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Hi everyone it is me Darla today blogging about something that I love to do during the holiday time – volunteering with my family to help those less fortunate. My girls have always been quite blessed and do have most of the the things they wish for in life. But I recall about four years ago, I was reading their lists to Santa and I was a bit shocked at how much they were asking for. It seemed that the girls thought Santa could bring the entire Toys r Us store to our home! Then a dear friend told me about how she and her family would volunteer on Christmas Eve for a local shelter where the children had an opportunity to win their very own bike. I instantly signed our family up and despite the girls’ protest about having to get up early on Christmas Eve – I was determined that we would volunteer at this shelter.

So at 3:00 am in the morning we drove to the shelter and I remember thinking how quiet and dark everything seemed to be. But as soon as we parked, we saw the crowd of families that lined the blocks around the shelter – all waiting for an opportunity to win a bike for this kids. When the shelter opened, Santa would greet each child and then give them an opportunity to draw from a hat that lucky ticket that said they got a bike. There is no way to describe what the faces of these kids looked like as they placed their hands in the hat praying and hoping to win that shiny new bike that they had stood in line since the day before. The parents would hug you so tightly when their kids won a bike often telling you that this was all that their child would be getting for Christmas. It was then that I saw the faces of my girls and noticed the tears that they had watching how grateful these children were for something that sometimes only one kid in their family was lucky to win. The day was long and I noticed that the girls were very quiet on the ride home. I wasn’t exactly sure how they took this all in since they were only 6 and 11 and then I heard a small voice say “Mom can we do this again next year please?” And we have volunteered at the same shelter now for the past 5 years and never have we forgotten how blessed we are to be able to share this day with other friends and family who want to make a difference in a child’s life. Here is a layout I did a few years ago to remember this family tradition we have to visit the shelter each year on Christmas Eve:

This was the start of my family’s volunteering and I was happily surprised to find out that the kids really love giving back to their local community. We have done beach clean-ups and painted shelters. We have planted flowers for the nuns at our church and collected coats for our local shelters during the wintertime. We have worked at many food banks and have built fences for horses at our local parks. I have involved my girl scout troop on many of our volunteer activities and have been humbled at how giving these children are when asked to help out.

According to the Kids Care Clubs network, volunteering helps kids develop positive self-esteem and learn valuable life lessons. Volunteering as a family is a terrific way to start off and this Saturday, November 19th is Family Volunteer Day – an organized day that is set aside for families to help give back to their local communities. If you are not sure where to start or are looking for ideas on what to do – check out this fantastic kid site – Generation On that has lots of information on it. Disney also has their own site for their Friends for Change volunteer program aimed at getting kids out there helping others. Volunteering with your kids doesn’t have to be some big, grand project – it can be as simple as visiting your local senior center with Christmas cards or bringing old towels to your local animal shelter to help keep them warm during the cold months ahead. Go ahead and give it a try – you will definitely come away with a stronger sense of family and love for one another. 🙂