USA.gov puts out a “Popular New Year’s Resolutions” list. It is so interesting/predictable that the same things make the list each year. The Friday features for this month will focus on some of these resolves (including health, organization and finances). Today, I’m going to focus on “Volunteering to Help Others”. To me, this resolution stands out because it is the only one that is others-focused.
There are so many different ways to help others. It is not all about donating money. Sharing our time and energy is equally (if not more!) needed. Personally, I think that it can sometimes be easier to write a check then to actually get “hands-on” in regards to meeting needs. During the holidays, sharing is on our mind…especially when we see how much we truly have. For instance, it was so encouraging to see many people dropping off huge bags of items at the Salvation Army on 12/26 – a rainy day in New York City.
Now that the holiday season is over, I really hope that the giving spirit does not end. That is why I appreciate companies like VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com) that are trying to help people see that volunteering is fun. They have a free eBook, “Family Friendly Service – Ideas from A-Z” (www.VolunteerSpot.com/ebooks) that is filled with a variety of wonderful options to volunteer as a family. Book drives, Nursing Home Visits and Toy Drives are my top three picks. You can see all of the ideas below:
Three other examples of family-friendly options from VolunteerSpot (not included in the guide) that I also really like are:
1. Stuff new, warm socks with water bottles and granola bars to give to the homeless
2. Gather gently used children’s books and DVDs for kids in the hospital or military families
3. Decorate reusable grocery bags for the food pantry (deliver them full, even better!)
In my opinion, volunteering is great for everyone – even the youngest kids can get involved. It helps them to see that the world does not revolve around them. My kids love going to see the elderly, sharing their good (not raggedy – they had to learn that!) things with others and such. We laugh about it now, but when Michael was really young, he used to cry when we dropped things off at the Salvation Army without him, because he wanted to see “Charity”. For some reason, he kept thinking that charity was a person. He wanted to meet her! I can honestly say that every time we volunteer, I walk away confident that we gained more from the experience then the person/people whom we were helping.
Do you volunteer together as a family? If so, do you have any ideas that you would like to share?