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Generation SERVE is a bridge that introduces families to local nonprofits. Together we can make an even bigger impact on our community. This holiday season find more ways than just our calendar that you can volunteer locally and the reasons that your support is so important.
If looking at the guide on your desktop, please hover your mouse over the cover and click when you see an arrow. If you need to go back, move the mouse to the left side of the document until you see an arrow in the opposite direction and click backwards. Looking to support Generation SERVE this #GivingSeason? Learn about our #GivingTuesday campaign today! Family Volunteer Day 2022 was a success thanks to the families, sponsors, and Central Texas nonprofits who helped make the day extra special. This year's event included puppies, worms, a DJ, Generation SERVE's Teen Advisory Board learning about how you will change the world, and over 25 volunteer projects that went to 28 partner nonprofits. Together we made an in-kind and time donation equivalent to $17,780!
As a community of volunteers, it can be easy to underestimate your impact. It can even feel like you aren't making that big of a difference. YOU ARE!!! Days like Family Volunteer Day demonstrate what we can do when we all do a little. They also show us how an hour and a half can spark hours of conversations and learning. Together we can always do more. Thank you for volunteering through Generation SERVE and continuing to spark the love of volunteering with your children. Sign up for your next event today! Generation SERVE is on a mission to create a generation of empathetic community-minded leaders. Through our volunteer activities we are often the catalyst for families to begin important conversations. But even when we aren’t, we want to be a resource for parents and families to begin their research so that conversations around the dinner table can be meaningful, clear, and informative.
Common Sense Media, Kids Peace, Learning to Give, The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and Sandy Hook Promise are national programs organized to help parents, teachers, and anyone caring for children understand school violence, among other violent tragedies. All of the resources provided emphasize meeting your child where they are when deciding how to address trauma as a family. How to talk to young children:
How to talk to your older children:
Looking to be part of the solution? The following are non-profit partners in Austin that Generation SERVE volunteers support in their efforts to end domestic violence, educate around the impact of bullying, and support the needs of refugees. Hope Alliance One Million Stars of Texas Refugee Services of Texas The SAFE Alliance Texas Advocacy Project, Inc. We are working to improve our resources. What service area would you like to learn about next? Leave us a comment and let us know. March, 2022- Hi Readers! Welcome back to the Generation SERVE blog! My name is Jaya Mahajan, and I am 17 years old. I am so glad to be writing this blog post for Generation SERVE.
As far as my role in Generation SERVE, I am a member of TAB, which stands for the Teen Advisory Board. As a part of TAB, it is my job to assist with a variety of different things that help Generation SERVE to be the amazing nonprofit organization it is. For one, TAB fundraises for Generation SERVE through Bonfire, which has high quality merchandise designed by TAB teens that can be bought by you all. Fundraising is also done by TAB through GoFundMe, which allows anyone to support TAB with a monetary donation. I highly encourage you all to donate or purchase merchandise if you want to support Generation SERVE’s message “To engage children in volunteerism and empower them to make a difference in their communities”. TAB also aids Generation SERVE with the development of certain programs, such as Project Mentee and the Teen Leadership Academy. TAB members have created the lesson plans for the leadership training the Teen mentors go through to support Project Mentee. Those TAB members who help create the curriculum, lead such leadership training with the knowledge they have gained through being a part of TAB. Project Mentee is a program that encourages young kids to take initiative and become leaders in their community. I believe through Project Mentee and the Teen Leadership Academy we are helping to grow Austin’s newest group of service-minded individuals, and I think anyone ages 8-12 & 13-18 would highly benefit from applying. Applications are open until March 9th for both Project Mentee and Teen Leadership Academy. I encourage you to apply today! The Teen Advisory Board also focuses on spreading awareness for TAB and Generation SERVE’s initiatives, through social media. The TAB Instagram and Facebook handle is @genservetab and I would love for you all to follow it! We post fun content to engage our followers and give them up to date information on everything going on with TAB. I truly think TAB is an incredibly unique and impactful group of teens. The experiences I have been granted due to TAB have been extremely helpful for me to gain an edge over others my age. I have gained skills in writing, leading groups of various ages and demographics, public speaking, and marketing events. I think being a part of TAB will serve me well in my future, college and beyond. Of course due to Covid-19 many of our previous opportunities and activities were moved to a virtual setting, but we are working hard now to make almost all of our activities in person! Our goal is to get involved as closely as we can with the Austin community we love so much. Thank you for reading this blog post! Hopefully through this you have come to understand who TAB is in correlation with Generation SERVE! - Jaya Mahajan
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We have made many changes to our volunteer programs in response to our current reality, and this includes our upcoming Austin Families Give Back event in November. We started this event in 2017 as a community celebration of volunteerism, held on National Family Volunteer Day. The purpose of this event is to inspire families new to volunteering together to find causes and organizations they connect with, to share with them the joy of giving back together, and to kick off the holiday season with a day of doing good. Though the spirit of this event remains the same, the event itself will be very different this year, and we hope you will join us! |
Austin Families Give Back (At Home!) will combine the fun, hands-on, age appropriate activities with virtual events on Saturday, November 21st. Families will order supply kits from Generation SERVE and can pick them up the week prior to the event.
Each kit will include supplies and instructions for completing various service projects to benefit our partner nonprofits we work with year round. The virtual events will explain more about the projects and will be opportunities to learn more about volunteerism and service. Because of our generous sponsors, this event is free to the community. Spots are limited, and we hope that you join us! Thank you to our event sponsors who have made this possible: NI, Capital One, Maxwell, Locke & Ritter, H-E-B Central Texas Region and Whole Foods, and our media sponsors Do512 and the Austin American-Statesman |
You can learn more about this event here.
- Charli Krause, Program Director
- Charli Krause, Program Director
Over the summer months of June, July, and August, Generation SERVE held its 2nd annual Summer Volunteer-A-Thon in Austin and its first Summer Volunteer-A-Thon in Houston. We had over 150 families sign up expressing interest and had many families complete the challenge of volunteering for 10 hours or more over the summer!
We’re so proud of the families who participated, especially with most activities being completed from home or virtually this year. Please take a moment and read a few stories from some of the families who participated!
Hear from LauraLee Daigle’s family below.
We’re so proud of the families who participated, especially with most activities being completed from home or virtually this year. Please take a moment and read a few stories from some of the families who participated!
Hear from LauraLee Daigle’s family below.
“Like most we’re a little bit at loose ends this summer, stuck at home during Covid-19,” said LauraLee Daigle. “Generation SERVE projects were a great way for us to do fun little activities, while reminding ourselves that there's a big world out there and our problems aren't so bad.” “We were all always in a much better mood after doing a project,” she said. “The Volunteer-A-Thon was fun to participate in and it was nice to have a little bit of a visual tracker of the volunteering we did with Generation SERVE, Meals on Wheels, and the Junior League's Kids Giving Back program.” |
"Probably my favorite was the toys for the dogs and cats,” said Henry Hollis, LauraLee’s 9-year-old. “Because I feel like pets need stuff as much as we do. It was also pretty easy! I like that volunteering helps a bunch of people that need help. It makes me feel tired, but after I feel kind of happy about what I did." "My favorite project was the cards for the kids in hospitals,” said John Clayton, LauraLee’s 7-year-old. “It didn't take up much time, but hopefully made the kids in the hospital really happy." "I liked making the animal toys the best, because the materials were so soft,” said Ned, LauraLee’s 5-year-old. “I like that I'm helping others." |
Hear from Rachel Reedy’s family below.
“I discovered Generation SERVE about a year ago, but it was not until the pandemic that my family started volunteering with them,” said Rachel Reedy. “My children are young (age 3 and 6) so it is hard to find places that allow young children to volunteer, and honestly, it is hard to make the time commitment.” “The virtual service projects that Generation SERVE started offering in the spring were perfect for my family,” she said. “I loved the convenience and how easy they made it by providing all the ideas and instructions and how I could choose the projects that were appropriate for my kids ages. My kids and I especially loved the Little Helpers Stories that introduced the topic in a cute and kid-friendly way.” “Volunteering is important to me because I want to teach my kids the value of service and giving to others. I want them to understand how lucky they are to not worry about their next meal or where they are going to sleep each night and how so many kids and families are not that fortunate. I hope through learning about different social issues that they will also learn kindness, empathy and gratitude.” |
“Our favorite service project we did this summer was decorating and filling sack lunches for Kids’ Meals. I had only planned to decorate the bags but when the kids asked if we could fill them with food, I jumped on the opportunity to engage them further into the project. My kids got creative in decorating the paper lunch bags and were really into packing the lunches and making sure every bag had the right items. During the packing process we were having a nice conversation about where the lunch bags go and why the kids need them and I thought, ‘Wow they are really understanding this project.’”
“Then my son asked, ‘So why are we wasting our money on these people?’ Well, clearly my work here isn’t done! It was a good reminder though how at this age kids are developmentally self-centered and how it is hard to think of the needs of others. It is also hard for them to understand a concept they have not experienced. I also learned that I can’t expect them to finish a project in one sitting. The birthday cards we made took over a week to finish because the kids would only work on one or two cards per day. I also found that if I left the card making supplies or lunch bag decorating supplies out, they would come back to it on their own throughout that day to work on it.” |
“I hope we can volunteer in person with Generation SERVE soon, but I also hope they continue offering some virtual options. I love how Generation SERVE gave my family some guidance in how we can help our community during this tumultuous time.”
Hear from Liz Shoss’s family below.
“Alexis and Benjamin started volunteering at Generation SERVE this summer,” said Liz Shoss. “Their goal was to complete 10 hours of volunteer work for the Volunteer-A-Thon. Alexis decided to make cards for SEARCH and read books then wrote book reviews for an organization that wants to empower youth through literacy. The experience was great. She felt so good about helping and was glad she could combine her interests - reading and creating - with doing a mitzvah (good deed). Benjamin bundled diapers for BEARS, put together meals for Kids’ Meals, and made masks and snack packs for SEARCH. Benjamin was glad to help especially during this difficult pandemic when so many need help.”
“Our family made a goal to volunteer once a month together a year ago,” she said. “We were volunteering at Kids’ Meals, Undies for Everyone, Houston Food Bank and Books Between Kids. Once the pandemic hit, we had to get creative. Luckily Generation SERVE had at-home projects that we could all do together and individually. We are so thankful to have Generation SERVE guide and assist us in our volunteer work.”
Hear from Martha Garcia’s family below.
Hear from Liz Shoss’s family below.
“Alexis and Benjamin started volunteering at Generation SERVE this summer,” said Liz Shoss. “Their goal was to complete 10 hours of volunteer work for the Volunteer-A-Thon. Alexis decided to make cards for SEARCH and read books then wrote book reviews for an organization that wants to empower youth through literacy. The experience was great. She felt so good about helping and was glad she could combine her interests - reading and creating - with doing a mitzvah (good deed). Benjamin bundled diapers for BEARS, put together meals for Kids’ Meals, and made masks and snack packs for SEARCH. Benjamin was glad to help especially during this difficult pandemic when so many need help.”
“Our family made a goal to volunteer once a month together a year ago,” she said. “We were volunteering at Kids’ Meals, Undies for Everyone, Houston Food Bank and Books Between Kids. Once the pandemic hit, we had to get creative. Luckily Generation SERVE had at-home projects that we could all do together and individually. We are so thankful to have Generation SERVE guide and assist us in our volunteer work.”
Hear from Martha Garcia’s family below.
“I really enjoy volunteering over the summer with my kids,” said Martha Garcia. “This summer was the first summer that Julia’s younger brothers, Nicolas and Alex also participated. During this time of Covid-19, it was a wonderful way to connect with my kids while doing something meaningful and helpful for others.” “Volunteering to me was a great way to get out and get to do something for the greater good,” said Julia. “It made me feel good just knowing that somewhere, no matter how far away, I was making someone else feel good too. Whether they were adults in needs, kids who just wanted some reading time or a book read-aloud to them, people in special care communities or, our other fury (or feather-y) friends.” |
“This summer, I volunteered a lot at Generation SERVE and with a lot of other organizations and places; but, every time, it surprises me how much I REALLY enjoyed the experience as a whole,” she said. “It always gave a fuzzy feeling on the inside that I just couldn’t shake… and I didn’t want too! This positive and satisfying emotion, that always made me feel so good inside, makes me want to volunteer again and again, year after year. Just knowing that I was helping, me, an ordinary, 13-year-old girl, being able to make a difference, no matter how small, that is what I strive for, because good things come in small packages!” “I love seeing the faces of pride and accomplishment beaming from the faces of my children,” said Martha. “For them to realize that they can do something that has an impact on others in a positive way, is a beautiful experience to witness!” |
“Volunteering is a great way to reuse, reduce and recycle,” said Julia. “It can be taking apart old cardboard boxes and styrofoam all the way to turning an old T-shirt into reusable shopping bag for people who maybe can’t get their own. We were able to give away stuff that might have not been that useful to us, to people who actually might need it. We got the gift of giving out of these projects. Volunteering to me is a way of supporting those who can’t support themselves. I am a very empathetic person so I feel for others and feel like it’s my duty to help.”
“I have volunteered since I was a teenager, so showing my kids the importance of raising up the community through volunteerism is powerful and energy giving,” said Martha. “I love doing this with them. When I was in my 20s, I worked in different non-profits where I was the “Volunteer Manager”. It was always a struggle because we could never accept families as volunteers for the work that we needed. It’s so refreshing to participate with Generation Serve because they provide wonderful opportunities to children and parents to volunteer together.”
“I have volunteered since I was a teenager, so showing my kids the importance of raising up the community through volunteerism is powerful and energy giving,” said Martha. “I love doing this with them. When I was in my 20s, I worked in different non-profits where I was the “Volunteer Manager”. It was always a struggle because we could never accept families as volunteers for the work that we needed. It’s so refreshing to participate with Generation Serve because they provide wonderful opportunities to children and parents to volunteer together.”