As we reach the final installment of our five-part blog series for National Volunteer Week, today’s topic highlights volunteer opportunities close to home. We’re not talking about chores. Though many kids—and some adults, too—may think they do enough “volunteer work” helping out around the house. Responsibilities at home are not the same as volunteer efforts around your neighborhood.
Read on to learn how helping your neighbors can be a good way to build a sense of community as well as make personal connections:
Be a good neighbor! Being neighborly opens doors to many opportunities to bring the spirit of volunteerism into the lives of your children and family—and it’s a nice way for au pairs to learn more about life and people in America. Fun au pair activities include volunteering in host neighborhoods as a way to connect with and explore new surroundings, as noted by winners of last year’s Au Pair Community Service Awards.
Perhaps you have a neighbor that could use help with grocery shopping, preparing meals, painting a fence or raking the yard. Maybe you have a neighbor that is lonely or you live near a retirement home; don’t overlook the opportunity to spend time with folks that would enjoy playing cards and board games or teaching kids how to fly model airplanes, crochet, play chess and dominoes, and so on. When you are willing to give a little of your time to help others, the rewards keep adding up!
This wraps up our five-part series for National Volunteer Week. We hope you’ve found our ideas and suggestions for volunteer activities for au pairs, families and children to be very helpful. We’re always happy to hear from you, so feel free to share a picture or anecdote from your volunteering experiences in our comments section—or connect with us on social media.
Good luck with your volunteer efforts!
