Do you ever stop to think about how your family is making a positive impact in the community? Did you know that volunteering is very healthy for your kids?

Along with the experience of giving back to your community and helping others, your child can also gain in other ways. Through volunteering they:

• discover their strengths and talents
• develop critical thinking and teamwork skills
• build self-esteem and confidence
• feel needed and valued

Your child can also give back to the community by entering the Meaning of Home writing contest. By submitting a composition, essay or poem, your child will realize his or her contributions can make a difference in someone's life.

In addition to great learning-based prizes for the best entries, your child just might be the reason a new Habitat home is built.

Are you new to Canada? If so, click here to learn why the Meaning of Home contest applies to your children.

It's not as hard as you think. In fact, volunteering can start at home. Your kids can help set the table, wash dishes, or read to a younger sibling. As a parent, you can be an active role model for your children. Showing them that you are involved is the best way to teach them. For example, if you water the plants for vacationing neighbours, bring your child along.

Participating in local charities as a family is a great way to take lessons from inside the home out into the community. Here are some great volunteer activities you can do with your family:

• Hold a garage sale and donate the funds to a charity
• Visit residents in your local seniors home - brighten their day with a game or even a simple chat
• Participate in a fundraising walk
• Help build a Habitat Home through Habitat for Humanity Canada

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