At-Home Volunteer Opportunities for Kids

Kelly R. said:  Families can help Operation Gratitude in their work to provide care packages to military, first responder, and healthcare worker heroes through a variety of hands-on virtual volunteer opportunities for kids. Options include crafting paracord survival bracelets, knitting handmade scarves and hats, writing letters of thanks, and creating blank greeting cards that deployed troops can use to write home to loved ones. Some activities will even earn kids community service hours from Operation Gratitude.

Kelly R. said:  Project Linus provides comfort and security to ill and traumatized children through lovingly handmade blankets. Volunteer "blanketeers" are needed to create homemade blankets of all sizes and styles, from knit blankets to quilts to easy no-sew fleece blankets. They even provide free patterns for your family to get started. Volunteers drop off blankets at local chapters located around the country.

Kelly R. said:  Temporary fostering of a pet provides a safe home for an animal in need while he waits to be paired with his forever family. This frees up space in shelters to create room for more dogs and cats, gets the pets ready for adoption, and helps animals with socialization and getting used to being around kids. This is a way to give your family the experience of having a pet without committing long-term, and will teach your kids life lessons in caring for animals. Check with local rescues in your area to learn more.

Kristy Pepping said:  Food pantries are not always stocked or may offer limited hours. A great way to support local families in need of food or other personal items is with Family-to-Family. This organization matches you with a family in need. Kids can make care packages of the items the family needs and send these off once a month.

Shila said:  CHD Living operates a large group of care homes and services based in Surrey, England. Its “Adopt a Grandparent” program invites friendly faces from around the world to become a virtual volunteer penpal via phone or video calls (Zoom, WhatsApp, Facetime, Skype, etc.). This is a touching way to lift the spirits of many, help combat COVID-19 isolation and loneliness, and foster a great sense of community - near or far! Engage in a quick chat to say hello, or pick from many fun and easy games to play over the screen.

Kelly R. said:  The Warm Up America! Foundation provides handmade blankets and warm accessories to fulfill requests from homeless shelters, battered women's shelters, hospices and more organizations serving people in need.

Volunteers contribute individual 7" by 9" knitted or crocheted sections that are then joined together to form a full blanket. Donations of full afghans, scarves and hats are also accepted and all contributions can be sent in through the mail to the foundation's office in Texas. These fun service projects for kids and families offer an opportunity to learn and practice a new skill, and needlework is a relaxing activity for all ages.

Alexandra F. said:  Zooniverse makes it possible for anyone to contribute to real scientific research, and is a great way to volunteer from home and supplement at-home learning for kids.

Volunteers choose from a wide variety of projects in different scientific fields and are generally asked to answer simple questions about documents, images and/or videos provided through the Zooniverse online platform.

My teen has enjoyed working on a space-related project, and there are often projects tracking animals in the wild which may be especially interesting for kids! Minors sign up with a parent's permission and email address.

Kelly R. said:  Freerice is an online quiz game created by the World Food Programme, a humanitarian organization working around the world to end hunger. Kids can answer questions about a variety of subjects including vocabulary, math, geography and literature, and difficulty can be adjusted to the right level for your child. Each correct answer earns the WFP a donation equivalent to the cost of 10 grains of rice from ad sponsors. It's educational screen time that gives back!

Kristy Pepping said:  Kids outgrow clothes and toys. A great way to empower them is to have them go through these items and consider what they can give away to those less fortunate. Not only will it help them organize their closet and toys, but they will be giving in the process.

Donation Town is a nationwide donation service that makes it easy to type in your address, select a charity to donate to in your area and schedule a time for them to pick up the goods from your home.

Kristy Pepping said:  Do Something Good is the largest not-for-profit for kids who want to see social change. It's a digital platform so work can be done virtually from home. There are several active campaigns to choose from. Some of these include collecting jeans for kids, donating personal care products for kids and creating self-esteem messages.

Kelly R. said:  Sole Hope provides treatment, protective shoes, and prevention education to people in Uganda suffering from jiggers. Jiggers are debilitating parasites that infect the feet of children and adults, causing even simple activities like playing and going to school to be impossible.

"Shoe Parties" provide volunteer opportunities for kids and families to complete together. You will help your old jeans take the first step in their journey to becoming shoes by tracing, cutting and pinning pattern pieces. You'll need to purchase a Shoe Party Kit, which comes with instructional materials, a sample shoe and tracing pattern.

The cost of the kit sponsors the construction of 10 pairs of shoes: transporting the materials to Uganda, paying the wages of the Ugandan tailors who construct the shoes, and getting the finished shoes to people in need.

GivingFactoryDirect said:  Looking for somewhere to donate your high quality new and gently-used children’s clothing? Giving Factory Direct matches you with a child experiencing clothing insecurity, and provides a pre-paid UPS shipping label so you can ship clothing directly to a child who needs it.

How It Works: Create an account to let us know what size and gender of clothing you'd like to give, and you will be matched to a child at one of our verified nonprofit partners within 30 days. Giving Factory Direct serves children ages 0-12 living in homeless or low-income situations, and accepts clothing in sizes newborn to adult medium.

When donating, please use Group Code Upparent2022

Alexandra F. said:  Chicagoland's premier family volunteering organization has introduced a new way to volunteer with kids, all from the comfort and safety of home! Browse their new virtual volunteer program linked above for opportunities to volunteer as a family on such issues as food accessibility, housing insecurity, and community health. The site provides lesson plans, introduces relevant non-profits working on these issues and ways you can support them, and offers kid-friendly conversation starters to begin exploring these big and challenging topics as a family.

Alexandra F. said:  If you and your children can sew, knit, crochet, or quilt (or are considering picking these up as new hobbies for the kids), consider making blankets for children in need through Binky Patrol. Binky Patrol works through their local chapters around the United States to get handmade blankets to various organizations serving children, including foster care, hospitals, and shelters. You can find patterns and details about how to help on their website, as well as addresses for local chapters and where you can send completed binkies.

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