Volunteer with your kids

This Saturday is the 25th California Coastal Cleanup Day. This is a great opportunity to do with your friends and family. Here is the link for Alameda County for those interested in signing up. 

My husband and I volunteered back in July at the Alameda Food Bank handing out food to those who need it. It was a great time and we had fun meeting new people and helping others. We could have brought Micro with us, but fortunately got his Lolo (grandpa) to babysit a few hours. But the opportunity was there and it would have been nice for him. I'm sure it would've brought some smiles to the hundreds of people we gave food to that day. We plan on doing it once a month, but have yet to go back because our summer schedule got filled up quick. There are many volunteer opportunities around our area and in our neighborhoods. Just keep your eyes and ears open. 

VolunteerMatch is a great resource to begin with. At the Eat Real Festival a few weeks ago where I volunteered, there were women who were pregnant and one even had her baby in a Bjorn, helping out. So don't shy away from exposing your children to helping others out. It's a great learning opportunity and better yet, one where you meet new people. If there are any particular volunteer organizations you are part of, or feel strongly about, please leave a comment and I'll put those links up in a future blog post.