How to help kids find suitable volunteering opportunities

Volunteering is a great way for people to give back to their communities. Many people give back out of a desire to help others, but those same individuals may acknowledge that volunteering benefits volunteers most of all.

Various studies examining the benefits of volunteering on volunteers have been conducted in recent years. Seniors and retirees who volunteer often cite the sense of purpose that giving back provides. But it’s not just adults who benefit from volunteering. In fact, there have been reports that volunteerism promotes positive citizenship among youth, contributes to youths’ identity development and increases their self-esteem. Volunteering also helps youth develop empathy for others.

Parents who want their children to reap the rewards of volunteering can try the following strategies:

Use the internet as it is a great

resource for aspiring volunteers.

A great resource is volunteermatch. org as it partners with more than 130,000 nonprofit organizations to help them find volunteers. Chat with school leaders. A child’s school is another great place to find volunteer needs and organizations. Extracurricular activities like school-sponsored clubs may organize volunteering excursions throughout the school year. Educators, including school principals, teachers and guidance counselors, also can help parents find the right volunteering opportunities for their children. Check with local churches. Like schools, local churches often sponsor youth-based volunteering activities. Many churches encourage all youth to join in their efforts, including those who are not members of their congregations.

VOLUNTEERING BENEFITS YOUNG PEOPLE IN MYRIAD WAYS, ESPECIALLY WHEN KIDS FIND AN OPPORTUNITY THEY CAN BE PASSIONATE ABOUT.

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Geneva from Page 28

QIn what ways does your company give back and how do you encourage your employees to give back/volunteer?

AServing on our internal Community Reinvestment Committee (CRC) is one of the biggest ways the Geneva Capital team gives back. The CRC facilitates all philanthropic requests and directs funds to MANY local causes. We host two monthly events where a small group provides either a lunch or appetizers and cocktails for the entire team. Each attendee makes a free-will donation from their own pockets, and the company matches all funds raised – times two! Funds are donated to the beneficiary of the organizers’ choosing. To date, the CRC has reinvested over $1.5 million in our local communities. For several years now, Geneva Capital has also coordinated a Holiday Pay-It-Forward campaign with allotments of up to $1,000 per employee to be donated as each employee deems appropriate. The Geneva Capital team is encouraged to use paid volunteer time to participate in local initiatives like the United Way Food Drop, grade school lunch buddies and more. A couple other passion projects for our team are the Alexandria Area High School Shark Tank event and our summer internship program. It’s our hope that we can continue to mentor Alexandria’s young people. After all, they’re the future of our community!

QIs there one particular cause or nonprofit organization you will always donate to and why?

AYOUTH! When selecting where our CRC funds go, the committee looks at the following criteria: Local Immediate need Impacts youth We try to help out however we can with family hardships, medical emergencies and more. We also get to support youth sports, fun school activities and many other healthy outlets for kids. We’re firm believers that investing in local youth today will have long-lasting benefits for our businesses and our city in the future. “Giving back” doesn’t always have to be a reactionary response to hardships. We can also give time and resources to our youth in hopes of setting our community up for greater success down the road. After all, the next generation of Alexandria’s community and business leaders are the ones who will keep Alexandria growing and thriving long into the future.

ANDREW CAVERS

President, Geneva Capital