24 Ways to Volunteer with Kids!

Rachael | December 9, 2014 | Blog, Featured, Local Businesses | 1 Comment

Sometimes it feels impossibly hard to serve or volunteer with young kids. Our little ones consume so much of our attention, time, money, and energy that it often feels like we have nothing left to give. Plus volunteering with kids can feel like a logistical nightmare. Some options (like helping to build a house through Habitat for Humanity) just aren’t possible with very young children.

Yet I’m very much aware of my many blessings. I want my children to grow up recognizing the needs in our community and taking action to help meet them. I want to make a point to volunteer and serve as a family even when our kids are very young.

If you’re looking for ways to serve as a family check out this list!

Ways to Serve or Volunteer with Kids

Take cookies to firefighters or police officers.
Invite friends over for a pajama party so that their parents can have a date night.
Deliver cards and treats to nursing home residents.
Serve a meal together at a food pantry or food bank.
Help out in your child’s class or nursery room at church.
Sign up to walk or run for a good cause.
Instead of birthday gifts, ask friends to bring money or supplies to be donated to the charity of your child’s choosing.
Donate socks and underwear (a common but often unspoken need) to a homeless shelter.
Sponsor a child through an organization like Compassion or World Vision. We’ve sponsored kids through World Vision and through private orphanages in Guatemala. We love and recommend Friends of Children Everywhere and New Life Children’s Home.
Sort through your toy collection and generously contribute to a local toy swap.
Sell toys, clothing, gear and then give the money to a good cause.
Ask restaurant management if your kids can vacuum or wipe down tables. (Some restaurants will say no, but if it’s an establishment you frequent often, they might humor you.)
Drop off used building supplies, furniture, and artwork at your local Habitat ReStore.
Volunteer to deliver meals to senior citizens via a group like Meals on Wheels.
Older children could volunteer at your local children’s museum or the library.
Collect and donate canned goods for a local food pantry.
Clean litter boxes, play with the animals, sweep up pet fur, or walk dogs at your local animal shelter.
Pick up trash around your neighborhood.
Consider training to be a foster family. (Want to know more? Read THIS POST with stories from four foster families.)
Give a gift to your mailman or garbage collector.
Collect supplies for babies and new parents (gloves and mittens, picture frames, piggy banks, photo albums, diaper cream, teething toys) and donate them to your local pregnancy center.
Surprise neighbors with baked goods or homemade gifts.
Ring the Salvation Army bell at Christmastime.
Take a meal to a family with a new baby or foster child.

For a printable version of this list, please click HERE.

If you live in the Terre Haute area, here are a few specific organizations that would love to have your help.

Local Needs and Volunteer Opportunities in the Wabash Valley

Current as of November 2017

Donate a gift for a child in foster care. With a few easy clicks, you can send gifts to a child in the DCS system. Read all about it HERE!
Vigo County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) are the voice for children in foster care in the judicial system. Volunteers obtain 30 hours of training prior to becoming a court appointment advocate, which they get out of the way in 3 weeks; 3 hrs, 4 nights/wk.” Read more about the CASA program in this post.
Join the list for the ISU Community Garden to help grow food for your family and for those in need. Participants are encouraged to donate a portion of the produce raised to the food pantry of their choice.
Donate gear, toys, clothes and supplies for foster families to the {new} “Borrowed Hearts” Foundation or volunteer your time to help sort and manage this clothing/gear closet.
Sponsor a local child in Vigo, Vermillion, or Parke County with Kid Kare Project. You can become a child sponsor, shop for gift items for children from newborn to age 18, or make a monetary donation.
Bring your elbow grease to Spotted Horse Ministries to help with the horses and ranch.
Fill a “Blessing Box” in Terre Haute or Brazil.
Get involved with Wabash Valley Food Rescue.
Chances and Services for Youth has several opportunities for donations and service including Bikes for Tykes and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vigo County.
Have fun while volunteering at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum. We often see volunteers interacting with kids and maintaining the exhibits.
Do what you can to help mothers and babies through Crisis Pregnancy Center.
Adopt an alpaca through the White Violet Center. A one-year adoption is only $100 and you will receive a certificate and photo of your newly adopted alpaca.
United Way of the Wabash Valley‘s origins are rooted in volunteerism. United Way gives you real opportunities to reach out a hand and influence the condition of all. Join a committee or roll up your sleeves. Either way your efforts will help to create opportunities for a better life for the people that live and work among us.
At 14th and Chestnut Community Center you can donate supplies for kids, volunteer your time, or contribute food to the food pantry. Sponsor a birthday party, tutor, or help in the kitchen!
Sponsor or adopt a big cat through the Exotic Feline Rescue Center.
Join the Swope Art Hoppers or attend one of their many events to support art and the Swope Art Museum.
Ryve’s Hall Youth Center accepts volunteers at 1356 Locust Street.
Take the first steps to becoming a foster family by using the checklist provided in THIS POST.
Two notable Salvation Army opportunities are ringing the bell for the Red Kettle campaign and/or dropping off gifts for Toys for Tots.
CODA (Council on Domestic Abuse) is a local nonprofit that focuses on domestic abuse issues.
Habitat for Humanity and Habitat ReStore accept donations and volunteers.
Donate or volunteer at Catholic Charities Foodbank. Visit their website (HERE) for volunteer opportunities.
Love animals? Get involved at the Terre Haute Humane Shelter. Must be 16 or older to volunteer. Needs include clerical work, photographing the animals, staffing events, manual labor, grooming, and foster care.
Spend your time with books and book-loving friends at the Vigo County Public Library.