5 Reasons Volunteering Benefits Your Family

Encouraging Family Time Through Volunteering

How Volunteering Can Help You Spend More Time With Your Kids

by Nick Carroccio

Our daily lives are filled to the breaking point with work, chores, and school. All these activities sometimes fall short of the fulfillment we crave. May I suggest you can find that complete satisfaction by volunteering for our children? There are few things in this world as fulfilling as seeing the excitement, pride, and a great big ear to ear smile on a child’s face.

As a young boy, I was blessed with very involved parents. They made time in their schedule for things we could do together. There is no doubt in my mind that my dad had as much fun in Boy Scouts as I did, and that the time together brought us closer. Thanks to my parents I derive that same joy with my children and with being a volunteer.

Today as a parent I get to pay it forward with my daughters. My oldest took an interest in my tournament Bass fishing. When she asked to go fun fishing with me the first time at the age of 3, of course I was happy but thought it would be one time and out. I was happily surprised when she not only had fun but asked to go again.  Just when I didn’t think it could get any better, my 4 year old has started fishing as well.  Of course “catching” is more fun than fishing but the time we spend together is priceless.

A natural extension of spending time with our own children is volunteering for the benefit of children in our community.  In case you need some, here are 5 great reasons to volunteer:

1)    Do more of what you already love.
Being part of the fishing world I knew the Texas BASS Federation Nation had a youth program. With a little research and a little help we got our region up and running, providing a resource for our kids to learn and have fun.  Four years later I am now the State Youth Director.

2)    Show your children how to give back.
Allowing your children to see how they can affect other people’s lives is a great gift to pass on to them.  Fostering this philosophy when they are young means they are more likely to stay involved in the community throughout those pesky teenage years.

3)    Get outside the box.
So you’re not very good at soccer or basketball–why not volunteer as a coach or assistant coach?  You can use it as an opportunity to learn a new skill with your child or even make it part of your own “workout time”.

4)    Money only goes so far.
Time is our most valuable asset. You can’t earn more and you can’t get it back. Spending more time and less money is a great investment in your child and our community.  Being a volunteer can also help us appreciate what we have more, when we see how fortunate we are.

5)    Build a trusted bond with your child.
Volunteering creates an opportunity to work side by side with your children and other family members.  Sometimes the best communication with our children comes as a side product from just being together, and this is a way to spend time working on a common goal.

I asked my 7-year-old what she liked about fishing and she replied “Two things. I think it is fun and I get to spend time with you.”  That’s good enough for me.

Nick Carroccio is a SpecialCareTM Planner with the Nexus SpecialCare Planning Team. Working  with families with special need situations planning for future life events. He is also the Texas BASS Federation Nation State Youth Director and very involved with several other local organizations. You may contact Nick at 972-839-6723 or at ncarroccio@finsvcs.com

 

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