School is out for the summer! Before camp and summer travel ramps up, it’s a great time to spend some quality family time together. We chatted with our friends over at the Honeycomb Project, who have made it their mission to make family volunteering super easy. From our own experience, we know that it’s not so easy to find service projects to do with young kids. Founders Kristina Lowenstein and Catherine Tannen had that same experience when their kids were younger and they decided to make it seamless to volunteer as a family. The now plan over 20 events per month in the Chicagoland area. All you have to do is show up with your family and they take care of all of the program planning aspects! They even have an online guide  to help families connect the dots from project to the social issue it addresses. They work with 35 organizations in the area already and that list is always growing. We caught up quickly with Kristina who shared her amazing tips on how to make the most of volunteering with your family this summer, even if you aren’t able to attend one of many Honeycomb opportunities.

• First off, don’t underestimate your kids! From Kristina’s experience, kids are often the ones that are will work in the pouring rain or beg their parents not to leave before a project is completed.
• She also recommends seeking out projects where your kids can more easily make that direct connection to what they are doing – visiting the elderly in your community center, stopping by the local fire station. That way kids will have a better understanding of who they are doing projects for.
• Cooking projects work really well with young kids because they often love to help in the kitchen. Maybe it’s making cookies to take to the senior center or packing lunches for the homeless.
• The Ronald McDonald House is also a great place to volunteer with kids.
• Craft oriented projects are always good as well. Some of the past projects they’ve completed include
  sewing quilts for pediatric patients and crocheting emergency sleeping mats for homeless from repurposed plastic bags.
• If you want to do something more home-based, making cards for sick kids or putting together care packages for veterans can go a long way.

Visit the Honeycomb Projects website and you’ll find a plethora of resources divided by topic – whether it’s homelessness or clean water – with action steps you can take whether you are local or not.
Giving back is such a big part of the Bump Club and Beyond mission and we try to do it wherever we can.
What will you do this summer with your kids to make a difference? We want to know!
 
To learn more about the Honeycomb Project, visit their website or watch this short video!