It’s important that children understand their place in their community. Whether as followers or leaders, as high earners or middle class citizens, their community will play a large part in their lives. So you should teach them from a young age that giving back to that community is important. Here are five ways to show children the power of community involvement.
Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
Working with animals in need of homes not only teaches your children how to give back to the community, but also how to care for creatures aside from themselves and their family and friends. It can also be an experience that teaches your kids that pets are not toys. They are living creatures with minds and personalities of their own, and they need to be properly taken care of for their whole lives.
Volunteer at a Food Pantry
It’s important that your children know how lucky they are to have what they have in life, and that there are others out there that are struggling. Working at a food pantry and helping stock shelves with donated items, as well as sell or give out those items to people in need, can be a great way to get your kids involved in both the giving and receiving of help in your community.
Volunteer with a Clean-up Project
What better way to feel connected to the community than by helping to beautify it? Lots of places have clean-up projects throughout the year that need volunteers to help pick up garbage, repaint public buildings, and clean up streets and highways. Your kids will learn respect for the environment and the place they live by helping to make it beautiful for everyone.
Volunteer at a Senior Citizen’s Home
Many senior citizens feel forgotten by the world when they move into assisted living and nursing homes. By taking your children to these residential centers and introducing them to the older generations, you are doing more than helping your kids learn a sense of community. You are showing seniors that there are still people out there that see them and care about them.
Volunteer at a Fundraising Event
There are many ways to give back to your community. While volunteering at an animal shelter or food bank is a great way to show the hands-on approach to helping, working at a fundraising event is also a good way to teach this lesson. Many nonprofit organizations rely on fundraisers to keep their doors open and their services working. Show your children how multifaceted volunteer work can by signing them up to help out with a fundraising event.