Rose Cruse
Have you been trying to instill all these values in your child? What kind of skills your child is going to be able to develop by being involved in volunteering?
Have your child pick out one item each time you go to the store. When you get a bagful, take it to a local food pantry.
Many organizations use walks to increase awareness and raise funds. Kids 5 and up can walk a few miles, and you can push little ones in a stroller.
Pick up litter at a local park or while you take a walk in the neighborhood. (Wear gloves and supervise your children closely.) By choosing to volunteer at a place they can meet people they like to spend time with and at the same time get to learn all the important life lessons that will come handy in future.
Call a residential treatment center for the developmentally disabled in your area and ask to be matched with an adult whom you can include in family events, holiday activities, and outings. The center will select someone who can interact well with young children.
You and your child can bring both hot food and companionship to homebound people through a local charity food service.
Read your child’s favorite books to children in the hospital. She can sit next to you and turn the pages.
Volunteer to care for abandoned dogs or cats.
If your child is a preschooler, decorate shoe boxes and fill them with a deck of cards, small games, and puzzle books for kids at the local hospital.
