10 Reasons to be a Big-Hearted Family

Looking for more reasons to volunteer together and launch a family kindness practice? Here are ten!

  1. It’s great for your kids! Check out our 8 Essential Lessons Kids Learn by Doing Good as a Family.
     
  2.  It’s the ultimate multi-tasking. Spend quality time with your kids, teach important lessons, and make valuable contributions to your community at the same time.
     
  3. It’s a chance to model the key values you want to teach your children, like good citizenship, community responsibility, compassion and kindness.
     
  4. It may keep your kids out of trouble. Studies show that children who volunteer just one hour per week are less likely than other kids to get involved in destructive behaviors, such as smoking or drug and alcohol abuse.
     
  5. It’s good for your health. Adults who “give back” are happier and healthier than those who don’t. Lower stress, protect your heart, and improve your outlook on life by sharing kindness in your community.
     
  6. It makes families stronger. Your volunteer experience will spark many meaningful discussions about important personal and social issues.
     
  7. It can make you smarter. Hosting a foreign student can teach you about another culture; working to save the rainforest can teach you about ecology and biodiversity. And don’t forget the lessons in responsibility and team work.
     
  8. It can make us grateful for what we have, especially if the volunteer job involves homeless families, lonely seniors or hospitalized children. There’s nothing like volunteering to put problems into perspective.
     
  9. It inspires a generation of future volunteers. According to a 2002 report, adults who volunteered as children are two times more likely to be involved in community service as adults who didn’t. And those who volunteered as youth and whose parents volunteered are the most generous of all.
     
  10. It’s fun! There can be great joy in serving others, especially when you’re doing it with the ones you love.