vintagesuitcasesDoes it seem like there is ALWAYS something to do, somewhere to go, someone to talk to? The few hours a day you have free, you want to spend it with your family, right? You want to get actively involved with community issues, but it’s hard to fit everything in your schedule. Have you ever thought to volunteer with your family?

It’s never too early to get your children involved with philanthropy. Janice Schoos, a philanthropic advisor who specializes in helping individuals and families get involved with charitable giving, believes that children getting involved from an early age is important to cultivate a philanthropic perspective. You can plan vacations with the kids that surround the action of volunteering. Long weekends and summer vacations provide a good opportunity to spend quality time with the family, embrace new cultures, world issues, and practice giving a hand to the less fortunate.

Janice Shoos gives some tips on how to plan a philanthropic vacation with the entire family:
1. Plan as a family. As you work to develop socially conscious children, it’s important to involve your children in your discussions about volunteer opportunities.  By bringing them into the planning process, you will help your children understand why you want them to be involved.
2. Decide what you’re looking for in a volunteer experience. Increasingly, volunteer organizations are providing opportunities for the whole family to volunteer together.  You may want to consider a domestic or international volunteer vacation, but getting involved doesn’t have to be that complex:  How about getting started in your own community? VolunteerMatch can help you find opportunities to give back when and where you want to.  The key is to figure out what works best for your family. www.volunteermatch.org

3. Determine the impact you want to have. Are you looking for a onetime experience, like a park cleanup, or a weekly or monthly project?  Do you want to support one project, like building a house with Habitat for Humanity, with a definite end product and timetable?  Or would you rather volunteer at a community center, school, retirement center, or hospital? www.habitat.org

4. Find age-appropriate activities. Naturally, a toddler shouldn’t be wielding a hammer on a construction site.  When looking at options for your family’s volunteer experience, consider the needs and abilities of your own family first.  This will also make you more effective in helping others.

5. Determine your comfort level. Are you looking to roll up your sleeves and get sweaty, or would you prefer to work with children or seniors in an air-conditioned building?  Make sure everyone in your family is aware of what they are getting into.

6. Incorporate your family’s interests. Perhaps you have a child with a strong environmental interest.  Or one who likes music.  Or a science buff.  Whatever your children’s interests, try to incorporate them into your volunteering to make the experience more meaningful and valuable.

7. Build excitement. Volunteering can be fun!  As you research and learn more about your volunteer assignment, encourage your children’s curiosity and engage their interests.  Have a countdown until your activity, and build in mini-events leading up to your charitable time together.

8. Reflect together. Throughout your experience and afterwards, “check in” with your children to see how they are doing.  Volunteering together as a family can be fun, but also extremely educational.  Don’t miss the opportunity to instill some life lessons along the way.

The information from this article was found at: www.casefoundation.org/spotlight/travel/giving
[Photos from abbey*christine via Flickr]