Posts Tagged ‘Family’

Celebrate Our Freedom by Better Serving Our Military!

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Military men and women are returning home after spending months overseas. While being deployed, they have been isolated from loved ones and a life they once knew. Returning home after a service deployment can often be difficult for both the individual and their loved ones. Often, men and women return a little different than how their loved ones knew them previously.

These men and women need our help to make their transition back to daily life more manageable! You can help these men and women by volunteering as little or as much time as you can give!

Sound appealing, but you are not sure how to get involved? Check out these great military resources below to give back to those who have given us so much!

  • Community Blueprint: The Community Blueprint Network brings together community leaders, individuals, government agencies and nonprofits to bring collaborative, integrated solutions to address the most common challenges facing veterans and military families, from unemployment to education to behavioral health, housing, and reintegration. Volunteers, including veterans themselves, are the power behind the Blueprint. The Community Blueprint is the only national, scalable approach developed by a coalition of over 55 veteran and military-serving organizations nonprofits and government agencies focused on serving our nation’s military men and women and their families. To learn more check out our Community Blueprint web page!
  • Mom’s Time Away, Kids Get to Play: Military spouses and children often suffer from high levels of anxiety. A great way to help support families with returning or still deployed spouses and parents is to offer daycare services for young children. Military spouses are often forced to take over the burden of the household and daily needs associated with childcare. Allow military spouses to run errands or have time to their selves by offering free daycare services to their children. Your services will be greatly appreciated! Check out our playbook to learn more!
  • Joining Forces: Created by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden Joining forces engages all sectors of society to meet our military’s needs. Joining Forces highlights the issues of employment, education, and wellness to better serve our returning military and families. To learn more about their resources and to learn how you can get involved check out their .
  • Blue Star Families: Empowers military families through connecting them to elected officials and top nonprofits through social networking. They have launched extensive research projects with findings geared toward better serving military families. They have also launched service projects to better serve our military communities. Check out their website to get more information.
  • Give an Hour: Strives to provide free mental healthcare to military servicemen and families affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They ask therapists to give an hour of free therapy once a week to those who need it. Individuals who receive their services have an opportunity to give an hour back to their communities in return. To learn how you can get involved check out their website.
  • Got Your 6: An awareness campaign led by the entertainment industry. Got Your 6 means to literally have another person’s back. They bring attention to the areas of jobs, education, housing, health, family, and leadership. To see how you can get involved with your own 6 check out their website.  
  • Volunteer: The best way to just go out and help our military is to interact with them through service. Whether you just hang out with a military veteran, write a card for someone overseas, or visit a war memorial; it is most important to observe the dedication to service that these men and women have given our country!

How are you better serving our military? We would love to hear your comments and stories in the section below!

This July 4th Keep the Spirit of America Alive

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Patriotic spirit is in the air! We are only a day away from fireworks, barbeque, and everything American! Not only is the Fourth of July a great day to relax, spend time with family, and celebrate being an American, but it is also a great time to give back to your country through the act of service.

It is easy to forget that we are all united citizens of this country, meaning that we are all intertwined and have a responsibility to help one another. We also have a responsibility to protect our lands from pollution, toxins, etc. Take a few minutes from your celebrations to remember these values and give back to your community tomorrow!

Below are just a few ways that you can celebrate America in your community!

  1. Make cookies for the firefighters, police men and women, or EMTs. Unlike many of us who get to relax today, July 4th is one of their busiest days of the year!
  2. Thank your favorite teacher for teaching you everything you need to know to be a responsible and successful American.
  3. Feed the hungry! Spend your morning serving at a local soup kitchen or donate food items to a food bank.
  4. Send a military man or woman a care package and thank you letter. It is important to thank our service men for protecting our freedom.
  5. Hold a picnic for the veterans in your community to thank them for their service to our country.
  6. Learn the history of your town by visiting your library. You will be a better-rounded citizen, if you make a conscious effort to learn your city’s history.
  7. Clean up a river or park in your neighborhood. Celebrate living in a beautiful setting by keeping it clean.
  8. Choose greener alternatives such as green cleaning products, recycled plastics, etc. Love your earth and it will love you back.
  9. Fly a recycled American flag, instead of buying a new one. RecycledUSFlags.com is a great resource to find one!
  10. Share your leftover food with someone in need. We all know that family cook outs mean a ton of food, take your leftovers to a neighbor in need. You could even invite them to the cook out!
  11. Invite a needy family to a day of all-American fun complete with a game of corn hole or horse shoes.

July 4th is a great day to unite your community. By participating in good works, you will exemplify what it means to be a good citizen and a great American. Keep America beautiful and the spirit of American patriotism alive today and year round!

How are you celebrating the Fourth of July? We would love to hear your plans in the comments section below!

Give your dad the gift of volunteering this Father’s Day!

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Give your dad the gift of volunteering this Father’s Day! This Sunday is Father’s Day, and what better way to spend time with your father than by volunteering with your dad! Here are 5 ways to volunteer with your dad on father’s day!

 

  1. Celebrate Father’s Day by volunteering with your kids at a community garden. This is a great way to spend the day outdoors doing community service while bonding with your friends & family. You and your dad ca plant seeds, turn compost, and dig in the dirt.  Remember to bring all your banana peels, apple cores, any rotting lettuce you forgot was in the refrigerator, tops of carrots or peppers that you cut from your dinner preparations, and coffee grounds from your breakfast to also help feed the compost system.
  2. Celebrate all the fathers in your community by delivering donuts! That’s right, donuts are the ultimate comfort food and a pleasant way to say thank you to all the dads in your neighborhood. I’m pretty sure they’ll love this simple treat this father’s day.
  3. Looking for a way to have fun and do good at the same time? Do a Father’s Day 5K and 10K race. Volunteer opportunities include: Registration,  Split Timers – calling out times to runners as they pass by your assigned mile marker, Water Stop – fill cups of water, hand to runners, clap and cheer, clean up dropped cups after race, be race course marshalls by providing clear directions to keep runners on course, clap and cheer. At the finish line, you and your father can decorate, keep runners moving across the finish line, clap and cheer! Or you all can volunteer at the refreshment table by setting up food and drinks at the finish line for runners.
  4. Volunteer at a sports event! Many organizations are throwing Father’s Day fundraisers in the form of sports tournaments and events. Whether it’s a softball tournament, golf tournament, baseball tournament, etc, volunteer opportunities include, help with decorations,  distributing materials, providing decorations, or simply donating money to the organization and participating in the actual event. Volunteering at sporting events is a fun way to spend time with your father on his special day!
  5. Do something out of the ordinary! This father’s day, volunteer to just do something out of the ordinary to spend quality time with your dad to remind your dad that he is special to you and your family!

Celebrate National Preparedness Month!

Friday, June 8th, 2012

June is not only the month for summer fun; it is also a month to get prepared! June is National Safety Month. The summer hosts a number of fun activities for warm weather, but it is also important that you are safe about these activities. From the pool to the lake it is important to not only have fun, but also to be safe.

Summer time is also a host to weather emergencies such as hurricanes and high temperatures that can cause injuries. How will you prepare yourself and your family for these various natural emergencies? Below are 10 simple ways that you can prepare your family for any summer related emergency that may come your way!

  1. Make an emergency kit: Build an emergency kit so that you can survive after a disaster. Your kit should include enough food, water, and supplies to last you at least 72 hours.
  2. Learn your surroundings: Make sure that you have a safe place to go in times of emergency.
  3. Locate your lifeguards: If you are not a strong swimmer or you have small children at the pool, make sure you know where the lifeguards are located. Locating lifeguards ensure you will be able to find them when needed.
  4. Time for lawn upkeep: Hurricanes mean strong winds! Make sure that your trees and shrubs are trimmed to prevent house damage.
  5. Stay inside: Summer weather means high temperatures causing such things as smog. When the air quality is poor it is important to stay inside. Ensure your safety by monitoring your local weather report.
  6. Never leave your car unattended: High temperatures mean increased chance of heat related injuries. Never leave your children or pets in the car unattended!
  7. Become CPR certified: Have little kids? No lifeguard at your neighborhood pool? Take a CPR class with your local Red Cross chapter. Your breath could mean life or death for your child.
  8. Keep an eye out: Drowning is one of the top 5 factors of death in your children. Know where your child is at all times. Seconds can mean life or death.
  9. Life vests vs. water wings: Although water wings are typically marketed to protect your child. Most pools outlaw them due to their low safety rating. Purchase a life vest to ensure your young swimmer’s safety in the water.
  10. Stay hydrated: Spending a long day outside? Ensure your overall health and prevent yourself from a heat-related injury by drinking lots of fluids while outside.

Summer time is such a great time of year. By following these tips, you will ensure a care-free season for your entire family!

How are you preparing your family for the summer? We would love to hear about it in the comments section below!

Make Your Memorial Day BBQ Worth More

Monday, May 28th, 2012

Happy Memorial Day! Today is the perfect time for backyard barbecue and busting out your favorite white jeans. Today is also the perfect time to do a little social good for your community.

Last week, we discussed how to honor your community’s military men and women on Memorial Day. You can take those ideas one step further by turning your Memorial Day celebration into a charity event to benefit military service men, veterans, families, or organizations working with military.

Choose a cause or individual that touches you, and raise donations during your party!

How will you do this? Check out our steps below for fundraising success!

  1. Brainstorm with guests prior to the event: Ask your guests to do some research on military needs and nonprofit organizations that work with military or military families. Come up with a list of organizations that you can relate to. Come together as a group to make a uniformed decision about which cause you want to support at your event. When you draw up your invitations, let guests know that you will be collecting donations at your celebration, if they would like to donate.
  2. Contact the organization that you wish to help: Give the organization of your choice a heads up that you are hosting a benefit event in hopes of collecting donations for them. The organization may have certain items they need instead of monetary donations. Some organizations do not accept monetary donations.
  3. Define a purpose: Let your guests know the purpose of your benefit event. Whether your purpose is to help out a veteran in your community, or to collect money for a nonprofit because you like their mission, it is important to let guests know where their money will be going.
  4. Assign a leader to the event: Assign a leader to the fundraising aspect of your event. Someone should be in charge of collecting the donations. It is also important to assign a role to the person who will be making the actual donation.
  5. Alert the community: Ask guests if they would like to get the community involved in fundraising. Do you want to make this event internal or external? These questions can be answered in line with your fundraising goals. What are you trying to accomplish through your event?
  6. Make it fun: Assign a theme to your Memorial Day event. Guests are more likely to have a good time and be more involved in your purpose, if they are enjoying the atmosphere. Whether your theme is Memorial Day barbecue or an All-American party, just have a good time!
  7. Say thank-you: Let your guests know how thankful you are for their contributions at your event. If you want to hold another similar event, guests are more likely to give again, if they feel like their actions were appreciated.
  8. Spread the benefits: If possible, let guests know how their donations benefited the community or the chosen organization or individual. Did their donation provide a military family in need with a warm meal? However your event benefited the community; let guests know so they have a tangible mission to hold on to.

 

Memorial Day is a great way to have fun with friends and family, but remember to support your troops while you are having fun!

Are you turning your Memorial Day celebration into more than just a day of barbecue? Let us know about it in the comments section below!

At the Book Fair: Scholastic Volunteers BE BIG

Friday, February 24th, 2012

This post comes from Maggie McGuire, Vice President of Kids and Parent Channels at Scholastic. Scholastic employees are always looking for ways to “Be Big” and taking action to make a difference in the community.

Maggie spent eight years in the educational arena as a Language Arts and Literature teacher (grades 7 to 10) and as a teacher trainer and curriculum development designer before working at Scholastic.

I had the great pleasure of participating in H. Newman School’s Read & Rise Book Fair and Family Night on Wednesday. It couldn’t have been a more inspiring night with families coming together to invest time in sharing and learning more about how they can support their child’s reading and learning life.

This is a personal passion of mine – one that has translated into a career spent focused on ways to inspire a love of and excitement for learning and to provide families with access to the information and books they need to be successful.

The event kicked off with a lively discussion amongst parents and family members talking about the incredibly important roles families have in shaping their child’s motivation to read and learn from the earliest ages.

Parents are a child’s first teacher.

Parents talked about sharing family stories from their childhood as one way to get kids involved in listening to stories, asking questions, learning how to participate in conversations and learning about their heritage – as well as sharing their own stories. We all acknowledged that the more families talk to their children, every day, and share in conversations with their children – whether at the family kitchen table or on the go, the more children will acquire the language, vocabulary, thinking and communication skills necessary to becoming literate.

Other parents shared the importance of reading every day with their kids. Whether it is a newspaper, magazine, comic book, novel or picture book – getting kids reading and making it a fun family ritual, and part of every day life, is what is important.

If kids love reading and learning – they’ll be on a path to success. Everyone felt very passionate about wanting to be a positive reading role model for their kids. One parent summed it up so well, “Readers are leaders! And that’s what we all want for our kids.”

Following that conversation, families came together to create original stories together and craft them into their very own books in a Klutz Build-A-Book workshop.

This is where all the things we talked about started to come to life with the kids. I had a great time working with two funny and intent boys who were putting together a whimsical story about characters who lived in “La La Land and Upside Down World”. Just their banter back and forth about what they were creating was a perfect example of how to build literacy, problem solving skills, and tap into imagination when we set out to create and tell stories.

By encouraging them with questions about what they were making and the characters they were building – they came up with a really great start to a very imaginative story.

Being a part of a community effort to support literacy is remarkably rewarding. Not only was I captivated by the school’s community of parents and kids, but it was wonderful to be part of a larger team of Scholastic employees who volunteered to set up the Fair, host the Build-A-Book workshop and help kids find and choose just the right books for their age and interest at the Book Fair. The kids were so excited to look through a large selection of books – they loved talking to each other about which ones they’d read, which ones had been on their wishlist, and all of them walked out with one in their hands. What a great way to end an evening focused on raising readers!

Volunteering for Your Favorite Cause as a Family

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

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!

 

50 Ideas for Family Volunteer Day

Friday, November 19th, 2010
  1. Organize a one-day adoption fair with your local animal shelter at a convenient in-town location.
  2. Collect pet food, rags, newspapers, pet toys, washable plastic pet carriers, paper towels, old towels and blankets for your local shelter.
  3. Collect money for the training of Seeing Eye dogs and shelter dogs.  Make an educational flyer to give to donors about these special animals.
  4. Make homemade dog biscuits and sell to earn money for an agency that rescues animals.
  5. Build a dog park on a vacant piece of town land (with permission).
  6. Perform a puppet show at a local library or senior citizen home.
  7. Organize a sing-along at the children’s hospital, hospice or nursing home.
  8. Organize a musical instrument drive and donate the instruments to a local school or community center.
  9. Collect art supplies for kids in shelters or hospitals.
  10. Make coloring books from downloadable web pages and spend a morning coloring or making a mural with homeless kids.
  11. Help newly arrived immigrant children and their families celebrate their “First Thanksgiving” by collecting food, kitchen supplies, toiletries, clothing, school supplies, and toys.
  12. Make backpacks of school supplies or toiletries for children and teens in foster care.
  13. Start a holiday collection of NEW toys for organizations that distribute gifts to children of incarcerated parents.
  14. Organize a collection of prom dresses and accessories for homecomings and proms.
  15. Spiff up children’s rooms at a group home with new pillows and comforters and a coat of paint.
  16. Clean up neighborhood streets, a playground, a beach, or a community garden.
  17. Clean and paint a family housing shelter or community center.
  18. Build barbecue pits, picnic tables or trails at local parks.
  19. Participate in a brush-clearing hiking trip to help keep park trails in good condition.
  20. Recycle!  Organize a drop off for clothes and coats, cans and bottles, bicycles, cell phones or computers.
  21. Organize a field day or health fair with traditional games about the importance of exercising.
  22. Buy or collect donated sports equipment for low-income schools, shelters, after school programs, park and recreation programs.
  23. Coordinate a healthy snack food drive for children in shelters or low-income after-school programs.
  24. Organize a dance or a sock hop.  Make the admission a pair of new socks or a healthy snack to give to a shelter.
  25. Organize a “beauty day” at a shelter with free haircuts and manicures.
  26. Collect food for your local soup kitchen or food pantry.
  27. Collect new sneakers, pajamas, underwear and socks, cleaning and paper items or whatever is needed most on your local shelter’s wish list.
  28. Decorate the dining hall or common area for the holidays; make centerpieces, bring fresh flowers and fresh fruit and vegetables.
  29. Collect books for low-income schools or after-school tutoring programs.
  30. Organize a used book, videos, DVD, cassette sale.
  31. Donate funds or purchase new books to an underserved school or library.
  32. Create a family story hour and read to children in your neighborhood or to residents of a senior home or group home.  If possible, leave the books with the residents.
  33. Volunteer with a local literacy council to help people learn to read.
  34. Organize a read-a-thon for an afternoon; involve kids from a community center.
  35. Donate funds to a library in need, an organization that promotes literacy, or Heifer International’s Read to Feed program.
  36. Visit the homebound.  Ask if you can garden, clean up the yard, make simple household repairs, or drive them to doctor appointments, to the grocery store or to visit friends.
  37. Partner with another family to repair or paint the home of an elderly couple or a needy family.
  38. Make cards or a simple crafts and bring to a local nursing home for them to put on their dinner trays.
  39. Play bingo, sing songs or host a birthday party for nursing home residents.
  40. Visit a veteran’s home or senior residence, offer to interview them about their lives, take pictures of them and post on a bulletin board in a common area.
  41. Make meals or buy groceries for a local Ronald McDonald House or Fisher House, homes that support families while their loved ones are being treated in hospitals.
  42. Collect phone cards, new stuffed animals, dolls and toys for chronically ill children in hospitals.
  43. Assemble activity kits for kids in hospitals.
  44. Collect new video games, computer games and DVD’s for hospital playrooms.
  45. Organize a “quilting bee” – make simple warm and cuddly quilts for sick babies or children.
  46. Buy tickets for a local sporting event (minor leagues) for children in-group homes or families in shelters.
  47. Organize a sports and sporting equipment tag sale.  Use the funds to install basketball hoops or playground equipment for shelters or group homes or neighborhood parks.
  48. Turn a vacant piece of land into a baseball or soccer field.
  49. Volunteer with your local Special Olympics committee or at a Special Olympics event.
  50. Organize a “celebrity game” in your town – i.e. a local radio station squares off with teachers to raise funds for a local need or to improve sporting facilities in your town.

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Get HandsOn Tag Challenge Update!

Yesterday’s Get HandsOn Tag Master was David Resnick!  David has won a pair of round trip tickets on JetBlue, $25 for himself, and $100 for his favorite charity!

Today’s Celebrity Tag is !  Tag Alicia for swag!

Are YOU up to the challenge?

Mountains of Sandwiches

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

by Michele Reiner

Recently, my son’s kindergarten class learned about hunger.

They discussed what it might be like without enough food (bad) and how they could help (share lunches).

Tying the lesson to both academics and ‘doing good’ the teachers asked that students earn money at home doing special chores and join together to make a contribution to an organization focused on ending hunger.

The kids also made graphs and charts showing who did what to raise money and contrasted their results.

I was glad they did this.

In addition to fundraising though, I wanted my son to do some hands-on service.

I wasn’t sure what, so I began at Pebble Tossers for some inspiration and links to projects kids can do.

After exploring I found the Open Door Community; literally a place we drive by almost every day.

What I learned was they are a residential community dismantling racism, sexism and heterosexism through loving relationships with some of the most neglected – the homeless and those in prisons.

While they do so much, what clicked was that every day they serve 400 sandwiches.

I told my son about this place and asked him “What can we do?”

He decided we could make 200 sandwiches ourselves.

After further discussion though, we thought that if we got friends to join we could do the whole 400!

I must say we were really pumped up.

I sent a note out to nine other kids in his class inviting them to join us.

Given the pace of most people’s lives, I assumed we’d get a few participants.

Amazingly every single family said yes.

With siblings, parents, bread and meat in tow, we joined together one Saturday to make sandwiches.

It was a great morning.

The kids truly did the bulk of the service and were excited to track their progress.

The final tally – over 430 sandwiches!

The next day we dropped off the sandwiches.

There we met James, who greeted the children with joy and gave them more kudos than we could imagine.

He invited us to make sandwiches in their kitchen next time.

As we drove away I reflected aloud on how James referred to the people who’d eat the sandwiches as ‘friends’.

He made a point of it many times over and told us that this is what we should do as well.

His point, well taken, was that we served these people as we would our friends; inviting them into the Open Door Community and giving them what we would anyone who was hungry in our presence.

I talked about how important words can be and left it at that.

A week later my son, the consummate builder, found a really cool spot under a tree in the park.

He excitedly rushed to tell me about the clubhouse he wanted to build there.

He ran through the plans with a vision shining in his head of what he could do.

Then he stopped and said, “You know what it could be, mommy?

It could be a house for our friends”. He looked pointedly at me again and said, “You know mom, our friends”.

I think he gets it.

Michele Reiner is a consultant who provides strategy, action and results to her clients and is currently developing HandsOn Network’s role in the Cities of Service movement.

5 Tips for Talking About Volunteering with Children

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

As the school year comes to a close, you might be wondering what to do with your kids this summer.

May we recommend volunteering?

You can ensure that a child’s volunteering experience is positive and memorable!

By implementing a few simple but effective tips and strategies, you can ensure that young volunteers leave their service project feeling inspired and empowered to continue doing good work.

1. Be cognizant of word choice

Children are developing and growing their vocabulary each day.

If you feel a word may not be as developmentally appropriate as another word, substitute it or explain the concept the word conveys.  Alternately, choose two or three words or terms to explain the same concept.

For example, when explaining volunteering to a child who is six, consider helping the child make a connection.

“Volunteering is when you do something nice for someone else — maybe even someone you don’t even know – and you don’t ask for anything in return.”

2. Model or show final results

Give children something to work towards.

Many children, especially under the age of nine, are not yet at the developmental stage in which they can “imagine” what something will be like at a later point.

When working with a child on a craft-type project, have a completed example on hand.

When working on a project where the final product cannot be shown, describe the desired outcome using steps and descriptive terms that are on the child’s level.

3. Reinforce success

Continually remind children that they are on the right track.

Positive reinforcement — “good job” or “you are an amazing volunteer” — is a tactic that gives a child the assurance and motivation that they are going in the right direction.

It also further helps the young person experience the joy that volunteering and giving can bring. However, be specific in your praise.

“Your message about peace is beautiful” or “This yellow card you made will really cheer somebody up!”

4. Provide constructive feedback

Do not hesitate to correct a young person if they are off track.

Allowing a child to proceed if he or she is doing their assigned job incorrectly is less beneficial than correcting them.

Providing constructive feedback will ultimately allow them to be successful in the end and have a positive volunteer experience.

One way to phrase correction is to say,

“This looks really great, but let me show you something that will make it even better.”

5. Stay age-appropriate

Consider the participant’s age as it relates to their developmental level.

Sharing instructions or even defining what it means to volunteer to a young person who is six differs from sharing the same message with a young person who is twelve.

With younger children (ages six to eight), give directions that are broken down into steps. It is difficult for a child who is six to fully comprehend a set of complex instructions presented as a whole. However, don’t underestimate a young person’s ability to understand instruction by speaking to them below their level.

Take Action! Search for a project, evaluate the ones you find, start your own or join a Kids Care Club!