Ideas for monthly community service with younger kids

[jkl]

Hi! We've decided as a family that it's time to stop just giving lip-service to the idea of getting our children involved in giving back to our community and start actually doing it this coming year. We'd always said when the kids get older, we'll all do Habitat for Humanity, volunteer in a soup kitchen, etc. However, now that we have yet another baby coming in a few months (and we plan to adopt in a few years) the kids won't all be "older" for a long time. So, the time is now! I'd like for us to do something each month of 2014, and I'm trying to make a list of things we can do. My kids are almost 8, 5, 2 1/2, and (soon) a newborn. I'm thinking a canned food drive for our local shelter one month, cleaning up at the beach for another, maybe making cards for a nursing home down the street (though I'm not sure if we could deliver them because of the germ factor). We have a newly widowed older woman next door, and we make things for her and visit often. Anyone have other ideas?

[Chelle in MO]

Good for you!  Our food bank warehouse lets younger kids help sort.  We've done that and library deliveries to homebound people.

[Chris in VA]

You could collect old towels for the animal shelter.

[Plink]

Here are a few of the community service projects my young students have done.  In addition, we have collected pencils for schools in 3rd world countries, sent letters to soldiers, crocheted a blanket for a friend with cancer, rung bells for the salvation army, and much more.  Kids love to help others.  You are going to have a fantastic year!

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

I think and excellent place to start is Matthew 25.  You could select one each month and decide how to fulfill it. We actually started doing this several years ago and then started doing something we really fell in love with and we now do that every month.  I do love the idea of selecting a different way each month but I also really love our project so . . . we will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

 

Our idea was to just start with the first one, decide on a way to do it, and then do it.  So, for example, I was hungry and you gave me food: we would post fliers around our neighborhood and ask for canned goods or we'd have a hot chocolate stand and use the proceeds to buy turkeys for the food bank at thanksgiving or trim 20 dollars off our food budget each time and donate that money at the end of the month.

 

For clothe the naked one time we bought a bunch of baby laundry detergent b/c that was a particular need here.  We also focus on that during our local coat drive.  

 

The one we had the hardest time with was welcome the stranger.  We found that giving time and money is easy.  Giving self is a whole lot harder.

 

Anyway, as I said, we don't cycle through these anymore b/c we did enter into one service that we can't bear to part with but if it ever came to pass that we could no longer do it, we'd definitely go back to it.  

 

Here is the passage:

34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35^h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’37Then the righteous^* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’40ⁱ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

[73349]

In spring, there may be a program for planting trees or flowers on public property.

 

In late summer, you could buy some school supplies to donate to a public school with a high percentage of low-income students.

 

In late autumn/early winter, most communities have coat/hat drives.

 

You could make something (a craft or thank-you cards) for blood donors at your nearest Red Cross.

 

 

Good luck! We are working on something similar.

[AimeeM]

I wish I had more ideas. I just signed up to volunteer with the food giveaway for our local St. Vincent de Paul Society; I had hoped to involve my 12 year old daughter, but their insurance policy doesn't allow anyone under the age of 13 to volunteer (used to be, there wasn't such an age restriction; they said insurance recently changed the rule). I was super bummed.

[Paige]

Meals on Wheels is great. I did it with kids your kids' age. It was kind of a pain getting the baby in and out of the car but the people loved seeing her so much that it made it worth it. It took about 1.5 hrs. I liked it better than some other service projects because the kids could develop a personal relationship and see who they were helping. Our area now is no good for service. The food bank and animal shelter won't let young kids in and there's no Meals on Wheels. :(

[catz]

This is a local non-profit that has a bunch of good ideas ... http://www.bigheartedfamilies.org/

[BigMamaBird]

My DD and I go to the local Women's Shelter and sort donations, do odd jobs and stuff like that.  The idea of homelessness shocked her when we first started going, but it's been a good experience for us both.

[KungFuPanda]

Could you visit a nursing home? I noticed when I led Brownies that they do the same level of crafts as the seniors do. I think it would be fun for your kids AND the seniors to make things together. You probably wouldn't even have to buy the supplies . . . just coordinate with the craft lady and find a time to show up. They really love seeing little kids and it would be much less effort on you.

[tabinfl]

Stuffing envelopes and other office work is needed by most charities.My 5 & 6yos just did their a round of envelope stuffing / stamping and needed minimal supervision. By the end of the afternoon they were moving faster than the adults (a d were more focused on the task at hand instead of chatting like the rest of us. :)

 

For older kids, filing, cleaning, and odd jobs if they're consciencious and/or you can supervise closely.

 

It's not glamorous work, but it is expensive to outsource so can really do a lot of good especially for smaller organizations.

[LMV]

Our kids did Operation Christmas Child boxes in November and then we did similar ones (although we put them in carry on size wheeled suitcases and included some clothes and some larger items) which will be given out locally through our CP/FS intake and processing center.  The suitcases were actually our fourteen year old's idea two Christmases ago and we've continued the project.  Our kids also do blankets for Project Linus.  Our oldest two can knit but you can also make those knotted fleece blankets easily with even very young kids. 

[jkl]

Super ideas, everyone! Thanks so much!!! I am so excited about this!

[Ripley]

Spend a few hours each week of the month driving around looking for the hungry and/or homeless - make sandwiches or keep granola bars and water bottles to hand out to them. Print out the names of local shelters to also pass out.

 

If you know someone who might be lonely, invite them over for a meal. I had a regular lunch date with a neighbor family during one of my ex's deployments - loved it and was happy to return the favor when his wife fell ill and had to be hospitalized.

 

My neighbor's kids had a donations-only, non-profit hot cocoa and cookie stand up this weekend.  All monies were raised for an "orfanage" in "Hadi" :) If you know someone who's adopting, you might host a fundraiser to help them raise funds.

 

Visit, read or sing to hospitalized children.

 

During warm months, be on the lookout for neighbors working outside - bring them iced tea, lemonade, or cold water.

 

Visit a cemetery - pray for the dead (if applicable), leave flowers or just walk around and remember the dead.

 

In early spring, run a coat/jacket drive. You can donate them to a shelter or group in the fall.

 

Organize a diaper drive for a crisis pregnancy center. Solicit donations for infant and maternity clothes, too.

 

Collect toys to donate - gently used can go to shelters, but hospitals require new toys.

 

Book drive for shelters or hospitals.

 

Knit or solicit for knit hats to give NICU babies or the homeless.

 

Host a blanket drive - lap blankets can be donated to cancer treatment centers, hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, etc. Used blankets or towels can be donated to animal shelters.

 

My neighbor is 75 and has a bad hip. My kids take his garbage cans to/from the curb every trash day as habit - something like that for your widowed neighbor might be great, in addition to your visits.