Help Multiple Generations Bond on Join Hands Day

May 1st marks Join Hands Day. The goal of Join Hands Day is to get multiple generations to work together while volunteering. Help your parents, children, and grandchildren find unique, appealing ways to volunteer together.

The key to having a successful day of volunteering is to make sure everyone is interested in the project. Your kids may love being on their feet and walking around for hours. That may be harder for your parents. You need to come up with volunteer efforts that match their abilities.

Ideas for Multi-Generational Volunteering

What are some of the best volunteer programs for multiple generations? It depends on your area. If there’s a local food shelf, raise some money to shop and fill the food pantry shelves. How do you raise the money? Sell off unused and unwanted items and use the proceeds.

If your parents can walk around for a while, May 1st goes hand in hand with Green Up Day in most cities and towns. Pick an area that most people don’t think to clean up. While neighbors are cleaning ditches and grassy areas, take your parents and children to a local river or beach and walk along the shore picking up trash.

Bake bread together and bring them to a local soup kitchen. The recipes don’t have to be complex. Simple loaves of oatmeal bread or whole wheat bread are easy to make and can feed dozens.

Is there a community garden near your parents? If so, helping plant vegetables that will benefit others is a good activity for all ages. Your parents can weed while your teens turn over the soil with a shovel. They could plant seedlings together.

If your parents like to garden at home, you could add a new garden bed. Your parents and kids can plant extra vegetables to donate to area food shelves or soup kitchens in that bed.

Home care provides services that help your parents stay independent while living alone. As you age, some of your daily routines change. You’re suddenly taking medications for chronic health conditions like high blood pressure. You fall and fracture your hip and can’t do the housework while you’re recovering.

If your parents need help with daily activities of living, home care is a helpful solution. Caregivers come and help your parents with housekeeping, meal preparation, and transportation. That’s just a start. Call a home care agency to learn more.