Family Friendly Service Project

giving back • parenting • tips for giving back • bettering communities • ages and stages

by Mom It Forward on November 5th, 2015 | No Comments »

I have four kids and their ages very from elementary school age to a senior in high school. With kids of all ages you might think it is difficult to find a service project that we can all participate in and enjoy equally. But in reality, finding a family friendly service project is much easier than you think.

Tips for Involving Kids in Family Service Projects

Here are some tips to help you plan family friendly service projects:

Involve the kids as much as possible. It will keep them interested and invested.
Let them be in charge of a piece of the project. They will shine with responsibility.
Plan a project that uses the kids talents and interests - not just yours.

Family Service Project Perfect for Families

This year at our Family Forward Adventure in Orlando, Florida we kicked off the event with an amazing service project that everyone can replicate at home!

Our sponsor for the opening event was Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.They raise funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations they raise stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. The organization has been around since 1983 and has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity’s Miracle Balloon icon. We heard from Nathan, who has Mitochondrial Disease, (a degenerative disorder that attacks the mitochondria – the source that creates enough energy for the body’s systems to sustain function and support growth) and his mom. They are an amazing family who is so inspiring you can’t help but love them from the start!

Then as families we put together toiletry kits and wrote letters for children that are currently residing in the hospital. CMN Hospitals' partner Convenience Valet supplied the Away From Home Kits for the attendees at the Family Forward Orlando retreat this year. We had everyday items such as:

combs
shaving cream
razors
mouthwash
toothbrushes
toothpaste
deodorant

With these items we packaged hundreds of kits that were then set to the families currently staying in the hospital.

Think about how easy this project would be to recreate at home! This would be an easy project for a family, church group, scout troop, or after school group. Here is more info if you want to do an assembly party at home: CMN Hospitals’ partner Convenience Valet, will ship kit contents for $6 per kit. Contact Kieriay Moyer at kmoyer [@] cmnhospitals.org

Additional Tips for Performing Community Service as a Family

If you are looking for ways your family can spend quality time together and develop stronger relationships, add community service to your family's schedule and watch how it not only helps improves the lives of the people you serve, but how it helps improve your family's bonds as well. For more tips on performing community service as a family, check out the following posts:

*Thank you to IZZE who graciously donated all the beverages for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals event.