Skip to Content

HOW VOLUNTEERING AS A FAMILY HELPS BUILD CHARACTER

Volunteering as a family is a great way to help build character in your children and yourself. My husband and I were taught by example at an early age, that volunteering was important. This is a trait that we wanted to pass along to our children.

volunteering as a family

While the world is very different now then it was 30 years ago, we still feel that volunteering as a family is important and helps build a child’s character, so we try to provide those opportunities for our children.

HOW VOLUNTEERING AS A FAMILY HELPS BUILD CHARACTER

TEACHES COMPASSION

Children often don’t see the world beyond their neighborhood or even front door. Volunteering as a family can help show your children how other people live and teach them compassion. Some children are more sensitive than others, so make sure you make yourself available for conversations about how they are feeling.

DEVELOPS VALUABLE LIFE SKILLS

Whether you are serving food at a soup kitchen, building homes for those less fortunate or running weekly camps, life skills can be learned by your child when volunteering. Being on time and working hard will provide your child with a lifelong lesson in a work ethic that ANY employer would love to have in an employee.

TEACHES TEAMWORK

Volunteering as a family will mean that you are working together to serve others in your community. Some volunteer positions are hard work and you will need to rely on teamwork to get the job done. Working as a team will be a rewarding experience for everyone in your family, and help kick sibling rivalry in the butt.

PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

When you volunteer you will likely be working alongside people you have never met. Coming together for a common purpose has the ability to make a new, long lasting friendship. Wouldn’t it be great if you could continue to serve as a group once a month or more?

MAY PROVIDE CAREER GUIDANCE

Young children, even teenagers, and young adults have no idea what they want to be when they grow up. Volunteering opens your child’s view of the world allowing them to see more than what they see on a daily basis. Perhaps one of the places you volunteer as a family will resonate with your child and they will find a passion.

Not only will volunteering as a family help build character in your children, it will build character in yourself as well!  Remember, volunteering doesn’t have to be a huge commitment.  If you want, start small with these 99 ACTS OF KINDNESS ideas that anyone can do:

 

acts of kindness printable

We’d love to hear how you volunteer with your kids!

In the book Wide-Open World, one family talks about how their lives were changed forever by volunteering around the world.

Or read the book CAN WE HELP? KIDS VOLUNTEERING IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

Here is a post on 3 REASONS FAMILY DINNER IS IMPORTANT:

3 reasons family dinner is important

Sign-up to get an email update each day. You can also connect with us on:

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.

Jennifer

Saturday 6th of May 2017

An article with a very novel look. I love this. Thanks for sharing

Calvin F.

Tuesday 11th of April 2017

Awesome, I have done lots of volunteering with my mom and also by my self. Never really thought about the benefits till now.