Parent-child volunteering fuses bonding and purpose
Whether it’s a father taking his son fishing or a mother and daughter planting flowers together, these kinds of bonding activities are what being a parent is all about.
Yet parents often overlook an activity that is just as meaningful: volunteering together.
Here at The Salvation Army, we are blessed to witness and facilitate volunteer activities shared between parents and their children. This comes in many forms, be it helping at our food shelves, or ringing bells during the Christmas season. Recently, an 8-year-old girl took things even further by gathering sock donations and distributing them with her parents at the West 7th Salvation Army in St. Paul.
Indeed, parent-child volunteering is wonderful on many levels.
“It’s a great way to not only build a stronger relationship with each other, but to build a stronger community at the same time,” said Jessyca Duerr, Salvation Army Northern Division volunteer director. “We love seeing family members volunteer together, and we hear time and again how meaningful it is for them. Family bonding with a global purpose – it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Volunteer Bob LaBombard (pictured right) agrees. Last month, he recruited his son, Tim (pictured below), to join him in serving hot meals at The Salvation Army Harbor Light Shelter in Minneapolis. Both had volunteered before, but not together.
“This is awesome,” said Tim, 23, while handing out juice cups to dozens of homeless men lining up for a free hot meal. “It’s humbling. Makes you realize what everything’s about.”
Bob has been donating to The Salvation Army for more than five years, but hadn’t volunteered for us until several months ago.
“I wanted to get more involved,” Bob said, adding that he has committed to volunteering once a month for the next year. “I have my own life, business and family, and I think that’s pretty insular. I want to make sure I’m aware of others in this community.”
Bob and Tim came away from their volunteer shift with a new appreciation of the people they served and of each other.
“I really enjoyed talking to (Tim) about the experience afterward,” Bob said. “We talked about the tremendous need in the community and that the people being served were good people who just needed some help to get back on their feet.”
Open your own eyes to people in need by volunteering for The Salvation Army with your kids. Together, you’ll change lives and make lasting memories.
Editor’s note: Most volunteer activities require kids to be at least 12 years old, or in some cases, 16. Thrift store volunteers must be 18 or older. There is no minimum age for bell ringing, assuming children under age 16 are supervised.