VOLUNTEERING WITH CHILDREN

It is Never Too Early

I think that there are not many things you can teach your children that are more important than compassion. Teaching them to care about people is a beautiful thing! Teaching them to give of themselves at a young age can be challenging as most non profits do not allow children under 12 to volunteer for safety reasons. But that does not mean that you cant teach them to make a positive impact in their community, it just means you get to be more creative! Here are a few ideas you can do as a family:

You can contact an organization that you all want to help and explain that you have young children and want to teach them about volunteerism. Ask them what they need!

* Do they need money? Organize a car wash, bake sale or some other event to

raise money.

* Do they need items? You can start a drive to collect the items they need.

* Maybe get your child's school involved and let your child do as much of the organizing as they are capable of.

* Maybe you have a neighbor that needs help around the yard

These are just a few ideas of how you can introduce the idea of volunteering to your children. If you have more, leave them on our Facebook Page! We would love to hear all the creative ways there are to volunteer as a family!

And for you convenience we will list all of the volunteer opportunities that are child friendly on this page as well.

New Beginnings Home

New Beginnings Home is traditional housing and mentorship program for homeless women facing unexpected/crisis pregnancy.

volunteer needs: New Beginnings Home is on 6 acres of land so we are always in need of lawn care and yard work. We also have a 5,000 square foot green house and are currently in search of a volunteer green house manager. If you would like to serve in this way please email info@newbeginningshome.org. ( families and groups welcome)!

http://newbeginningshome.org

The Light of Christ Community Garden

The Community Garden is seen as a place to help improve our community's health and mental well being by providing an enjoyable outdoor physical activity, social contacts and learning opportunities.

The result of people working together is the Light of Christ Community Garden. It is a collective, English style pottage garden that follows the premise of "all for one harvest, one harvest for all" where everyone contributes their efforts to one large garden from which the needful of our community receive the distribution of the harvest.

We bring people together to work in unity for the benefit of others. Our neighbors of all faiths or no faith, ethnic groups, youth, elderly, able bodied and the disabled are all welcomed to participate in the management, building and harvest of the garden.

volunteer needs: This is a family friendly environment with work assignments for the young, older and not so young anymore. There are volunteers from 3 to 83. We strive to make sure that each volunteer has an assignment appropriate to their ability, and that by the end of the day each volunteer feels that they are valued, appreciated and have made a positive contribution. Community Service volunteers are welcomed; please contact the project managers at locgarden@comast.net or call (253) 326-7166 to discuss arrangements. Regular work parties will be held starting February every Monday & Wednesday from 9-12 and starting April - October every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 9-12. Special arrangements can be made for groups wishing to contribute at different times.

locgarden@comcast.net

http://www.lightofchristgarden.org/get-involved.html

Prairie Ridge Community Coalition

Prairie Ridge Community Coalition is working in partnership with the Prairie Ridge Homeowner's Association, we work to create partnerships for sustainable program, connect families with needed local resources, and organize community events and activities. Through these efforts we endeavor to mobilize Prairie Ridge residents to improve the community through environmental and policy change.

Our Goals:

• Bridge the gap between Prairie Ridge residents with the surrounding schools, cities, organizations and resources.
• Identify and develop programs that serve the needs of the community, including programs that address violence, drug, tobacco, alcohol and crime prevention.
• With the help of partners, create meaningful and sustainable programs, projects and activities for the benefit of community members.
• Incorporating the Five Promises, develop programs and build our capacity to serve our community. The five fundamental resources that young people need to succeed:
1)caring adults (includes positive relationships with neighbors & positive role models)
2)safe places (includes being physically and emotionally safe in community & constructive use of time)
3) a healthy start (includes good nutrition and exercise as well as healthy habits and role models)
4) effective education (includes developing marketable skills, education, and mentoring)
5) opportunities to help others (includes volunteering, sense of responsibility, and caring behavior )

volunteer needs: Summer Feeding - 4 volunteer daily that can assist with food preparation, serving and cleaning up. This is a position that families can do together. We don't recommend anyone younger than 4th grade fill one of these spots due to safety issues and workspace limitations.

Signup Genius is ready to schedule your volunteer time now

Summer meal volunteers can get on the calendar using Signup Genius (http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f44adaa2ba4fa7-summer).

Other inquiries can be directed to:

Mary Beth Holmes, Prairie Ridge Community Coalition Coordinator

cell 206-200-4229 email marybethholmesprc@gmail.com

14205 215th Ave E Bonney Lake WA 98391