Volunteering Ideas for Grandson

Someone who loves to help is great!
Helping with chores/cleaning/yard work, etc is in no way any less wonderful than volunteering anywhere else.
He's got plenty of time to volunteer when he's a teen and he'll need less supervision.
In the meantime, he can help clean out closets, sort/organize nuts/bolts/nails/washers, sort tools(wrenches, non sharp things) in a tool box, water gardens, walk neighbors dogs (if they are not too big - a 75 lb Lab would be too hard for a 7 yr old to control on a leash), etc.

Volunteering with his family is important, too.

For now, he can help neighbors/people you trust pick up a little in their homes or yards, tend to gardens, sort newspapers.... Think of all the little things that go in your home, some that you might have him help you with. I would love to pay him to organize my shoes in my closet.

Can he read well enough to read for others? Doing it can improve his reading.

Found this link:

http://www.compassionatekids.com/volunteering.shtml

google might give you some ideas. The law may say he may not be able to do it alone at his age.

It's true that at his age volunteering is usually done with adult family members.
My kids and I did a LOT of volunteering and community service through Boy and Girl Scouts. We helped in so many ways (working, making/building things, raising money, collecting food and clothing, books, etc.) We helped at homeless shelters, churches, food banks, animal shelters, all kinds of places. Is that something your grandson would be interested in?

Most business type places can not have him volunteer because of insurance reasons. Your best bet would be to find a neighbor that needs help.
Senior centers will typically let kids come and visit, play cards and read.

It's a bit early, but around October, keep an eye out for churches selling pumpkins as fundraisers. The pumpkins have to be turned regularly, or they rot on the bottom, and then they can't be sold. A 7 1/2 year old is just the right age to go out on a weekday after school and help turn pumpkins (he needs some adult help, though - some of them are heavy).

Also, some of the retirement communities and nursing homes around us will welcome children to come and sit in the common rooms and socialize with the residents. That could be working puzzles or playing board games or joining in song nights - even better if he can get some friends to come with him. Also for the nursing homes, and also a bit early, our scout group makes cards on holidays. Perhaps he could call a local nursing home and see, for example, how many residents are veterans, and make up some thank you cards to be delivered on Veterans' Day? That's a fun activity to do with friends, too.

Some of our local parks also have tree planting/park cleanup days. Your local Parks and Recreation Dept. might have some info about that on their website.

Also, call the Goodwill. If there is a Goodwill computer center near you, he might be able to help disassemble computers for recycling (this is dusty work, and he WILL need work gloves that fit). Again, he'll need adult help, but it's fun, and fascinating. I'll bet some of his friends will think it's fun to take things apart, too. (You'll have to sign a release - some of the parts inside are sharp - thus, the gloves.)

Might be best to find a volunteer group that he could "shadow". Go along with a local Kiwanis Club to some of their service projects, etc.

The main issue with a child that young is the need for supervision. If he "volunteers" to clean out my garage (rusty nails, etc) - well I couldn't really leave him there alone!

Connecting him with an adult volunteer group might be a good way to handle this.

(Or connect him to a kids' volunteer group, like Scouts - just to find some adults other than his family who can bring him around to soup kitchens, supervise his volunteer work, etc.)

Here in town there are all sorts of Food Pantries that are out of or low on food. People do not tend to donate very much during the summer.

Consider having a private food collection. He can help pack them up and deliver it.

Maybe a once a month food drive? See if his school will let him chair the school can drive?

Books.. So many children do not own books. He could do a book drive for a organization that gives books to children.. like RIF

I know our children's Hospital loves to receive "activity packets".. These are given to the young patients while they are in the hospital.. They should be for all ages.

Crayons, pencils, word searches, children's scissors, paper dolls, paper airplane instructions with paper, Books of jokes or printed jokes. .. 10 Minute mysteries, things to make into puppets.. small cars

How about reading with senior citizens at a senior center? Yard work for people who can't do it themselves? There's also nothing wrong with him getting paid for some work and volunteering for some work. You could take him to those free demo classes at Home Depot so he could learn some skills. He is young enough to still have a lot to learn. If he has a certain skill he really wants to learn, find an expert and see if they'll give him some time. He might also like those "living history" or "old timey days" or " pioneer days" kinds of things, where he can learn those kinds of skills. Sometimes they need 8-year-olds; maybe he could work there. You can find that stuff on Parks and Rec sites.

Put up a poster at your church, laundromat, senior day center, day care, vet's office, pediatrician of your grandson wearing a cape. Title it "Boy Wonder" willing to come to the rescue and help. Eager to volunteer, no task too big or small. Boy Wonder is looking for volunteer opportunities and would love to help garden- weed, plant, rake, bag, water, put down mulch etc. he'd love to help clean- dust, wipe down baseboards, vacuum, do your windows, clean out expired items, sweep your deck etc. he'd love to be a companion to you or your pets.

Wonder Boy is 7.5 years old and also answers to the name _______. Please call _______'s parents at ___-___-____ if you have any volunteer opportunities for this mini do-gooder.

I bet you'd get a lot of responses.
good luck to you and yours,
F. B.