THE TOOL KIT
Recruiting Families to Volunteer Can Help Overstretched Charities
By Jennifer C. Berkshire
WHEN HEATHER JACK went looking for a charity where she and her then 5-year-old daughter
might volunteer together, she didn’t find
many takers. While plenty of nonprofit
organizations were eager for Ms. Jack’s
help, few showed any interest in accommodating a very young volunteer.
Her frustration at the experience
prompted Ms. Jack to start the Volunteer Family, a nonprofit network in Boston that helps families identify charities
where they might give time—together.
The online service currently lists 30,000
such opportunities in 40 states.
“Parents really want to teach their
kids to give back,” says Ms. Jack. “My
goal was to make it easier for them to
find meaningful volunteer opportuni-
ties for the whole family.”
A growing number of charities are re-
sponding to the emerging demand for
family-friendly volunteering. Nonprofit
leaders note that parents today often
grew up volunteering—and want their
children to have that same experience.
“The parents understand that volunteering puts you on a path to service,”
says Kathy Saulitis, interim associate
executive director of GenerationOn, in
New York, the new youth-service division of the Points of Light Institute.
(See article below.)
And with parents and kids alike at
the mercy of busy schedules, allowing
families to volunteer together provides
them with something that’s often missing from their hectic lives: time spent
together. “Offering families a way to
German-language private school in Red
Bank, N.J. “In order to get people to
commit to anything, you have to start
small and let people pick and choose
things that fit into their schedules.”
Ms. Musa offers volunteering oppor-
tunities in increments as brief as an
hour, then asks families to commit to
“In order to get
people to commit
to anything,
you have
to start small.”
COURTESY OF DIABETES RESEARCH INS TI TU TE
Amy, Noah, and Barbara Singer help raise money for the Diabetes
Research Institute at an event called “On the Right Track.”
share a meaningful experience is a real
draw,” says Ms. Saulitis.
For charities still feeling the reces-
sion’s pinch, the trend toward fam-
ily volunteering can mean a new pool
of potential helpers. But providing op-
portunities for these intergenerational
volunteers—and getting the most out
of their service—takes work. Follow-
ing are some tips from charity leaders
on how to create chances for families to
give their time together:
A New Effort Intends to Teach Kids
of All Ages About Ways to Help Others
ANEW CHARITY seeks to help chil- dren, even preschoolers, make their mark on the world through
volunteering.
GenerationOn, an effort announced
in October by the Points of Light Institute, in Washington, is being supported
by a $5-million donation from the Hasbro Children’s Fund, the philanthropic
division of the Pawtucket, R.I., toymak-er. The gift will be distributed over five
years.
The program, which will be international in scope, “will be the platform for
all youth-service and community organizations to work together to help kids
discover their potential through the
transformative power of service,” says
Michelle Nunn, chief executive of the
Points of Light Institute.
Lesson Plans
GenerationOn will combine the ef-
forts of several youth-service charities,
including Children for Children, the
League, Learning to Give, and Kids
Care Clubs. The new organization,
with headquarters in New York, will
focus on school-age children from pre-
kindergarten all the way through high
school. GenerationOn’s Web site already
includes some 1,400 service and philan-
thropic lesson plans for all grade levels.
The Web site also includes suggestions
for hands-on projects for young volun-
teers.
GENERATION ON
GenerationOn, a global program to spur volunteering, began in October
with a $5-million pledge from the Hasbro Children’s Fund.
