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Volunteering with Your Family
By Susan J. Ellis of Energize, Inc.
If you are like most people, there are simply too few hours in a day.
You have many demands on your time, from doing what your boss wants … to
doing what your children want. And with all the things that are already
filling your schedule, you can't see how you can become a volunteer,
even if you want to help solve community problems.
Here's a unique idea that has many benefits: Become a volunteer
along with some or all of your family members!
Family volunteering can be done by the whole family together or by one
parent and one child or teenager as a special "twosome" project. Or it
can be several siblings together. It can involve both parents or one
parent and an extended family member such as a grandparent or
aunt/uncle. The mix-and-match possibilities are endless. The agency
receiving your volunteer services benefits by having more helpers at one
time. If you volunteer on a regular schedule and occasionally a family
member cannot come one week, there are others to help fill in.
What do you gain by volunteering together as a family? First of all, you
assure that elusive but much-sought goal of "quality time" with each
other. You share a common bond while doing something worthwhile for
others. You get to know your children in new ways, and they get to know
you in new ways. The process of demonstrating skills and learning new
ones gives both age levels the chance to respect one another, work
together towards the same goals -- and have something to talk about all
week!
If you are already active as a volunteer somewhere, you can continue
your participation with less guilt about the time you spend away from
your family. Now you'll be with them -- and the organizations you care
about will receive even more volunteer help!
Choosing a Family Volunteer Project
Call a family meeting and take time to consider this whole idea.
Make sure everyone, no matter how young, participates in the discussion.
You might want to proceed this way:
1. Make a list of all the volunteering each member of the family is
doing now. Would the others like to help with any of these activities?
2. What causes interest you? Allow everyone to suggest a community
problem of concern to him or her. If some of the ideas intrigue the
whole family, start exploring what organizations in your community are
already working on these.
3. Also consider what types of work everyone wants to do. Make two
lists: one for "Things We Know How to Do" and one for "Things We Would
Like to Learn How to Do." Make sure something is listed for each member
of the family. This is a great chance to acknowledge the talents of
parents and children. These lists will also prove useful when you
interview with an agency.
It may take several family meetings to complete these steps, but the
conversations should be very interesting!
You will then be ready to offer your services as a family volunteer
team. Call several organizations for appointments and screen your
options. See whether the agency representatives are comfortable talking
to your children as well as to the adults in the family.
Does the agency have something meaningful for you to do as a group?
You may want to begin with a one-time activity.
This will test the water to see how everyone likes volunteering
together.
Once you have committed to a volunteer project, take it seriously. Show
your children that volunteer work is important and meaningful. Talk
about the activity during the week and plan ahead to do it, even when
things get hectic. Some of the work may introduce your children to new
ideas and possibly to people different from themselves. What a wonderful
opportunity to pass along your values and ethics-- but only if you take
the time to talk about everyone's reactions. You, too, may be challenged
by what you experience as a volunteer. Share those feelings with your
children.
If you have several children, the time may come when you want to focus
on an individual son or daughter. Sharing a volunteer project as a
twosome may be the key to helping each child feel special.
Copyright Energize, Inc., used by the personal
permission of Susan J. Ellis, with
minor changes for clarity for non-native English speakers, and sections
deleted that are culturally limited to the USA.
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