Volunteering with children

Many volunteer jobs are perfect for families. Decide whether you're interested in a onetime project (collecting children's books and donating them to a hospital, for instance) or a longer-term commitment, such as serving dinner at a homeless shelter once a month. Then call the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley to ask how you can help.

An easy way to find out about volunteer opportunities in your area is to call the VCCV and describe your location, interests, and the ages of your children. The center will probably have a database and be able to match you with an appropriate volunteer project. If you've decided on an ongoing volunteer job, talk to the agency's volunteer coordinator about training and orientation. Visit by yourself before making a commitment, and trust your instincts about whether you think it will be a comfortable environment for you and your children.

Once you've decided on a project, explain to your children exactly what to expect. Be enthusiastic about what you're doing and explain why the job is important. Answer your child's questions about the work and the people you'll be interacting with.

Above all, have fun. You might consider teaming up with another family, inviting one of your child's friends to help out, or stopping for a picnic in the park or ice cream on the way home. What initially may seem like another task on your to-do list can become a wonderful bonding experience for your family.

10 Ways Kids Can Help:

1. Donate food to a food pantry. Have your child pick out one item each time you go to the store. When you get a bagful, take it to a local food pantry.
2. Walk to fight disease. Many organizations use walks to increase awareness and raise funds. Kids 5 and up can walk a few miles, and you can push little ones in a stroller.
3. Put together activity boxes. If your child is a preschooler, decorate shoe boxes and fill them with a deck of cards, small games, and puzzle books for kids at the local hospital.
4. Visit a nursing home. Your family can be matched with one person to call on regularly.
5. Clean up. Pick up litter at a local park or while you take a walk in the neighborhood. (Wear gloves and supervise your children closely.)
6. Befriend a mentally disabled adult. Call a residential treatment center for the developmentally disabled in your area and ask to be matched with an adult whom you can include in family events, holiday activities, and outings. The center will select someone who can interact well with young children.
7. Deliver meals. You and your child can bring both hot food and companionship to homebound people through a local charity food service.
8. Offer a lift. Take your kids along to drive elderly people to their medical appointments, or take nursing-home residents or isolated seniors to the grocery store or to visit friends.
9. Share storytime. Read your child's favorite books to children in the hospital. She can sit next to you and turn the pages.
10. Be kind to animals. Volunteer to care for abandoned dogs or cats.

Contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley for more information at (319) 272-2087, email, or visit www.vccv.org.