When it comes to volunteering in your community as a family, there’s nothing better than doing good together. It allows your family to actively participate in experiences that directly impact other people in your community. There are many opportunities for learning, connection and personal growth when you volunteer — especially when you get your kids involved. While it might seem like a big task to get your family to come together for volunteer time, here’s why you should make the extra effort.
Service Strengthens Your Community
Volunteering truly does make a big difference. And when you volunteer within your immediate community, you help to build it up and strengthen it. Joining a community clean-up helps beautify your surrounding neighborhood and reduce crime, building up those who live there. This is just one example of volunteerism that you can easily do with the entire family regardless of age. In addition, it creates engagement between your family and those in your community. This often result in building direct, personal relationships with those you are helping.
It Teaches Your Kids Important Values
For us, instilling a shared responsibility and ownership for improving your community and those around you are important values to teach our children. It is powerful to for your children to know they can truly make a difference and improve the wellbeing of those in their community. Oftentimes after we are done with our volunteer work, we take time as a family to discuss what we have learned from our experience and what we enjoyed most. Make it a point to discuss this with your children after your acts of service — their answers and reflections on their experiences might surprise you in a great way.
You Get To Spend Time Together
An added bonus of volunteering is that you get to spend important, quality time with your entire family. What can be better than sharing time with those you love while doing important and valuable work? Working with one another for a common cause strengthens your family bond. It can help put a lot of what you view as stressors in life into perspective and teach your children to value what they have in life. Volunteering puts you and your family in a new setting, with an inspiring goal to help others that can lead to very positive experiences and memories.
While the topic of service and volunteering isn’t something that comes to mind when thinking about family activities, there’s no denying the positive impact it can have. It helps bring your family closer together, teaches valuable lessons and instills important values in your children. There’s nothing better than making a difference while spending quality time with the entire family. And aside from the important aspects of volunteering — it is fun!
