Holidays give a chance to volunteer

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Holidays give a chance to volunteer

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011 7:01 AM

The spirit of Christmas is all about the spirit of giving; a gift from the heart lasts a lifetime. How do we find the spirit of Christmas as we rush to and from work, pageants and shopping? The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and Sunday opens the official Christmas season. Yet with all the beauty that comes with the Christmas season, the headlines capture acts of violence as crazed shoppers compete to buy gifts for their loved ones. Christmas often turns into a season of getting, competition and financial stress rather than of giving. In todays age, how do we teach our children to be caring, compassionate and giving at this time of year and throughout the New Year?

Volunteering as a family helps families build a loving and caring foundation that will teach children to give back and build awareness of other cultures, life circumstances and the lives of other people. Volunteering teaches important values such as compassion, understanding, sharing, giving, empathy and community responsibility. Above all, time spent together as a family while volunteering will build family relationships and often will instill an appreciation of ones own life circumstances.

Good intentions often fall by the wayside due to busy schedules, prior commitments, and resistance, or due to unfamiliarity with opportunities available for volunteering. Before checking off your shopping list, wrapping presents or scheduling a Christmas party, set aside a few hours for a family volunteer project. There are opportunities to volunteer for all ages of children. Planning your community service allows time to address questions and concerns that you or your children may have regarding the service. Researching opportunities in the community will give the children a choice in the event and enhance involvement, pride and ownership in the charitable activity.

The following volunteer ideas will help connect your family with the community and provide an opportunity for your children to give rather than get this holiday season:

Sponsor a family; adopt a local family for gift giving. (The Pinon Project, 564-1195)

Make homemade cards or ornaments and deliver them to a nursing home or hospital.

Christmas carol, or just sit and talk with patients at a hospital or nursing home.

Make blankets. (Project Linus has a no-sew blanket pattern.)

Create a giving box. (Many churches have a needs list and can distribute the boxes.)

Join a toy drive. (Toys for Tots)

Collect food and necessities for those in need. (Collect food and donations instead of presents at parties.)

Bake goods or make gifts for a friend, neighbor or co-worker that is undergoing a hard time during this Christmas season. Deliver the goods and spend some time talking with them.

Make a shoe box filled with things for a child that is your childs age. (Operation Shoe Box, The Giving Tree or The Angel Tree, local churches or a shelter may be able to distribute these.)

Put up a tree or a clothesline and encourage children to hang socks, mittens and hats on it that are to be given away.

Cook food for those living in a homeless shelter (bridgeshelter.org, 565-9808)

The Bridge Shelter (bridge shelter.org, 565-9808) has several, various opportunities for families to volunteer throughout the year.

Participate in races, walks and bicycle events where the entry fee or a pledge of so much per mile goes to help a specific cause.

For animal lovers, volunteer at a pet shelter.

Create a calendar and mark one day of each month that you will devote time to the needs of others.

Traditions are wonderful ways to bring a family together for years. A tradition of volunteering and giving to others in heartfelt ways is a tradition that promotes the joy of Christmas, binds families and develops worthy values in children. This Christmas, be a positive, holiday role model for your children. Take time away from the rush and stress that accompanies the season and get involved in volunteering and enjoy this time for family and for giving.

Patricia Nelson is the School Readiness Coordinator and Quality Improvement Specialist with Montelores Early Childhood Council. She can be reached at [email protected].

Remember giving spirit at holidays

When I think back to my childhood and try to remember what made the holidays special, I realize I really dont remember the things I received as gifts.
I kind of vaguely remember a green bike and my brothers airplane that really flew. What I really remember most were the traditions: trimming the tree on Christmas Eve, decorating cookies with my siblings, delivering my moms Danish tea rings to our neighbors on Christmas morning, and yes, volunteerism.
My mom was a stickler for the fact that the holiday season was about giving. Every year in December my mom would set our family up to volunteer in some way. We took people into our home, we organized dinners, and we collected food for those in need.
My fondest memory was the year my mom baked a few hundred gingerbread cookies, made scads of icing, bought nuts, candies and dried fruit and we headed off, as a family, to the senior home. They set us up in a huge room with probably about 50 seniors. We sat down with them and decorated cookies that we gave to them to keep in their rooms and share with guests.
I think I was probably around 11 at the time and was the middle child of four. We didnt all sit together; we spread out (probably at my moms firm direction) and got to know the folks we were spending our day with. My older sister made friends with an elderly lady who tried to set her up with her grandson being 13, I think it may have been the height of my sisters year! My dad was a musician; he sat and hung out with a retired musician and talked that jazzy talk. My younger sister met two older men who were from Alaska that told her stories; she was a very shy girl and was fascinated by these new friends. My little brother, being charming and young, became the apple of the elderly ladies eyes and was adored all day.
For me, what I remember the most was how very special that day was how we were united as a family, how older people werent scary anymore, but were people just like me. They were intelligent, funny and fun. I look back and realize how strong my mom was to give us this wonderful gift: the gift of sharing ourselves, connecting with others and the gift of service. It is my all-time favorite memory from the holiday season. We all shared stories from that day for years to come.
Having had these experiences has added value and meaning to not only the season, but to who I am as a person and I have continued to keep the tradition of giving going with my own daughter. I believe it has helped my daughter develop understanding, compassion and a lifelong appreciation for what is truly meaningful in life.

Kristin Croker is The Childrens Kiva head of school and Montelores Early Childhood Council member.