collaborative guest post
Children are the future and giving them the skills and confidence to reach their potential is a fantastic gift. It can be hard to know the best way to support children. You will find a lot of wonderful parenting tips from gifts for teachers to holiday camp ideas on Twins Tantrums and Cold Coffee. If you want to give your time and expertise to help young people, here are five ways you can support children in your community.
Run a Group for Young People to Socialise
The coronavirus lockdowns affected the way we socialised, and for many children and young people, this meant they missed out on key stages of social development. Since groups have been able to meet up again, there is high demand for these opportunities for children to get together away from school. Youth clubs are sometimes run through churches or other community groups and there are also well-established uniformed groups such as Girl Guides and Scouts who are always happy to welcome volunteers.
Share Your Sporting Skills
If fitness is your superpower, why not get involved with supporting your local sports club? From cricket to football, hockey to tennis, there is a wealth of sports groups who are looking for volunteers to help with running junior programmes. If you would prefer to get involved behind the scenes, there are other supporting roles such as admin and treasurer positions which can often be done from home and are more flexible – perfect for people who work shifts but still want to get involved.
Back to School
If you have children of school age, there may be opportunities for you to get involved with fundraising activities through the parent teacher association. This could include helping at discos, baking for a cake sale, or running a stall at the summer fete. One of the advantages of this kind of volunteering is that you can give as much or as little as you like to it, opting out if it coincides with an especially busy time. There are also opportunities to help guide a school through the governing body – you do not have to have a child attending the school to apply for any vacancies.
Fostering the Future
Do you have a spare bedroom? If so, you could be able to welcome a foster child into your home. Becoming a foster carer is a rewarding role with lots of expert support from agencies such as fosteringpeople.co.uk, social workers and other specialists. There is also the opportunity to undergo training and connect with other foster families in your area, meaning you are part of a network committed to giving vulnerable children a chance to thrive.
Rewarding Reading
The importance of reading and having access to books has been well highlighted over the past few years, with schemes such as Coram Beanstalk encouraging people to volunteer to help children develop their reading skills. Teachers report that the charity has had an influence on pupils’ capabilities as well as encouraging a joy in reading. An ideal opportunity for bibliophiles to share their love of literacy!
However you give your time, you will be shaping the future generation. On behalf of the children – thank you.
