What are some good examples of family volunteer activities?

A San Francisco family spends a week-end each year to help paint battered women’s shelters.

In San Jose a mom and her daughters spend one hour a week making batches of peanut butter sandwiches, and deliver them to a homeless shelter.

In Denver a father and his sons deliver meals to an AIDS hospice one Sunday each month.

In Wichita a group of families collect toys, clothes and pennies from neighbors, and then bring them to shelters for battered and abused children.

In Seattle a family volunteers to work Thanksgiving mornings serving meals to the homeless.

In Atlanta the children in a family donate part of their weekly allowances to send to a six-year-old orphan in Bombay they’re sponsoring through Save the Children.

In Palm Springs my husband and sons spend a day in October waking up at four o’clock to help set up a race course through our local streets. Profits from the event go to needy children.

What are you and your family doing to help your children lend a hand and make the world a better place?

If you are looking for ways to volunteer your time as a family, contact some of these sources: Habitat for Humanity, Animal Shelters, Churches, Homeless and Battered Women's Shelters, United Way, After School programs, Public Broadcasting stations, Meals on Wheels, Nursing Homes, Hospitals… In terms of thinking of what to do to volunteer, talk to your children and ask them what they would like to do. They may have great ideas on unique ways to volunteer time. When you listen to your children and include them on decisions, they feel more valued. Always remember that our children are a gift to us and the time we spend with them is priceless.