Have you and your family recently been through a tragedy? This could have been the loss of a loved one or it may be that you’ve discovered an illness in the family, which you all want to raise awareness of. Irrespective of the cause, many families reach out to take part in charity work to commemorate a loved one and raise awareness of illness or societal issues and, for many families, it can bring them closer together, while also spreading the word and raising money. So, if you want to get your family involved in charities in a way that will have a lasting impact, here are a few ideas.
Discuss Wills
Starting with the hardest to face (emotionally) it may be worth starting with a frank discussion about wills. This will ensure that when one of you passes, that the plans for where the money will go is known and, one way you can have a lasting impact on the charity of your choosing is to leave a gift in your will. Charities like Macmillan have information on their website on how you can set this up, and give you the option to either give to the charity as a lump sum, or to have money leaving a fund each month.
Get Onto Social Media
Another way to spread the word about charity is to get onto social media and share as much information as possible. You can even set up a family account, where you all have access to the admin side of the page, allowing you to all share information and videos about the charity you’re enthusiastic about with a wider audience. Also, you can set up your social media page with a donation section, which will allow visitors to donate directly to your cause.
Volunteer Together
Of course, the larger the family, the more help you can offer. So, it can be worth signing up for charities as a family. Again, this can bring you closer together and can be immensely rewarding for everyone. For instance, you could sign up to serve meals at a homeless shelter, take part in clean-ups of the roadsides or beaches, or even all walk dogs at your local shelter together. Best of all, you’ll be helping the charity that you care about and learning skills at the same time. For younger participants, this can help to get their CV off to a good start and, if you want to teach your children about empathy, this is a great way to do it.
Set A Family Mission
It’s easy, of course, to get swept up in charity work, which can make it hard to know which charity to volunteer for, or which cause to choose. So, sit down together as a family and discuss which charity (or group of charities) you want to support. This could be charities such as those aimed at helping people with cancer, environmental charities, or mental health. This will also help to reflect your family’s goals and make your charitable work more meaningful and focused.
Author Bio:
Lizzie Reynell-O’Brien graduated with an MSc in Clinical Psychology from Goldsmiths University and started her small writing company Just Write in 2018, writing solely about mental health diagnostics in the NHS. She is passionate about writing as an art form, and when she’s not typing, you will find her walking her 2 rescue Jack Russell’s or in her garden planting wildflowers.
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