(sorry this is so late everybody.)
Go to any high school activities director and you will get a list of ways students can volunteer as a part of a club or special school event. Go to a church and ask the youth group leader what their teens do to volunteer in the area, and he will give you a list as long as his arm. During the summer teens can find organizations all over their cities and towns in which to volunteer, from soup kitchens to the local zoo. These are all wonderful things, but what about younger children?
If you’ve ever spent any length of time with a child under the age of 12, you will find that child acting in a selfish way—hoarding all his chocolate chip cookies instead of sharing, running as fast as he can to get the best ball in the bin at recess, trying to get the biggest prize for winning a game. You don’t need to teach a child these things—it’s human nature. By the time some of these students reach high school age and the opportunities to volunteer are plentiful, they are no longer interested. It is important to offer these opportunities to younger children so they learn the value of helping others before the desire to do so is lost.
Elementary schools can have a big influence in this area. All too often, though, children are only encouraged to “volunteer” to fundraise for the school itself instead of local causes around the area. While many of these fundraisers provide things for the schools such as library books and gym equipment, schools should take the time to include events in their calendars that help the community at large. For example, many schools all over the country participate in Empty Bowls meals. Empty Bowls is an event where students make and decorate ceramic bowls as part of school art projects, then the school puts on a soup and bread meal for parents and local citizens. Empty Bowls suggests a donation of $10 per meal. The people coming to the meal select a bowl to eat out of, and then take the bowl with them as a reminder of the event. This project could be simplified for very young students, having them decorate a plastic bowl. Empty Bowls encourages whoever puts on one of their events to include hunger education as part of the event. The school can designate which hunger organization will receive their proceeds, and Empty Bowls charges no fee for using their name or idea.
Churches seem a readily available place where children could volunteer, but again, it seems that most children are not given the opportunity until they are in middle school. Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana, encourages families to volunteer together. They have a Second Saturday ministry in which volunteers of all ages can come to the church the second Saturday of the month in the mornings and are taken by bus to places all over the area—from helping at the church to local food banks. The church has no age stipulation. Once a year the church has a Food Drop in which church members purchase and then distribute several semi-trucks full of food around the area. Hundreds of children can be seen at this event—carrying boxes and going with their parents door to door to give people much needed food and toiletries.
Finally, it is the parents’ job to teach children the importance of helping others. This can be done in very simple ways. Christmastime is ideal: a child can choose a toy and donate it to Toys for Tots. Several families could come together and sponsor a local family. During the rest of the year children can do simple things such as draw a picture for someone in a nursing home or hospital, or bake cookies for someone who has been ill.
If parents, local schools and churches can teach these ideas early, then you will reap children like ten year old Emily Bullington, who heard about starving people in Kenya and started a lemonade stand to do something to help. She has raised over $2000 so far, setting up her now-famous stand all over Arkansas. Her goal is $8000. Her story is inspiring, and it begins with a church and a supportive family. More children can be like Emily, if only we as parents, as a community, will convince them they can make a difference.
Nice idea, that Empty Bowls event. I’ll bet the students come up with some really cool designs.
I don’t think it’s necessary to suggest young children decorate plastic bowls, however. From a safety standpoint, hot soup should never go into a plastic bowl, from an ecological standpoint plastic should be discouraged in favor of ceramic anytime and from a practical standpoint, if preschoolers with special needs can dab paint onto a terra cotta plant pots like I’ve seen, they can dab paint onto a greenware ceramic form for an Empty Bowls event. Just my green side coming out
Comment by kathleen61 — March 6, 2008 @ 2:50 am
I liked the way you organized your ideas: you started with a nationwide focus (schools) to a more local focus (churches), and then to a personal focus (family). The article drew me in.
Empty Bowls sounds like a worthwhile project. It was helpful that you placed a link to their website. I honestly don’t know if young children would have trouble working with ceramic bowls or if plastic would be better, but your point is well taken: get children involved early, while they’re malleable and easy to influence. I’m sure there are dozens of ways to do this. I ran a quick search on Google and found dozens of opportunities where young children can volunteer. Here is one that caught my attention: http://www.ifhsonline.org/volunteer.htm but there are also many more out there.
Comment by James — March 6, 2008 @ 3:41 am
This is a great idea. I have always had my kids donate a toy at Christmas time just so they can experience the joy of giving. I usually had them pick out a toy for a child their own age and told them to pick something they would like. I agree with Kathleen about the plastic bowl. They also have ceramic mugs that can be decorated and used for soup or tea. I have also read about Emily, it is inspirng to hear of caring people like that.
Comment by twhelan — March 8, 2008 @ 3:36 pm
This is Emily’s mom. I google Emily’s name periodically to find out what information is circulating. I just wanted to say thank you for your encouraging comments about her. (I printed your blog entry for her scrapbook.) YOU are an example of how a supportive community can inspire children to become selfless. Thanks for your very apparent dedication to the children you teach!
Comment by Kelly Bullington — March 11, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
I am Emily’s grandmother! I also Googled to see what things were on the internet about Emily. Thank you for writing such wonderful things about my sweet girl. This in not the first time Emily has given. When she was eight years old, she gave 12 inches of her hair to “Locks of Love” so another little girl could have hair. She is now growing her hair again to give another 12 inches. I think she has about 4 inches to go. I am a teacher and it is so important today to get children to think outside of themselves. Thank you for writing about this issue!
Comment by Kay Cocklin — March 16, 2008 @ 11:47 pm