Need more ideas on how to volunteer with your family and stay safe during the pandemic? Try one of the following:
Make masks
Making cloth face masks is a great way to volunteer safely from home and help stop the spread of coronavirus. The CDC provides instructions for making both sewn and no-sew masks. You can either donate the masks or sell them and donate the proceeds to charity.
Create cards
Kids can write letters or make cards for troops through A Million Thanks, for the elderly through Love for Our Elders or for sick children through Cards for Hospitalized Kids. You can also contact local hospitals and nursing homes to see if they’ll accept cards or have your kids send thank-you notes to firefighters, health-care workers or other community helpers.
Head outdoors
Search Keep America Beautiful to find a local community cleanup day, or you can head outside as a family to pick up trash. Start a garden to grow vegetables to donate to a local food pantry. Have your child write sidewalk chalk messages to offer encouragement to neighbors during the pandemic or take part in a virtual walk or run to raise money for charity.
Go virtual
On Volunteer Match you can search specifically for virtual opportunities and filter the ones that are great for kids or teens. You can also contact your local chamber of commerce to find nearby organizations that need volunteers. Or simply contact an organization you’d like to support and ask how your family can help.
A version of this story originally appeared in the November 2020 issue of Washington FAMILY.
