Time to Volunteer

I have wanted to volunteer more with the kids in the past, but when they were in school all day they would be wiped out by time they got home, and then they had sports and other activities on evenings and weekends. Homeschooling provided me the perfect opportunity to volunteer with the kids during the day.

It took us awhile to figure out where we wanted to volunteer. I wanted something we could all do, and my preference was to work with people as opposed to objects. Aurora loves animals so we considered the animal shelter, but Denver's not into animals and nor am I. The local food pantry seemed to have plenty of volunteers already, as did Pic 'n' Pay. Aurora is a great teacher so I wanted to hook her up with a tutoring situation, but nothing came up. I liked the thought of working with seniors at Friendship Terrace, but wasn't sure how we could all do that together. I ran into the administrative assistant of Haven House, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, last spring at a Cub Scout event, and asked her about possibilities. She liked the idea, though wasn't exactly sure how we might fit in.

When we started homeschooling one of the things on the kids' weekly checklist was service/volunteering. They were supposed to put in 2 hours a week. I was so busy I didn't have time to find a place, but finally Denver was getting quite cranky about not being able to check this off his list so I got motivated. I turned in the volunteer application at Haven House and they suggested that we play with whatever kids might be there in the play room. Aurora and Denver were not sure about it, but were willing to give it a try.

Four months later, we are now regulars, playing with whatever kids might be at Haven House each week. We bring in games and activities from home, depending on the level of kids that are there. It has been good for all of us, and I know that each week when I leave I have a smile on my face. The kids that are there look forward to our coming and appreciate being able to play with kids in their "home." A shelter is not normally a place to invite kids over for playdates, so this can mean a lot to these kids to play with other kids on their own turf. And I think Aurora and Denver gain an appreciation of the normalcy of their lives. I have seen Aurora become a leader in this situation, organizing the games and teaching the kids the rules. And we all see each other in a different setting, which allows us to get to know each other better. Overall it is a great experience and one that I am glad we ended up in.