How to Encourage Volunteerism in Your Family | Lenore Albert | Philanthropy & Community
There are many benefits that each person in your family can receive through donating their time and skills to a local charity. However, your children or spouse may not be initially eager to get involved in philanthropic work. You can use the following tips to raise more interest in volunteerism among your loved ones.
Bring the Family Closer Together
If you or your spouse feel as though your children are drifting away and becoming too absorbed in their own lives, philanthropy can help bring everyone back together . Philanthropy provides activities that have more meaning, which will give you a stronger foundation for building better bonds with your family. As you engage in volunteer work together, you’ll talk and grow closer as a family.
Develop New Skills
Your spouse or your children can help their careers by volunteering their time with a charity that helps an important cause in your community. In many cases, a promotion or a new job opportunity is missed because the individual doesn’t have the necessary experience. Your loved ones can avoid that cycle by getting experience through volunteer work. From helping to build houses for the homeless to leading a cleanup project in your neighborhood, your spouse and children can all find volunteer opportunities that will benefit their career paths.
See the World
You don’t have to give back in your own community. There are plenty of opportunities to travel to new places around the world where volunteer help is desperately needed. In fact, many families take vacations in which they spend their time volunteering to help other communities in foreign countries. The experience will help your family learn more about other cultures as they help build homes, educate children, or care for the poor. You can find an organization that arranges volunteer vacations for those interested in helping others, and signing up for this type of program will help you stay safer as you travel abroad.
The hardest part will be getting your loved ones to take that first step. Once they begin volunteering, they will see all of the ways that getting involved benefits them in their own lives. Simply experiencing the positive emotions that giving back causes may be enough to keep your family engaged in their volunteer duties.
Originally published at https://lenorealbert.org on December 9, 2021.