Community engagement with little ones is filled with layers of good intentions and ambitious learnings. It may take effort, but there are many ideas that are rewarding and impactful. Here’s some ideas for you and your child.
Learn
Basic Concepts
First, don’t be shy; talk to your child about community engagement.
Second, the lessons for teaching children, as early as age 3, about community engagement may seem intuitive but they are concrete and lifelong:
- Responsibility (for their community) – An understanding for how a child fits into their broader community, that one person can make a difference, and that their difference is needed and valued.
- Empathy and compassion – We like to think of community engagement as character education.
- Develop caring and ethical young people (Harvard says so).
- Creative thinking – The ability to respond to change requires innovators.
- Happiness – The secret to happiness is helping others.
- Empowerment – Community engagement is a helpful anecdote to feelings of helplessness that can sometimes overwhelm children.
Just Remember
- You are the biggest role model in your child’s life. Your child will want to follow your lead in how you participate in your community.
- Doing small things consistently will go a longer way than participating in one-off, ad hoc events. Build it into your ongoing conversations or routines – whether it be monthly, quarterly or annually. The consistency (not necessarily frequency) signifies to your child its priority in your family values.
- Be patient – It will take time for your child to develop empathy and to understand the underlying complexity.
Do
Even young preschoolers can easily learn the value of helping people and places of need. The key is to engage in opportunities that are:
- Simple – It doesn’t have to be a grand scale project or take up half a day. Small, frequent easy activities have just as much impact.
- Fun – Select topics that innately interest children and your family. This also makes it easier to naturally continue the conversation at home about the impact (e.g., animals, national parks, books, food, clothing, etc.).
- Learn by doing – ‘Engage physically’ together with your child in the community and/or organization you’re serving helps your child make a profound connection between what they’re doing and the impact they’re having; it helps them see their impact. ‘Engage’ for a child could be anything from sorting spoiled fruit at a local food bank to writing Valentine cards to a neighborhood senior center to selling lemonade for a cause that is special to them.
Simple Ideas (with Easy Links to *Do*)
It can sometimes be hard finding organizations that allow young children to volunteer. There are often minimum age restrictions or other requirements. But there are things you can *do* even with your youngest learners.
- Help those experiencing hard times
- Make care packages for the homeless – fill Ziplock bags with snacks, toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, sample-sized toiletries, wipes and other necessities.
- Shop for groceries and donate to a local food bank. Find one here.
- Send love through Color A Smile. Kids can draw pictures which are then sent to those in need of joy.
- Help a child celebrate a birthday – prepare a party-in-a-box.
- Cook and deliver a meal to a local shelter. Young children typically can’t serve the meal, but they can certainly help at home and feel good about delivering the finished product.
- Host a party and have guests bring canned foods for your local food bank or blankets for an animal shelter; bring the donations to the organization as a family.
- Ask for book donations instead of birthday gifts and deliver them to an organization that collects books.
- Seize everyday opportunities (in addition to participating in seasonal toy, clothing, food drives) – Keep an empty bin visible and easily accessible by your child in their bedroom or playroom for once-loved books, toys and clothes so that being aware of the opportunity to engage in their community is ever-present.
- Do something and donate the proceeds
- Rally a neighborhood walkathon, or bake cookies together, sell lemonade or make art and set up a stand to sell your goods and donate your proceeds to an organization of your choosing.
- Apply tattoos for a cause with this fun kit.
- Teach your child a basic script so that they have language to use when people stop by their stand.
- For example, “I love the ocean and its animals. So I’m raising money for a marine mammal center to rescue sick and injured animals found on our beaches.”
- Take the time to research the organization with your child so that they understand the why behind their actions, and to ensure the donation feels connected to the cause your child is supporting.
- Why does the organization exist? How will your efforts help?
- Consider adding a ‘give’ component if your child has an allowance system.
- Bring joy to the elderly in your community
- Send postcards, make flowers or create placemats for residents of a senior center near you. Kid art can brighten up spaces and you may even have an opportunity to visit with some residents when you drop off your creations.
- No local options? Send love via Letters of Love.
- Love for Mother Earth
- Put on gloves and pick up trash at a local park or beach. The immediate impact of a once-littered park or beach is everlasting to a young child.
- Save the bees by making and planting Bumble Bands.
- Support our animal friends
- Hold a “dog wash” to raise money for an organization that supports animals.
- Some feline rescues appreciate stimulating toys for cats, perfect for your crafty DIY kid. Here’s some handy instructions.
- Collect towels and blankets to donate to an animal shelter.
- Feed the birds in your own backyard (or park) with these yummy bird cookies.
MANY more causes + projects here!
*Note – We use the term ‘community engagement’ throughout this article. Terminology may differ among communities and philosophies, and there are benefits and limitations to the various terminologies because of the complex nature of this topic itself. Regardless of the terminology you choose to use, we encourage a term that recognizes our shared humanity and removes the focus on serving as work done for others in a way that compromises the dignity and respect of those being helped. ‘Service learning’ is a different practice/method that involves layers of academic work and reflection beyond the scope of this article.