By Lisa Nelson
I know there are a lot of parents across Portland who, like my husband and me, want to teach their kids the value of helping others. But, as a mom of two young children age 4 and 7, I know that finding these volunteer opportunities can be tough.
This lack of opportunity motivated me to spend the past two months creating truly kid-friendly volunteer projects across Portland. Building upon an effort that Hands On started a few years ago, we created a new class of project called "Kids Volunteer" projects. What does the "Kids Volunteer" title mean? Truly kid-friendly. I believe it's more fun for everyone if other kids are there when I volunteer with my kids. I also enjoy volunteering side-by-side at a project with my kids. This is when we can talk about how what we're doing helps others and why that's important. Kids Volunteer projects are also:
· Reserved for parents to volunteer with their young children
· Designed to be age-appropriate - when we say 4 and up, we mean 4 and up, really!
· Maximum 2 hours long (many are 1 to 1.5 hours)
· Available weekends and a few weekdays, across diverse interests
It's also important, of course, that there be openings on these projects. I am pleased to report that our Spring Break Kids Volunteer projects (3/20-3/27) still have many openings!! And many in April too!
We've got some other great improvements for families that will make finding age-appropriate projects easier than ever:
· Check out our Newly Re-Launched Volunteering with Kids and Teen Volunteer pages! Super easy to navigate to help you get the info that is relevant to you.
· You can also search our main project calendar by age range in much more finite detail than before. Check it out!
The mom in me knows that one of the most important elements of these volunteer projects is fun, so my kids will want to come back again and again. These projects are designed with fun in mind! My 7-year old truly loves volunteering now. She asks at the end of every project "When can we do this again?" Music to my ears!
Lisa Nelson lives in Portland with her husband and 2 kids. She works part-time at Hands On Portland and she leads a group from her daughter's school that volunteers together monthly.
4 comments:
As a parent of a 4 and a 5 year old, I agree with you -- it is really hard to find projects they can do and feel like they really helped.
There is a national program called Kids Care Clubs that has a website with a ton of resources that may be helpful to you as you flesh out additional opportunities for HandsOn Portland. (If you can't find it, contact me on HandsOn Blog and I'll help you find the resources.)
You make me wish I lived in Portland! (As if Powell's Books wasn't enough!!)
Best,
Jessica
Be sure to check out the http://www.doinggoodtogether website, a fabulous family volunteering resource. Jenny Friedman, executive director of Doing Good Together, wrote "The Busy Family's Guide to Volunteering."
Hope that helps,
Anne
Dear Friend,
Thank you for making the KIDS volunteer options joyful and age appropriate. I saw great purposfulness and collboration between the ages at the Virtues Camp in Beaverton last year.
Hope to collaborate again soon!
Love, Creativity and Caring, Delaram
www.virtuesconnectionportland.com
Thanks for setting this up, I coordinate a mom's group and we've had volunteering as a topic, but have been frustrating by the lack of opportunities. Thanks for making more possible!
Darcy
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