January 8, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Busy Family’s Guide to Volunteering
by Jenny Friedman
Volunteering as a family can teach children tolerance and start them on a lifetime of charitable giving, writes Jenny Friedman, founder and executive director of Doing Good Together, an organization in Minneapolis that helps families volunteer. This guide discusses the benefits of volunteering together and offers advice on choosing suitable opportunities.
To help families begin volunteering, Ms. Friedman offers suggestions on motivating children to get involved. For example, she writes, parents should seek their children’s help in selecting which organizations to support. She says that allowing children to invite a friend to accompany the family might increase their enthusiasm. The book also describes which types of activities are appropriate for children of different ages.
Chapters focus on different types of volunteer activities, including helping older people, getting involved in educational projects, and taking “volunteer vacations.” Each section discusses both formal and informal ways to volunteer. For example, a chapter on the environment mentions a range of activities such as removing litter from nature trails, organizing a recycling program, and lobbying local government agencies to expand park systems. The book also includes contact information for nonprofit groups and a list of books to help prepare children for particular volunteer activities.
Publisher: Robins Lane Press, P.O. Box 207, 10726 Tucker Street, Beltsville, Md. 20704; (301) 595-9500 or (800) 638-0928; fax (301) 595-0051; info@robinslane.com; http://www.robinslane.com; 208 pages; $14.95; I.S.B.N. 1-58904-012-0.
