
With the many benefits family volunteering affords, the question is not if parents and children should volunteer: It's when to start and what to do.
Published: October 20, 2017
By: Denise Yearian
Family volunteering is a multi-faceted way to cultivate civic-minded children, promote character values and incorporate quality time. This results in strong individuals, solid families and stable communities.
With the many benefits family volunteering affords, the question is not if parents and children should volunteer: It’s when to start and what to do.
Lynn Henshaw believes getting children involved in volunteering early on lends itself to participation later in life. “When Katie was 6 and Kim was 4, we worked with others once a week to provide a lunch program for needy families,” says the mother of children now 13, 11 and 6 years old. “Even though the girls were young, they would help with simple things like setting up condiments, greeting people and cleaning up at the end.”
To make family volunteering a satisfying and rewarding experience, experts suggest considering your child’s interests.
“When I talk with families, I always ask, ‘What are your interests and what are you curious about?’ Then we work from there,” says Susan Eggert, a volunteer service administrator. “If your child likes animals, find an organization that needs help with animals. If it’s nature, tap into one of our state parks. This can lead to a greater passion for that interest. It may even open the door for a future career.”
This was the case with Matt Halterman. At age 12, he began volunteering at a local state park for one reason: He liked animals.
“I had gone to a program on reptiles and amphibians at the bookstore,” recalls the now 19-year-old. “While I was there I learned about youth programs at the park, so I started volunteering. The more I worked there, the more my interest in that field grew.”
Halterman eventually got his parents on board with volunteering, and within a year the entire family was serving at the park.
Today Halterman works as an AmeriCorps volunteer, training other youth volunteers.
Organizations may have age requirements. But that doesn’t mean younger family members can’t get involved.
“A child may be able to help his parents organize feed bins at an animal shelter, take a display to a local community fair or participate in a fundraiser walk,” says Eggert. “All of this is important work and benefits the organization.”
Often volunteering stirs up feelings of empathy that causes families to extend themselves beyond normal limits. Cindy Greene, mother of Emily, 14, and Chet, 11 found this to be true.
“When Chet was nearing 10, a hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and he wanted to help,” she recalls. “He knew his birthday was coming up so he decided to have a party. But instead of receiving gifts, he asked guests to make a donation to hurricane victims.”
Greene reports the party was a success. But for Chet, the true gift was the gratification of knowing he made a difference in others’ lives. Emily’s recent hunger drive served up a feast of self-fulfillment too.
“Not too long ago, Emily did a 30-hour famine with our church youth group to raise money for World Vision,” Greene continues. “While they were fasting, I drove the kids around to neighborhoods and they asked for nonperishable food donations for the homeless. That night just before the fast was broken, we had a knock at the door and there stood a homeless couple looking for food. We gave them some of what we had collected that day. In that moment it all hit home.”
Henshaw and Greene both believe experiences like these are cultivating caring, community-minded children who will become
active adult volunteers. Halterman thinks so, too.
“When I first started volunteering years ago, it wasn’t a passion of mine — animals were. But the work has brought direction to my life and has created a feeling of self-fulfillment and satisfaction,” he says. “Volunteering benefits the community, the environment, the individual and the family. From any vantage point, it’s a win-win situation.”