One thing I always hoped to instill in my children is the importance of giving back to the community. I grew up volunteering in various ways but as an adult it has become much more difficult… I work on Saturdays and I have one son who doesn’t come home from school until 4 on the week days, and another child who is painfully shy and then the baby who gets fussy if he doesn’t nap, then of course there is house work to do, errands to run, friends I haven’t seen in far too long… Needless to say I’ve had trouble finding time to volunteer as much as I’d like ever.
Which is why I really love how HandsOn Greater Richmond is providing volunteer opportunities for both me and my kids that fit perfectly into my chaotic life.
Each month HandsOn has a DIY project you can do any time, any place (or you can even plan on doing it one day, but then really do it a couple days later). Find out more about HandsOn Greater Richmond’s DIY Volunteering initiative here.
We’ve partnered up with HandsOn and will post the DIY for the month here on Richmondmom.com, but you want to get out and about you can find more volunteering opportunities for you or the whole family on their website.
The May DIY is for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Check out the cause and supply list below. Once you express interest in participating, you’ll be given instructions on how to do that month’s DIY project.
This month’s DIY is in honor of National Mental Health Awareness Month and volunteers will be making “thank you” and “thinking of you” cards and stress balls for the families and caregivers of those living with mental illness. (Read more about NAMI here)
Supply List*:
• Balloons
• Rice
• Plastic sandwich bags
• Scissors
• Construction paper, scrapbook paper
• Markers, stamps, glitter, stickers, paint, etc.
• Glue*DIY Volunteers are responsible for purchasing any of the materials needed for DIY volunteer opportunities.
How To:
1. Express Interest here in the project to HandsOn. We’ll send you all the instructions needed to complete the project.
2. Every person who plans to volunteer (including youth) must express interest. You can create a volunteer team to sign up your group or family members. Read about how to create and manage teams.
3. Once you’ve expressed interest, complete instructions will be sent to you. We ask that you create at least 5 stress balls, 5 “thank you” cards and 5 “thinking of you” cards. There is no maximum. Expect the total project to be done in about 3 hours depending on the number of items made and the number of people you have volunteering with you.Confirmed participants will receive 3 hours for submitting materials prior to 4pm, Friday, June 13, 2014.
How do you teach your children to give back to the community?
