Instead of spending your evenings blinded by the blue light of your phone screens, consider booking facetime with those in your community that might require help, assistance, or some company. Balancing being a productive member of your community and quality time with family, however, can be tricky. Consider volunteering as a great unplugged opportunity to fulfill both needs at once, providing the opportunity to bond both as a family as well as with your community. From helping out at local food banks to cleaning up your streets, there’s always a project that you and your family can get involved in for the betterment of the world around you. Make every time quality time with helpful tips and tricks that bring your family together and build a better, stronger community.
No Act of Kindness is too Small
Performing personal, small-scale volunteer work builds a strong relationship between all parties involved, livening the spirit and establishing a healthier social ecology within your community. These deeds can include clearing your closet or cupboard of unwanted clothes or unused nonperishables and donating them to a charity shop or local food bank. Take it a step further and organize your neighbors and friends to do the same. Collect their donations and deliver a nice charitable gift for those in need. For more personal interaction, have your family offer to perform chores for someone in your own neighborhood in need of assistance. There are no small parts when it comes to volunteer work.
Start Surfing
A quick Google search will turn up a list of local organizations in search of volunteers. Many of these organizations have active social media pages where you can get up to date information on what kind of help is most needed. While browsing, be sure the opportunities for volunteer work are open to both children and families, ensuring everyone can get involved in giving back. Take into consideration the type of work your family will be most comfortable performing, as well as the time commitment involved. Try to find opportunities that are both a match to your family’s willingness to commit and constructive to the potential work for a community project. Volunteering should be as stress-free and straightforward as possible.
Organized Operations
In addition to surfing the web, be on the lookout for registration tables near businesses or at local events that are taking volunteers. It’s usually an openness to the world around you that leads to the opportunities that mean the most. From pet adoption agencies to food banks to homeless shelters, opportunities abound if we are attuned to their frequency.
Self-Starter Kit
Have an idea of your own for which you would like to elicit donations from the entire community? Get a few tables and chairs together – with some table and chair covers just in case – and recruit others to join you in a cause that’s near and dear to your family’s heart. Get the whole family involved in planning how you want to organize and build your philanthropic endeavor: how big do you want it to get? Is it a one-time charitable act or is it ongoing? Dividing the tasks required and working toward your goal not only provides not only a sense of empathy, community and accomplishment but also a tighter bond for your family as a team.
Like Clockwork
Routine can make all the difference when it comes to establishing a strong philanthropic presence. Scheduling out your time provides an opportunity for personal growth between the margins of productivity. Holding a recurring council with your family provides kids and spouses the chance to speak up either for causes they believe in or for how your own philanthropic endeavor is going. This allows you to properly plan your time around both your family’s day-to-day activities and the charitable endeavors they wish to pursue. Consider utilizing productivity apps and scheduling tools to keep your household on track. Plugging your catalog of events into your social calendar makes coming together easier and more effective.
Share the Impact
Consider the time you’ve allotted to the organizations you regularly take part in. Logging these contributions helps keep track of your charitable fingerprint. Furthermore, these hours can be mutually beneficial when it comes to matters of professional and educational merit. Many workspaces encourage employees to keep an active presence in their local community, while top tier colleges and universities take positive note of volunteer work on applications when admission decisions begin to come down to the wire. And don’t be afraid to log your donation receipts come tax season to reap the benefits of goodwill on your tax forms. There’s nothing wrong with keeping humble regard for your good-natured approach to volunteer work.
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