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Intro | Families in Action | Educators in Action | Resources
Families in Action!
Secrets of Success
Why Volunteer as a Family?
Volunteering gives your family a unique way to spend time together; teaches kids values like kindness, empathy, and the importance of community service; and introduces everyone in the family to new skills and experiences. You'll get to know each other in new ways, while helping your community and having fun.
Family volunteering comes in a variety of forms. The entire family can volunteer together or you can mix and match: one parent and one child, two siblings, a grandparent and a child, and so on. Regardless of how your family volunteers, the effect on kids is significant: Kids who have a positive volunteer experience with family members are more likely to continue volunteering as adults. Secrets of Success
1. Prepare
Planning ahead lays the groundwork for successful and meaningful projects.
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Choose a project. Help kids identify a community need. Then think about a project they could do that will make a difference. Keep in mind that projects should be hands-on and clearly connected to the social goal. For example, kids will get more out of collecting pet supplies for an animal shelter than if you were to write a check to the shelter. Visit the kids' section of ZOOM Into Action for age-appropriate project ideas.
Make a plan. Plan together as a family with the Getting Started sheet. Kids feel ownership by taking part in planning, making decisions, and solving problems. Discuss how much time you'll need, then share the tasks. Gather information about the topic or agency through calls or the Internet. Recruit friends or other kids to help. If phone calls need to be made to organizations, while you may make the call, ask your kids to help brainstorm questions to be asked.
Learn together about the people or issue you are helping. See the Resources section for books and Web links that relate to different "helping" topics. There are wonderful books, fiction or nonfiction, to both inform and inspire family members of all ages. Read a book aloud to help family members talk about their own experiences, concerns, and questions. Here are some starter questions:
- What do we have in common with the characters in the book?
- How are the characters making a difference in the lives of others?
- Are any of the problems in the story happening in our lives or in the lives of people we know?
- What questions do we have after reading the book?
- What can we do to address the problems in our community?
Talk about smart and safe volunteering. Use the Smart Volunteering Tips to launch discussion about good volunteering behaviors and safety. |
2. Reflect
Reflection gives kids a chance to describe what happened as a volunteer, to express their thoughts and feelings, and to relate their experience to the larger world. You can help your kids reflect by talking with them about their experience. Be sure to join in and share your reflections as well. Here are some questions to start with:
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- Whom did we help?
- What did you see and hear?
- How did you feel?
- What did you learn that you did not know before?
- What new questions or ideas do you have?
- Is there anything you would do differently next time?
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3. Share Your Story
Give kids opportunities to share what they have learned.
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Share Your Story with ZOOM. Every day on the TV show and Web site, ZOOM honors kids who have made a difference in their communities. Take photos or a video of your volunteers in action. Then help them fill out the Share Your Story submission form and send it to ZOOM. Your family's story may inspire others to ZOOM Into Action, too! Share at home and in your community. Have your kids take photos or draw pictures to display around your home, write an article for a local newspaper, make an exhibit for your library, or give a class presentation. Let other's know how they can get involved. Thank the agency or organization. As a family, write a letter of appreciation to the folks who make your service experience possible. Encourage kids (and adults) to write specific descriptions of what was meaningful and what they learned. |
4. Keep Helping.
Sow the seeds of life-long volunteerism by making community service an ongoing event. For example, a trip to deliver cards to a nursing home could turn into monthly visits with an "adopted grandfriend." Or, baking cookies for a local shelter could become a regular event marking family members' birthdays or holidays. |
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