A Family Guide to Community Service

Tips for Creating Opportunities to Serve with Your Kids & Teens

Each year AZADS Martial Arts in Chico helps organize the annual Basket Brigade Community event. This year’s event is looking for volunteer drivers and fund donations for the food items.

When children serve others they appreciate their own lives

When children participate in community service, they develop a desire to help others and make a difference. Not only do they become more aware of those who are less fortunate, they learn to appreciate the blessings in their own lives. Kids who serve others are more likely to give of their time and treasures for a lifetime.

Grandmaster Azad, of Chico, CA, is a firm believer in the value of helping others. “The best way to make this world a better place is by you giving of your time, energy, and resources in the areas you feel passionate about,” he says. “With that spirit together we can make a powerful and positive change in our world, and make it a better place for everyone!”

Choosing a family service project

When you choose a family service project, try to pick something that excites or holds interests for your children because they are much more likely to become invested in the project. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Donate personal items

Have the kids clean their rooms and sort through personal items that are in great shape but are no longer needed. Look for coats, hats and gloves, blankets, and toys. Many organizations will collect these items to give to shelters, foster care, or victims of fire.

Shop for a local food pantry

Talk with your kids about others who may not have enough to eat. Then take them shopping to collect their favorite non-perishable items for meals and snacks to donate to a local food pantry. Try going door to door in your neighborhood to collect even more.

Help others with yard and housework

Help a neighbor, friend, or family member who may be unable to do their yard work. Offer to rake leaves, shovel snow, or mow the lawn. Ask if there are other house projects like painting, gardening, or maintenance that your family can help with.

Cook and share

Everyone loves cookies, and kids can help bake treats to share with friends and neighbors. Consider taking the treats to a local police or fire station to show your appreciation for their hard work in the community. If you know a family in need, consider taking them a meal and, if appropriate, deliver it as a family.

Make cards for soldiers or nursing home residents

Words of encouragement, handmade cards, or coloring pages are a great way to brighten a soldier’s day and show your appreciation. Personal cards can also be a bright spot for many nursing home residents.

Help at the animal shelter

Animal lovers will enjoy volunteering at a local animal shelter. Typically shelters need help walking dogs, cleaning cages, and giving lonely animals attention. Shelters often can use donations of food, cat litter, bedding, and cleaning supplies. Contact your shelter to see what they most need.

Help beautify green spaces

Kids who love nature may enjoy volunteering to clean up a local park, adopting a street in your city, or cleaning up the green spaces in your neighborhood. Contact your local school or church to see if there is landscaping that needs attention. Kids can help plant trees and flowers, pull weeds, and lay mulch. They will see the beauty of their hard work in no time.

Donate proceeds from a business

Do you have a budding entrepreneur in the family? Consider hosting a lemonade stand, garage sale, or bake sale and donating the proceeds to the child’s favorite charity. This is a great way to teach kids money management and business skills while helping others in need.

When parents help their children help others, their kids will see community service and volunteering as a priority and will develop a desire to give back as they become adults.

AZADS Martial Arts Center in Chico offers volunteer opportunities through its annual community-wide Basket Brigade Thanksgiving meal offerings.

• Donate funds at Azad’s Martial Arts Center (313 Walnut St., Chico). A donation of $40 pays for one basket, which can feed a family of eight.
• Help us by calling 892-AZADS (2923) in advance to sign up as a delivery driver before Nov 10th.
• Refer a family in need by calling or visiting the center. To qualify, families must be deserving, live in Chico, be first-time recipients, and have school-age kids.

What great volunteer opportunities does your family take part in? We’d like to know more! Please email Pamela at pn@northstateparent.com.