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During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
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As children become preoccupied with their personal holiday wish lists, this is the perfect time to help them understand the value of charitable giving. If you ask any philanthropist why parents should expose their children to volunteering, the universal answer is that when children become regular volunteers, they are much more likely to become active volunteers throughout their adulthood. Ann Marie Jennison, a mother and president of the Ladera Ranch Kids-Who-Care Club, epitomizes the lifelong volunteer. Jennison's parents involved her at an early age in community service and she now spearheads one of Orange County's largest grass-roots volunteer organizations that recruits both children and their families. As members of Kids-Who-Care Club, Jennison's children, Jack, 6, and Maggie, 4, have been involved in everything from tree plantings to beach cleanups in their effort to raise money for local charities. The Ladera Ranch Kids-Who-Care Club, which has members who reside throughout south Orange County, currently consists of about 175 children, ages 3-13, and their parents who gather monthly to perform a community service project. One of the group's biggest efforts is the annual Walk by the Light of the Moon, which raises money for research for Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), a rare genetic disease that causes severe burns to the skin if exposed to sunlight. A 3-year-old Ladera Ranch girl has XP and the Kids-Who-Care volunteers wanted to hold this fund-raiser to help find a cure for her disease. When Kids-Who-Care sponsored the event for the first time last year, they expected to raise about $5,000. Much to the surprise of the volunteers, the event actually netted $56,000. "This is a true testimony to the commitment and compassion of south Orange County parents and their children who reached out to help this little girl," says Jennison. To keep children interested in volunteering, Jennison stresses that activities need to be fun. "Simple things like snacks, decorations and being able to help out with their friends makes the experience enjoyable and they usually want to volunteer again." Over the years, the Volunteer Center of Orange County has been successful in making volunteering fun and rewarding for children from age 5 all the way through high school. A calendar of volunteer opportunities for children is posted on their website (www.volunteercenter.org) each month. In most cases, the countywide events are one-time activities that are held after school and on weekends. Examples include helping assemble food boxes for the needy with Community Action Partnership in Garden Grove, picking crops for Second Harvest Food Bank in Irvine, and maintaining natural habitats at the Environmental Nature Center in Costa Mesa. "There are so many volunteer opportunities in Orange County that most kids can find activities that they really enjoy doing," says Sarah Perko, associate director of youth connections for the center. Many children discover the joys of volunteering after participating in projects for their schools or other organizations. Kayla Globerson, an eighth-grader in Irvine, organized a community book drive for her Bat Mitzvah community service project last winter. Because she loves to read, Kayla thought it made sense to organize a book drive and donate the books to a local charity. She publicized the drive by blanketing her neighborhood with flyers and displaying a poster at her temple. Within several weeks, she collected more than 400 books and $85 in cash, which she donated to the South Coast Children's Society, a nonprofit agency that conducts programs for abused and neglected children. "They were very appreciative because they were in the process of starting a library for the kids," she says. "I never thought the response to this would be so great; so many people wanted to help these children." Kayla enjoyed working on the project so much that she now plans to organize similar drives in the future. When children develop self-satisfaction from volunteering, it's a good bet that they will stay committed to community involvement. Perko stresses that the best strategy is to talk about caring and sharing and model those values in your own home. For volunteer opportunities for children in Orange County, contact Sarah Perko at sperko@volunteercenter.org. For information on how to start a Kids-Who-Care Club in your area, contact Ann Marie Jennison at amj@cox.net. Carol Daus is a freelance writer who lives in Huntington Beach. Giving Young Children ages 5-10 can: • Give away old toys to needy children. • Hold a lemonade stand and donate the proceeds to charity. • Work with others in a beach cleanup. • Visit seniors in a nursing home with other friends/families during the holidays. Children ages 11 and up can: • Offer art classes or backyard camps for younger neighborhood kids. • Care for animals in a local shelter. • Volunteer in libraries, shelving books. • Serve as a tutor or reading buddy in a literacy program. |
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