How to Get Children Involved in Charity

We all know about the vital work that so many charities are doing around the world - and many of us would love for our kids to get involved with charities too, so that they can help contribute to and carry on the good work that is already going on. With this in mind, let's take a look at four ideas for getting your children involved in charity.

Sponsored projects

One popular option is to get your kids to undertake sponsored projects. This is something that many of them do at school anyway, so making sure you spend the time with them to make sure they understand why they are doing this will definitely help. Also, if you are raising money for a good cause, you can easily involve your kids by getting them to do things like sponsored swims or making cakes - if you tailor it to their interests, they'll be more likely to be keen to get involved.

Engage in volunteer work

Getting your kids into volunteer work from an early age can also help to get them involved with charity. For instance, helping out at a fundraiser or volunteering with older people are both popular options. Plus, if you are trying to persuade older kids to get involved with this sort of thing, they can sometimes be convinced if you let them know how good it will look on their CV - work experience is something that will help them as much as it will help the good cause.

Sponsor a child

If you want your children to learn more about charity and the lives of other people, sponsoring a child - someone they'll be able to relate to - is a good idea, particularly if you go for a scheme where you know which child you will be sponsoring and have some good information about them. It can help you children to understand different ways of life and why some people need help, as well as teaching them some of the ways they can help themselves.

Choose where to donate

Finally, getting your kids involved in charity can be made much easier if they feel like they have ownership of the project. For instance, letting them choose which charities you donate to and making sure that you do this regularly so that they can see the commitment is a good idea. If they get into the habit of supporting good causes while they are young, hopefully this will carry through into later life, too.

For more information about Must Have Gifts and charity gift ideas for those in need, you can click here.

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Giving to Charity Trends

This article looks at some statistics regarding giving to charity in the UK. This includes the numbers giving, average donation amounts, and interesting trends.

Over half of adults in the UK donate financially to charitable causes on a regular basic. This does not include volunteering time. In 2009/2010 people in the United Kingdom were on average giving £12 a month to charity. For most people it is less than this figure but some give significantly more, therefore increasing the average figure. 8% of the total came from donations of more than £100 a month, but this does not include the very wealthy giving very large amounts. 2009/2010 statistics are not available but in 2008/2009 there were 100 donations of more than £1 million.

Impact of the Recession

The recession was expected to have a significant impact on charitable giving but this has not happened to a large extent. In 2007/2008 donations went down a little, but they have increased again since. This is shown in things such as Children in Need, where amounts raised have continued to rise despite fears that the recession would have a negative impact. Since the recession hit, both the number of donations and the average amounts have increased, although the increase could be concentrated amongst those not particular impacted by the recession.

Giving at Home or Abroad

In recent years those giving to overseas causes has increased, with around a quarter of donations having gone outside of the country in the last few years. It is difficult to judge whether this is a general trend or whether there has been more large natural disaster the last few years. These types of events attract a lot of media coverage and tend to therefore lead to large numbers of donations. The earthquake in Haiti and earthquake and tsunami in Japan are good examples of this. These are visually tragic with thousands impacted suddenly. With people emotionally involved they are more likely to donate on instinct. The increases in giving to these types of causes also suggest a higher proportion of charitable giving is through one-off donations or occasionally giving rather than it being regular, for example monthly.

Which Demographics Donate Most?

Perhaps surprisingly, the age range that donates the most to charity amongst women and amongst men are very different. The women who contribute most to good causes are those in their 40's, 50's and 60's, while men aged between 16 and 24 contribute more than any other age range.

How About Volunteering?

Around 40% of adults in the UK volunteer for a good cause at least once a year, with roughly 25% volunteering on at least a monthly basis. This has increased over the last five years. The recession has actually had a positive influence on this, with some who have been made redundant volunteering until they find suitable employment. Volunteering for a worthy cause is a good way for people to donate to charity who cannot afford to give financially. The general trend is a decrease in the numbers volunteering on a regular basis and an increase in people volunteering occasionally.

Andrew Marshall ©

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