stefania4
11-30-2006, 04:57 PM
I've worked in/with social services for years, and the holidays are a very busy and important time for agencies as well as families. For whatever it's worth, here are some thoughts:
a) Follow your heart. There are millions of unmet needs, and one of them will "speak" to you. Listen.
b) You are not a terrible person for not being drawn to a specific kind of work. People have told me they couldn't possibly, ever, be a rape crisis counselor in the ER like I was for several years. Know what? The first person who told me that was a hospice nurse, and no matter how much I appreciate the work that hospice does, I couldn't ever do it myself. No big deal.
c) Involving children in volunteer work is a wonderful way to spend time together as a family and share some important lessons about giving, faith (if your family embraces a spiritual path), and gratitude.
But please, please be sure the activity is both age-appropriate and child-appropriate. Just like adults are drawn to specific works, so are children. They will get much more out of the experience if it's something they can relate to. And if you are not familiar with the agency, please check it out before bringing your kids there. I once had to talk a woman out of bringing her 6-year-old to a seriously gritty downtown homeless shelter near the prison and, um, the "ladies of the evening" corridor. That is simply not appropriate. If your kid loves to be outside, then try planting trees or doing a river clean-up. If your child loves art class, then try to find a mural-painting project, and so on.
d) Just because it's not fun to shop for doesn't mean it's not desperately needed! One director told me that a donation of 3 boxes of copy paper was what she was most grateful for one Christmas. Healthcare providers can use pharmacy gift cards, child-focused agencies can always use art supplies and tissues and band-aids, homeless shelters need sheets & towels and detergent, etc.
e) Children need exposure to positive adult males. I can (and do) go change diapers, fix dinners, play, etc. with the special-needs toddlers I volunteer with. But I am one of literally hundreds of women they see, and my husband is one of a handful of men that they interact with. Children who have suffered abuse at the hands of men need repeated positive exposures to men in order to manage their fear and, unfortunately, more men then women are abusers and more women than men work & volunteer with children. I'll step off my soapbox now.
f) Canned food drives are great and are vitally important. Fresh fruits & veggies are quite a treat to those living in institutional situations. Please coordinate with the agency about what to bring, how much, etc. - many have limited refrigerator space.
Feel free to add your own thoughts...
a) Follow your heart. There are millions of unmet needs, and one of them will "speak" to you. Listen.
b) You are not a terrible person for not being drawn to a specific kind of work. People have told me they couldn't possibly, ever, be a rape crisis counselor in the ER like I was for several years. Know what? The first person who told me that was a hospice nurse, and no matter how much I appreciate the work that hospice does, I couldn't ever do it myself. No big deal.
c) Involving children in volunteer work is a wonderful way to spend time together as a family and share some important lessons about giving, faith (if your family embraces a spiritual path), and gratitude.
But please, please be sure the activity is both age-appropriate and child-appropriate. Just like adults are drawn to specific works, so are children. They will get much more out of the experience if it's something they can relate to. And if you are not familiar with the agency, please check it out before bringing your kids there. I once had to talk a woman out of bringing her 6-year-old to a seriously gritty downtown homeless shelter near the prison and, um, the "ladies of the evening" corridor. That is simply not appropriate. If your kid loves to be outside, then try planting trees or doing a river clean-up. If your child loves art class, then try to find a mural-painting project, and so on.
d) Just because it's not fun to shop for doesn't mean it's not desperately needed! One director told me that a donation of 3 boxes of copy paper was what she was most grateful for one Christmas. Healthcare providers can use pharmacy gift cards, child-focused agencies can always use art supplies and tissues and band-aids, homeless shelters need sheets & towels and detergent, etc.
e) Children need exposure to positive adult males. I can (and do) go change diapers, fix dinners, play, etc. with the special-needs toddlers I volunteer with. But I am one of literally hundreds of women they see, and my husband is one of a handful of men that they interact with. Children who have suffered abuse at the hands of men need repeated positive exposures to men in order to manage their fear and, unfortunately, more men then women are abusers and more women than men work & volunteer with children. I'll step off my soapbox now.
f) Canned food drives are great and are vitally important. Fresh fruits & veggies are quite a treat to those living in institutional situations. Please coordinate with the agency about what to bring, how much, etc. - many have limited refrigerator space.
Feel free to add your own thoughts...