Sure, if still toddling or in diapers, maybe they are more of a ride-along while you get engaged in service, however, if your kids are the age where following directions is a thing, then volunteering can be a thing, too!
While many organizations don’t start making formal use of energetic volunteers until age 8 or older, you can always search for “family-friendly” opportunities to get involved together. Here are a few places to start an online search for just the right project for you and yours.
- All for Good (allforgood.org) is a digital hub for volunteerism and community engagement. Find youth-engaging projects in your area by zip code.
- Do Something (dosomething.org) will get kids involved with other kids making a difference—millions of young people in a global movement for good.
- Generation On (generationon.org) provides programs, tools, and resources to engage kids and teens in service and volunteering.
- One More Generation (onemoregeneration.org) was created by kids for kids to get kids involved in conservation and endangered species projects.
- Volunteer.gov (www.volunteer.gov) is the federal program for volunteers to find ways to work on cultural and environmental resource projects. Use the “Family” filter in your search.
- VolunteerMatch (volunteermatch.org) is the largest network in the non-profit world. Search for volunteer opportunities by zip code, kind of work, and add the filter “Kids” or “Teens” to get everyone involved.
Change by Doing 
Posted by Joe Hall on June 23, 2020 at 11:02 AM
I love that you talked about using the family filter so that I can find opportunities for my kids too. My spouse and I are thinking about volunteering a lot more this year so that we can help others. We want our kids to get used to volunteering too so we need to find ways for them to help out.
Posted by Andrew Mersmann on June 23, 2020 at 12:06 PM
LOVE THAT! Kids who understand that they can make a difference in someone’s life open up whole new levels of confidence and deep awareness. It’s hard as a kid to know that the world doesn’t just happen TO you, so creating opportunities to really understand they have agency in bettering the world sets them up for a life lived powerfully. I’d love to know what projects you decide to undertake. Be in touch!