’s unlucky day is the second of three for 2012. And it would come as no surprise if many among us hold at least some fear of freaky Friday, as we humans tend to be pretty superstitious.
Many superstitions stem from the same human trait that causes us to believe in monsters and ghosts: When our brains can’t explain something, we make stuff up. In fact, a 2010 study found that superstitions can sometimes work, because believing in something can actually improve performance on a task; however, we’ve devised a plan to fight those superstitions by volunteering!
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Volunteer around black cats: Superstition states that a black cat crossing ones path is a sign of bad luck
despite the many people who have good luck and own them or work around them. Defy superstition by volunteering at an animal shelter on September 13. Many shelters usually have at least a few black cats that are ready for adoption, which means there’s a good chance at least one will cross your path at some point while you’re volunteering! Hopefully you’ll see how awesome they are and will adopt one! Check out our friends at Best Friends Animal Society for a shelter near you!
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Go out the same door you came in: Supposedly it’s bad luck to go out the same door you came in, so if you’re someone who believes this superstition, think of all the people who go in and out of the same door every day. On September 13, rather than go in one door and go out another, use the same one in order to defy superstition.
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Clean up your local lake: In the original Friday the 13th (1980), Mrs. Voorhees stalks and murders the teenagers who are preparing Camp Crystal Lake. To fend off any fictitious murderers and silly superstitions, gather your family and volunteer to clean up your local lake or park on this beautiful Friday afternoon!
We hope these three activities will help you ward off any Friday the 13th superstitions. Comment and tell us what volunteer activities you’ll be doing in honor of Friday the 13th!
Tags: Black cat, Friday, Friday 13th, Luck, Superstition
Posted in Family Volunteering, Just for Fun, Kids | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
April symbolizes many things-spring, Easter, Passover, and most importantly baseball! That’s right, this month major league baseball kicks off its 2012 regular season. Baseball is a chance to enjoy the awesome weather that the spring and summer offer, but it’s also a time to enjoy some friendly competition; However, while baseball is one of many American’s favorite past time, it is also a unique opportunity to volunteer! While you may be wandering how volunteering and baseball are linked, surprise, surprise! We have already figured that out for you!
Here are 3 ways you can be an amazing baseball volunteer!
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Put your strength to work! Baseball players are great athletes so why not use your strength to help someone? One day after practice or on an off day-volunteer! With the recent tornadoes and storms, you can gather your team and go help clean up communities that have succumbed to the recent disasters. Recently, a Harriburg, PA high school baseball team volunteered to clean up their communities. The team was in the area for a high school baseball showcase at Rent One Park in Marion and decided to stay and spend a portion of their spring break assisting victims of last month’s tornado. How cool is that? Of course, everyone hasn’t recently suffered a natural disaster, but I’m sure there are other ways for you and your team to volunteer in your communities!
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Host a baseball camp! Organize a baseball camp for the youth in the
community to promote sportsmanship, fitness, and camaraderie and end the camp with a baseball game! You can also get your community leaders involved in the event by asking them to teach a session or mentor a youth during the camp! Events like the baseball camp really motivate students to work harder at sports and school and can play an especially important role for young people coming from difficult backgrounds or family situations. Sports can also help teach students responsibility, accountability, teamwork, a work ethic, and many other positive qualities including self-pride.
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Become a little league volunteer! Whether you’re coaching a team, carpooling to ensure that another teammate gets to practice, or providing refreshments, you are vital to the team! As a parent volunteer, you have the opportunity to spend quality time with your child in a safe, fun-filled environment. Oftentimes, parent and
child social lives parallel each other. Volunteering allows your life and your child’s life to intersect on common ground, with shared interests and goals. Similarly, if you are not a parent, volunteering to coach a baseball team allows you to mentor or provide leadership to a child. As a volunteer, you can teach intangible skills that will stick with the child for their entire lives.
There are so many fun and awesome ways to become a baseball volunteer, and if you’re already a baseball volunteer, GREAT! Keep up the good work and thank you!
Tags: Baseball, Sport, volunteer, Youth
Posted in Family Volunteering, Just for Fun, Kids | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 6th, 2012
The Easter Bunny is hopping through a town near you this weekend! How can you turn this day into more than just a day full of family, pastel eggs, 
and honey glazed ham? Turn your family’s Easter celebration into a project about social good!
While we all love to sit around with our family members to dye eggs and search the lawn for the golden egg, it can be a great time to teach your children about the power of service and volunteering through making it a day of charity. Try one of these Easter-themed service projects in your community this weekend; we guarantee it will only enhance the fun!
- Easter bunny time:
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Here comes our favorite bunny: Contact your local children or family shelter to see if they have an Easter bunny coming to visit. If they do not, volunteer to dress up for the kids so that they can share in the fun!
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Breakfast with Peter Cottontail: Get together with your neighbors to plan a community breakfast with the neighborhood kids. It is a great time to meet your neighbors and have fun with the kids in your community. You can even plan a special Easter Bunny visit at the Breakfast.
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Do the bunny hop: Plan an Easter theme dance in your town hall. Everyone is required to wear bunny ears at the event in honor of
the Easter Bunny. Charge an admission price and donate your proceeds to your community’s favorite charity!
- Where is the last Easter egg?
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Community hunt: Organize a community Easter egg hunt with your other community members. All those who want to be involved can donate one bag of candy to be used in the hunt. Participants are encouraged to donate a toy during the event for a child in need.
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Egg hunt name call: Contact your local shelter or hospital about your egg hunt. Ask them for a list of children’s names who are asking for toy donations. Put a child’s name in each egg. Families can donate a toy to the name of the child whose egg they find.
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Hold an Easter egg decoration competition: Are you skilled in the craft of egg dying? Decorate eggs for charity! Participants choose their favorite charity, and the winner gets all proceeds from the event donated to
his or her charity.
- Easter dress fashion show:
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- We all know, there is some pretty tacky Easter wear out there. Hold a tacky Easter dress fashion show! Donate all proceeds to charity.
- It’s time for the parade:
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- Hold an Easter Day parade filled with all things Easter themed! It is a great way to get your community to volunteer together and it will be a fun way to start the day!
Whether you are celebrating Easter this weekend or just spending time together with your friends and family, the weather is perfect to get out and be active in your community! We hope that these tips will help your share the power of social kid with your community and family. Happy Easter!
How are you celebrating the power of service this weekend? Share with us in the comments section below, we would love to hear your stories!
Tags: Easter, Easter Bunny, Egg decorating, Egg hunt, holiday
Posted in Events, Family Volunteering, Fundraising & Development, Kids | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
Now that March Madness is over and the national championship has been decided, it’s time to celebrate all of the amazing things that are happening in April!
We at HandsOn Network are challenging you to give your March Madness bracket bounty to chariti
es
April is National Volunteer Month, which means it’s a great time to honor the amazing service that volunteers have done in your community. One way to celebrate the awesomeness of volunteers is by sharing their story via the Points of Light Facebook tab! Simply, go to , click on the National Volunteer Week tab (located below our cover photo), complete the form. This should take up too much time of your day, but hey we’re sure that volunteer is well worth your time! that promote awesome causes, recognize volunteers during National Volunteer Week, share a story to win an Alaskan cruise, and just be awesome!
- Give your March Madness bracket bounty to a great cause! Every parent knows that a hungry child is a disadvantaged child. He can’t grow, develop and learn like other kids. She has trouble focusing and getting along. They complain often of headaches, stomachaches and other ailments. They fall behind in virtually every way. It doesn’t have to be this way. Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® strategy provides that access to families all across the nation, so that every child, regardless of circumstances, can get the healthy food they need to thrive. Help the fight against child hunger by donating to Share Our Strength.
- Host a bake sale! In addition to donating money to Share Our Strength’s mission to end child hunger, you can also participate in the Great American Bake Sale and help a youth host a bake sale or host your own! T
he Great American Bake Sale happens all across the country, all year long. Awesome youth and caring adults sign up to hold bake sales and send their profits to Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength uses that money to end childhood hunger. You can schedule your bake sale whenever you want, but the National Challenge is April 20-22. It would be sweet if your bake sale won! The first 300 bake sale hosts to submit $275 or more from bake sales held on National Challenge Weekend will receive a Jay at Play’s Little Miss Muffin Pop N Flip™ toy!
Whether you’re donating your money to an awesome organization or celebrating volunteers, we are grateful for all of the philanthropic contributions and hope that you have fun celebrating all of the great generous service of those around you!
Tags: April, HandsOn Network, Share Our Strength, Volunteering
Posted in Economy, Family Volunteering, Fundraising & Development, Kids, Volunteerism | No Comments »
I Spy, You Spy Young Readers!
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Happy International Children’s Book Day! What is so special about this day? Since 1967, this has been a day of celebrating children’s literature and inspiring a love of reading to all kids worldwide. From Dr. Seuss to the Bernstein Bears, we have all been touched by the magic of children’s literature. While there are many ways that you can celebrate, sharing your love of reading is a great way to get your kids involved!
Studies show that the more kids read, the more likely they will foster a love of reading. Volunteering to share the love of reading with a child will help positively promote this statistic. The list below will help you better your experience when helping kids learn to read and foster of love for books!
- Choose a book that matches the child’s hobbies or interests
- Leave books or other reading materials in places that will be easily seen or found by your kids
- Pay attention to what catches your child’s attention. Whether your child is interested in picture books or action novels,
make sure you continuously offer things he or she will find entertaining.
- Read in your spare time, so that your child will model your behavior.
- Share the gift of the library with your kids. Allow them to explore the different resources so that they discover a new love within the materials!
- Identify reading a useful resource rather than a chore. Your child is more likely to continue to read, if they see it as a resource of learning.
- Encourage your older children to read to their younger siblings or younger neighborhood children.
- Play reading related games or watch television shows that encourage reading or share literature lessons.
- Set aside a reading time everyday in your household, when you and your kids can read a book for a set amount of time (or longer).
- Read aloud to your child or children that you volunteer with.
- Encourage your child to read their favorite book aloud or something they find interesting to their family.
- Donate books to your local school, shelter, or give books to your own kids or neighbors.
- Give your kids a bookmark; so that they know to read at their own pace, they do not need to finish a book in one sitting.
- Hang out with your family and read a comedy book. Show your kids that reading does not need to be a serious activity all the time.
- Reinforce positive reading experiences by following a good experience with an adventure. If your child enjoyed reading about American history, take them to your local history museum.
- Offer incentives to get your child reading more!
- Organize a book drive at your child’s school.
- Volunteer to be a parent reader in your child’s classroom.
- Limit the amount of time your child watches television, so that they can read more books.
- Encourage your child to read everyday things such a menus or traffic signs.
Today is a great day to foster a love of reading in your child, neighbors, students, etc. It is important to encourage children to read at every stage and every age. Follow these steps to get started!
For more information:
Learning to Give, the philanthropy education and service-learning program of generationOn, has numerous lessons and units to help teach literacy while combining the learning with service. Each lesson is aligned to the academic standards of all fifty states as well as the Common Core Standards. Start your search here: http://www.learningtogive.org/
How are you fostering a love of reading today?
Tags: Children's literature, Picture book, Reading
Posted in Family Volunteering, Inspire, Kids | 3 Comments »
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Happy Hunger Games!!! This Friday is so special that it deserves a holiday!…hmm want to know what’s so special about this particular Friday? Well, today is the opening day for “The Hunger Games!” However, while you’re heading out to watch to watch “The Hunger Games” remember there are still people in this world who lack adequate nutrition or do not have access to food.
Here are ten facts about hunger to consider and inspire you to fight hunger in your community:
- For 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a reality. Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger. These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days.
- Suburban poverty appears to have distinct regional patterns. Fourteen of the fifteen suburbs with the highest poverty rates in 2000 were located in the Southern or Western regions of the country.
- Female-headed households were more than twice as likely to be among the working poor as male-headed households in 2008.
- Among families with at least one member working at least half a year, families with children were 4 times more likely than families without children to live in poverty in 2008.
- One in five kids in America struggles with hunger. Kids who struggle with hunger have a hard time learning in school and don’t get the nutrition they need to grow up strong and healthy.
- According to the USDA, over 16 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2010.
- 20% or more of the child population in 40 states and D.C. lived in food insecure households in 2009. The District of Columbia (32.3%) and Oregon (29.2%) had the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food.
- In 2009, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, & Texas. iii
- In 2009, the top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children under 18 are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland, & Massachusetts. iii
- Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children. 62 percent of client households with children under the age of 18 reported participating in the National School Lunch Program, but only 14 percent reported having a child participate in a summer feeding program that provides free food when school is out.
Additionally, our affiliate GenerationOn, is hosting “The Great American Bake Sale” in which awesome youth and caring adults sign up to hold bake sales and send their profits to Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength will use the proceeds to end childhood hunger.
May the odds be in your favor, volunteer as Tribute and watch this video!
Tags: Friday, Hunger, Hunger Games, Poverty
Posted in Economy, Events, Family Volunteering, Kids, Volunteering | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Besides the second day of spring, did you know that March 21, 2012 is also Kick Butts day? Not familiar with Kick Butts Day? Well…
Kick Butts Day is a day for activism when thousands of youth in every state and around the world will stand out, speak up, and seize control against tobacco. If you are a teacher, a parent running a scout troop, or a youth leader, you can hold your own Kick Butts Day event as well.
Here are 5 ways you can kick butt on Kick Butts Day!
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Host a cigarette b
utt clean-up! Do you constantly see cigarette butts thrown on sidewalks, parks, beaches and other public property? Are you sick of this unnecessary litter? Well, this activity is just for you! You can organize a cigarette butt clean-up to raise awareness of the effects of discarded cigarette butts! Gather volunteers and Collect cigarette butts in garbage bags and count them along the way. Make sure everyone wears gloves!
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Remind your community of the cost of a carton of cigarettes! Find the average price of a pack of cigarettes in your community. Calculate the costs for a week, a month, a year, five years, etc. for a person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. Display the financial cost of smoking. Be creative. You can put up posters, use fake dollar bills, or turn the activity into a worksheet to be completed in class.
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Do a door decorating contest! Get your entire school involved by challenging all of the classrooms to decorate their doors with a Kick Butts Day theme. At the end of the contest, select students or teachers to judge the doors. Award prizes to different categories, such as the most creative or the strongest message. The prizes can be anything you’d like, in order to incentivize involvement (as long as it’s approved by the school), such as a pizza party for the winning classroom.
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Restaurant placemats, table tents, and take-out stickers! Contact local restaurants to see if they would be willing to use placemats, table tents, or take-out stickers that can be placed on pizza boxes and take-out bags with your message on them. This can reach countless people and is an opportunity to form lasting relationships with community businesses.
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Kick butts with art! Host an anti-tobacco art contest. All entries should be related to the fight against tobacco, such as the harmful effects of tobacco products. You decide what types of art will be accepted, but it can be anything, including songs, photography, or poetry. Award prizes to the winners. If possible, put the winning pieces on display.
Understanding the harms of cigarette smoking is essential to youth as they mature. We hope that the positive activities will provide you with fun ways to spread the message about the effects of tobacco usage.
Tags: Advocacy, Cigarette, Health, Kick Butt Day, Tobacco, Tobacco smoking
Posted in Events, Family Volunteering, Impact, Inspire, Kids, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
There are so many posts about ideas to volunteer with kids, older generations, and as a family, but what about teenage volunteer ideas? Well, it is 
good that you are reading this post today! At HandsOn Network we know that it is to get discouraged from volunteering, if there are a limited amount of resources to help you make a service decision.
Adolescents can make a huge difference in their community and can benefit from service work, as well. No only will you learn the importance of giving back, but service work is also very helpful when looking for jobs or applying to college.
Are you interested in adding community service to your to-do list? Check out our list of tips and ideas to get your project started!
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Love summer camp, but you are too old to still be a camper? Become a counselor in training! It is great way to still go to camp and volunteer at the same time. Camp counselors make a positive impact in the camper’s lives every summer; don’t you remember your favorite counselor?
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Interested in the medicine field? Check out your local hospital for volunteer opportunities. Many hospitals will hire young volunteers to interact with patients such as reading books to patients or sitting with families in the waiting room. You may even be able to help the nurses in the nursery, etc. It is a great way to get some hands-on experience in the medical profession!
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Give back to those who have given so much: Help out at your local nursing home. Whether you are playing games, cleaning, cooking, or planning events you are sure to have a good time! You will not only give back, but you may also learn some valuable lessons working with senior citizens.
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Woof woof! Help out at your local animal shelter or veterinarian clinic. Interested in veterinary science? This is the perfect opportunity to
get experience, while helping animals in your community. You will have so much fun; it will not even feel like volunteering!
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Help your old elementary school: Want to reconnect with your old teachers? Hold a book or school supplies drive at your old elementary school. This is a great way to get experience in the education field, by working with school children.
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Volunteer at your local nursery: Does your church, town hall, or place of work have a nursery? Check to see if they need any extra hands to help with the children. You can volunteer to read stories to the kids or even help clean up.
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Volunteer to be green: Have a green thumb? Gather your neighborhood and start a community garden. Have every person plant their favorite flowers, vegetables, or fruits. It will be a great asset to your community, and will also help the environment!
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Love to read? Libraries are always looking for eager volunteers. Check with your town’s library to find out their various needs and how could help them through volunteering. This is a great service project to put on your resume!
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Good cook? Make food for your local shelter or soup kitchen. Short on time? Start a food drive at your school. Donate your collected items to your neighborhood’s shelter.
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Artistic? Make coloring books for homeless children. There are many websites with coloring pages ready to be printed. Put together a few books and donate them to a children’s or family shelter.
Volunteering is the perfect excuse to utilize the skills that you may not be able to use every day. What better way to learn about yourself and the career path you would like to take than volunteering your skills?
Have a hunger for more projects like these? Check out generationOn to find more projects for teenagers!
How has volunteering helped you? We would love to hear your story in them comments section below!
Tags: Community service, Opportunities, Philanthropy, volunteer
Posted in Kids, Volunteer Project Development, Volunteering | 2 Comments »
