A spark of volunteering when instilled in children at a younger age makes them empathetic toward others. It also cultivates lifelong habits of taking others into consideration before acting. Children ages 8 and older can be engaged in service projects that are meaningful to them. Start small, not all projects have to be big to make a difference. Children should choose something that matters to them. For example a child who loves animals may naturally gravitate toward wanting to create chew toys for rescue animals. Another child who is academically strong may want to tutor in his or her subject area of choice. Don’t be afraid to try something unique to address the community issues and involve your family members. Below are a few topics to explore if you feel stuck.
- Poverty
- Homelessness
- Hunger
- People not being able to afford food
- Education
- Schools being too far away, schools lacking in resources
- Environment
- Pollution, deforestation
- Animals
- Extinction, stray animals
- Health
- COVID, people not being able to afford healthcare, smoking
- Social
- Conflicts, cyberbullying, physical fights, prejudice
Before choosing an activity, think about the who, what, why, when, and how.
- Who am I serving? Who is the beneficiary?
- What is the cause I am supporting? What problem will my project solve? What value do I bring? What type of assistance will I need? What tasks does my project include?
- Why does it matter? Why should I care about this cause?
- When will I need to be available to volunteer?
- How long/often will this project go on?
Download a template to plan your service project
