January of 2009 I wrote a post called Teaching our kids: Facts about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a way to celebrate the holiday. In 1994 Congress charged the Corporation for National and Community Service to encourage Americans to use the holiday as a national day of service.

Last year, President Obama asked us to ruminate on the messages and legacy of Dr. King’s dream and reminded people volunteering is a path to honor this man who made such a difference to people everywhere.  

In these difficult times, families are seeking more practical ways to spend time together and volunteering is a solution more people are turning towards.  It is a great way to instill values of community and philanthropy. Research shows that kids with parents who volunteer are often better students and will be more likely to volunteer as adults themselves.

A Gallup survey was conducted last year and more than a third of American households said volunteering together is part of their family life. Helping older people, working with youth programs, and helping church or religious programs were the most common activities. Nearly half of volunteer families assist in sports or school programs. A quarter are involved in serving the homeless and a third are involved in environmental programs.

In the spirit of the day, please share below: What experiences do you have volunteering as a family? What are you going to do to make a difference in the community?

  Book Covers and other products from the award winning Bur Bur and Friend’s children’s book series: Bur Bur and Friends is a cast of multicultural characters who help kids cultivate their self-esteem and talents by teaching them about sports, outdoor exploration and active play though their experiences. Bur Bur and Friends characters are based off of real life kids like yours!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 11:22 pm and is filed under Community Board. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.