Community service is a crucial element to Chatsworth Hills Academy’s International Baccalaureate curriculum, giving our students the opportunity to learn the value of helping people and places in need! While the concept of community service may not make sense at first, young children as early as three years of age can begin to comprehend how integral volunteering can be for everyone. In order to help your child get involved with community services programs through CHA, our faculty and staff have put together a list of helpful tips and techniques below!
Be A Role Model
Young children love to mimic their parents, so give them the opportunity to follow your lead as a volunteer! Nearly 60% of young people that volunteer will become active community service members when they are adults. When you stay active in helping your community, your child will see just how impactful a helping hand can be. A simple way to start getting your child involved is through a community cleanup, such as picking up litter or trash at a park or communal area. This act will allow your child to see immediate results, sparking both excitement and the feeling of accomplishment.
Search For Fun Opportunities
Community service and volunteering doesn’t have to be boring! Ask your child what they are interested in, and then follow their lead. If your child loves animals, consider researching a local animal shelter or wildlife rescue center that is in need of an extra hand or two. From walking dogs to donating food for the animals, your child will experience the compassion involved with aiding a living being in need.
Make It Simple
Volunteering in your community or neighborhood doesn’t necessarily mean your out working in the hot sun all day! Community service can be as quick and easy as you want it to be. Picking up a gift for a toy drive, or donating old clothes are both simple tasks that will help the greater good of the entire community and help your child understand what it means to give selflessly.
Make Community Service Part Of Your Routine
Between school, work, sports, and events, family life is busy! The trick to community service is to build volunteering into your schedule so that it becomes a priority. If you make it part of the family routine, you can instill the notion that your family values giving their time and helping hands to those in need. Donating Thanksgiving meals during the holidays is a perfect way to get the entire family involved!
What CHA Students Can Learn From Volunteering:
A Sense Of Responsibility
Through community service, young children learn what it means to make and keep a commitment. They learn how to be on time for a job, do their best work, and to be proud of their results. They also learn that we’re all responsible for the well-being of our communities!
One Person Can Make A Difference
By volunteering, a child can see first hand that they have the power to make a difference in this world, no matter how big or small.
A Little Sacrifice Goes A Long Way
By giving up an old toy, or donating clothes to a less fortunate child, a child that participates in community service learns that sometimes it’s good to live without excess and learn that there are more important things besides ourselves and our immediate needs.
Tolerance & Compassion
Volunteering and community service can put children in touch with people of different backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, ages, and income levels. Your child will learn that even the most diverse individuals can be united by common values!
Get In Touch With Chatsworth Hills Academy Today!
Getting your child interested in volunteering at a young age will teach them the compassion needed to be active, lifelong members of their community! From donating Thanksgiving meals to a family in need, to cleaning up litter from a community park, your child will begin to understand that a little generosity can go a long way. For more information on how to get your child interested in becoming active members of their community, contact CHA today! We look forward to helping your child become an altruistic citizen of our beautiful earth!
