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Volunteering in OC Don’t wait for the little ones to grow up! You have a family and life gets hectic. It seems you barely have time to get your work done, run the errands, get dinner on the table, and still squeeze in those important life-enriching activities for your children like playgroups, recreation, and reading. Volunteering is a laudable goal, but who has the time? Whether intentional or not, we teach our children about what’s important by how we spend our (and their) time. And perhaps it’s time to give volunteering a second thought. Not taking time away from your family, but instead, volunteering with your family. Think of a characteristic that you want your child to have, like being compassionate, tolerant of others’ uniqueness, or a problem-solver empowered to make things better. Family volunteering can help you plant the seeds of these qualities in your child . . . and help your community at the same time! Even families with very young children and limited time can volunteer. Bette Weinberg, director of volunteer services for Volunteer Center Orange County, says that it just takes a little creative thinking, and listening to your children, to find the right fit. Bette’s first tip for families with young children is to find something you can create at home and then deliver. Most organizations have age limits for volunteers onsite. You can avoid this problem by doing your volunteering at home. For example, you can draw pictures and write cards to sick children. Or assemble welcome kits for homeless families and deliver them to a family. You can take canned goods to a food bank. Let your children help pick out fabric and make blankets for shelters. Or gather gently used children’s books for reading programs. In short, call any organization you’re interested in and ask, “What can we do at home that you can use?” (The following agencies may allow children to volunteer with adult supervision: Second Harvest Food Bank, Earth Resource Centero Project Linus, Community Action Partnership, SPIN (Serving People In Need), Shadetree Partnership (nursery on UC Irvine campus), Environmental Nature Center and Southwest Minority Economic Development.) Another good idea is to let your child help decide where to volunteer. What is important to your family? Is it feeding the hungry? Cleaning up the environment? Helping the homeless, or children with special needs, or senior citizens? Has your child commented on a park with lots of trash? You can create your own neighborhood service project by picking up garbage at a local park or the beach. Does your child know of a sick child or friend? How about taking a meal to a neighbor in need? What are your child’s special skills – drawing? dancing? If there’s a topic your child has connected with, that’s a good place to start. And whether you work with a nonprofit organization or create your own service project, invite other families with young children and make it a group effort. If you’re not ready for an ongoing commitment, there are lots of charity walks where strollers are welcome. Or join in on the Martin Luther King Jr. day of service. On Jan. 15, organizations throughout Orange County are creating special opportunities for families to participate in community volunteering. Activities range from picking crops with Second Harvest Food Bank in Irvine to packing boxes of food at the Community Action Partnership in Orange County. Don’t wait for your child to grow up. Make volunteering part of their growing up! Everyone reaps the benefit, most importantly, your little one. This article was supplied by the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. The commission sponsors and supports programs to meet the greatest needs of the youngest children of Orange County. Information: occhildrenandfamilies.com Resources • Volunteer Center Orange County links volunteers with local opportunities, including coordinating volunteer experiences for companies and other groups. Visit volunteercenter.org. • CaliforniaVolunteers.org is a statewide network that matches Californians to volunteer opportunities in their communities. • familycares.org an initiative of the Points of Light Foundation, the program helps to promote compassion through hands-on family projects that help others in need. |
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