Teaching your children about the importance of being charitable from an early age will set them up for a lifetime of giving back to the world around them. By making giving back to the community fun and relevant, your children will discover the true joy in helping others. Here are five easy ways that you can get your family involved in community charities.
Organize a Food Drive
One of the easiest ways that you can make a big impact on the lives of the people who need it the most is to organize a food drive. This is an especially good task for young children because of the simplicity involved.
It’s not hard for a child to grasp the concept of gathering food to give to those in need. You can donate food as a family on a small scale or take it up another level and organize a larger drive with neighbors or others in your community.
Another fun way to implement this is to start a little neighborhood pantry where people can drop off non-perishable items at a designated place and others can then feel free to take from it.
Look to Your Local Schools
Your local schools are rich with an abundance of volunteer opportunities. These places of learning are always looking for families to give their time and money.
Perhaps you want to volunteer to do some landscaping work around the school grounds on the weekend? Or maybe your family wants to fund a need that the school has for new equipment. Investing your efforts in a school is a true investment in the future of your community. Many schools also hold a variety of fundraising events that always rely on community volunteers to make them successful. As a bonus, helping at a school will be especially relevant for school-aged children.
Look Into Donations
There is a good chance that you have loads of unwanted items around your home. What you no longer use could be a meaningful blessing to someone in need. One of the best ways to cut clutter around your own home and help others is to go through all of your belongings and donate what you do not need.
A creative dotation center is the Kidney Foundation pickup service. They will pick up your used vehicle for you and donate it to a worthy cause that helps kidney failure patients. In addition to this invaluable service, there are many other programs such as this that will take unwanted items off of your hands and put them in the hands of deserving individuals.
Sponsor a Child
Sponsoring a child in need is a great way to help your child to think of themselves as just a small part of a global community.
With these types of programs, your family is paired up with a child who needs financial assistance. The majority of the time, these children live in developing nations. Your monthly payment goes to help them to afford essential items that contribute directly to their well-being.
As part of your commitment, you will receive correspondence detailing how the child is thriving because of your impact. Sometimes this correspondence comes directly from the child, making this especially meaningful for your own children. Before you sign up for a particular child sponsorship service, be sure to do your due diligence in researching all of the details.
Volunteer with Senior Citizens
Some of the most vulnerable people in any population are its senior citizens. Many areas have a designated senior center that is always looking for people to spend time and engage with their community.
Seniors love spending time with children, making this a great way for your family to spend some of your free time. You can organize donation drives to provide seniors with a variety of essential living items or you can simply be intentional about giving your time to these people. Your children will likely get just as much out of this experience as the seniors.
There is an inherent value that comes from giving to the world around you. Teach your children how to harness their energy to be a charitable person and they will live a more rewarding life because of it.
