While there is no shortage of summertime activities that families can partake in to celebrate National Family Fun Month in August, volunteering provides a unique opportunity to spend quality time together while enriching your and your children’s lives by serving others.
Volunteering teaches both kids and adults valuable lessons about working as a team and having pride in contributing towards a common goal. These character-building activities carry over into the way we approach work, school, and relationships. Volunteers often find a new sense of purpose, meaning, and appreciation for what can easily be taken for granted in their personal lives and in their community.
Not only does helping others keep us engaged in our neighborhoods while improving our relationship-building skills, but studies also show that it has a positive impact on our overall well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, being of service positively impacts your physical and mental health by keeping you active, which reduces stress and increases happiness by releasing dopamine.
Volunteering is also a great teacher and expands our horizons. We often develop new skills or gain real-life experience in interests we don’t pursue in our daily lives, which broadens our interests, and hobbies and can even shape and inspire the work we do for a living. A cornerstone of volunteering is meeting new people and forging new relationships, proven to be a vital part of our mental and emotional health as human beings.
You don’t have to look further than your own backyard to find a good match for your family to volunteer in the South LA community during National Family Fun Month:
- Let’s Be Whole Food Distribution Event
Let’s Be Whole Healthy Food Distribution is a program that helps local families in the community access healthy food. These events are held each week in various LA areas and the organization is always looking for volunteers in their respective neighborhoods.
To get involved with this organization, click here.
- LA Works Families Active in Volunteer Enrichment
LA Works is one of the most well-known places to volunteer in LA and seeks volunteers for the various services they provide, including aid to the homeless, youth, seniors, abused women, and more. They even have a program designated for families that want to volunteer together, making it easy for everyone to play a part.
Click here for the volunteer calendar.
- Experience Christian Ministries
Experience Christian Ministries (ECM) describes itself as an “out of the box, but in the word” church that hosts various opportunities for the local LA community, such as computer literacy and learning classes, throughout the year.
You can find out about current volunteer opportunities by emailing volunteers4ecm@gmail.com.
- 1 Shine Youth Center
1 Shine Youth is a local LA organization that provides youth and teens with a safe environment for participating in programs with a focus on performing arts, leadership, and academics.
Learn more and get connected by clicking here.
There are many other ways for your family to get involved in your community and organizations are always looking for—and rely on—volunteers to contribute their time and energy to their programs. If you can’t find a direct link on an organization’s website, don’t hesitate to call their main number to be directed to a membership director who can help you navigate current volunteer opportunities.
A great place to begin is to speak to your family about their likes and interests and start your own search to get involved with a worthy organization that needs your help. Coming together to support others will bring your family closer together well beyond the last weeks of summer.