How to Raise a Community-Minded Family

It's a topic that seemed to strike a chord with my Home Officer Network last week: how do we involve our kids in activities that help them develop that sense of community, the importance of giving back, and overall gratitude for the things we have that are so easy to take for granted?

While there seems to be more opportunity during the holidays to find a variety of volunteer and donation opportunities, we all came to consensus that this empathy, kindness, and giving spirit we wanted to instill in our families was not about a one-time event. This is where I, once more, was so grateful for the collective wisdom and experience of this group of moms.

For Tweens and Teens

There are more opportunities for kids 12 and older to do more hands on volunteering, for example in food banks or toy drives. However, two moms shared about Lion's Heart, which is a volunteer organization specifically for kids in 6th - 12th grade. All it takes is finding a local chapter or forming your own with between 3 and 20 kids. Home Officer Kelly shared that she and her daughter had really enjoyed putting their own chapter together because it was the opportunity to invite their existing circle of friends with similar values and goals to participate in something that had purpose and meaning to them. The time commitment is reasonable, with a requirement of attending 4 meetings per year. They elect their own officers and decide on service projects to complete as a group. The organization not only provides listings of age-appropriate volunteer opportunities but tracks the kids' volunteer hours, as well!

For Toddlers to Tweens

The opportunities to do hands-on volunteering with this age group seems to be more challenging, but Home Officer Elsie found a solution that caught our collective attention. In 2011, The Great Kindness Challenge was piloted in 3 elementary schools to help create a more positive, unified, and respectful school environment. It is now a national week-long event, but an offshoot is a Family Edition that encourages families to work together to bring specific acts of kindness into their own communities. The Family Checklist includes tasks such as, "Hold the door open for someone," and "Smile at 25 people." The checklist is simple and varied, practical and community-focused. It reinforces those thought processes and attitudes that value our fellow human being. 

I am reminded that, although we might fantasize about changing the world in a dramatic way, what is truly important is the possibility of changing the world for one person in one moment. And the sooner we can get ourselves and our children into the habit of looking for and acting on those moments, the greater the ripple affect we can have within our communities.

What have your experiences been in finding ways for your family to volunteer or give back in your community?