The American Red Cross, an organization funded by generous community donations, offers first aid, CPR, and water safety classes, along with lifeguard training and specialty classes such as infant/child CPR and Pet First Aid. Their Women, Infant and Children’s (WIC) program provides free nutritional counseling and support for expecting mothers and women with children ages five and under.

In addition, the American Red Cross responds to a disaster on average every 24 hours. Volunteers of all ages are invited to make a difference in the community. Emergency communication services are provided to deployed military personnel and their families through their Service to the Armed Forces program.

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The Charity Guide website offers a wealth of information and ideas for families looking for ways to serve and volunteer. Visitors can pick up suggestions on how to make the most of small gestures (how to make a difference in 15 minutes, an hour, or on vacation), and how to leverage a birthday party to remind kids (and adults) that giving really is better than receiving.

Cheerful Givers provides birthday gift bags for kids ages three to 12, distributing them at shelters and food pantries. Families can hold a Birthday Bag Blitz to put together gift bags, based on recommendations provided on the website.

Club Xcite is an innovative after school and summer mentoring organization dedicated to assisting families who need a helping hand in educating, mentoring, or just involving their children in athletic, academic, or social activities.

Club Xcite has structured programs that fit the need of kids who have learning disabilities, hard time making friends, social anxiety, difficulty focusing, struggle getting movtivate, bi-polar, behavioral problems, or any other special needs.

Mentors can provide transportation from school to your house (if needed), make sure homework gets done correctly, provide one-on-one academic tutoring in problem areas, instruct child in different sports and outdoor activities, and act as a positive role model and friend.

Club Xcite! also offers a summer camps for kids ages eight to twelve who have a harder time making friends. The camps build and maintain an environment where kids feel that they can be themselves, open up, make friends, and most importantly, have fun. All activities, sports, and games are selected to help inspire and develop friendships, with a ratio of one counselor to every two or three campers.

Color a Smile's mission is a simple one - generate cheer by gathering children's drawings to distribute at nursing homes, attach to Meals on Wheels deliveries, and more. The result? A perfect opportunity for kids to generate good cheer by doing what they do best - putting crayon to paper and creating. Children can send in their own original drawings, or color in one of the printable pages available on the website.

Drawings (and donations, if you're so inclined) can be sent via mail to:

Color a Smile

P O BOX 1516

Morristown NJ 07962-1516

Offers classes in health and fitness, gymnastics, youth/adult Sports, day camp, cheer, dance, youth fitness, and aquatics.

397122

A branch of the Escondido library.

Global Citizens Network sends short-term teams of volunteers to communities in other cultures. Participants immerse themselves in the culture and daily life of the community and partners with a local grassroots group to meet local needs.

Trips last one, two, or three weeks, depending on the site, and each team is led by a trained GCN team leader. Volunteers can be ages eight and up; a parent or guardian must accompany kids under the age of 18.

Habitat for Humanity is a charitable nonprofit organization dedicated to building simple, low-cost homes by forming partnerships with low-income families in need of decent and affordable housing. The organization believes homeownership is a vital step to help families break the cycle of poverty and contributes to pride in families and communities.

You don't need to be an expert in construction or a committee subject area to help out. There are many tasks that require only a willingness to learn and work with others. However, kids must be 16 years or older to help on the construction sites, and there must be one adult at a work site for every two kids. Due to the wonderful popularity of Habitat for Humanity, there is generally a two- to three-month wait to volunteer on a construction site.

Idealist is an interactive website where families can locate local volunteer opportunities. You can even sign up to receive daily alerts about new opportunities matching your interests.

Kids Korps USA engages young people, ages 5 through 18, in community service. Its mission is to instill in America's youth the spirit of giving while providing valuable education in leadership and responsibility.

Members of Kids Korps USA give back to their communities with hands-on involvement through active volunteerism. For a schedule of of planned community projects, visit the Kids Korps USA website.

An individual annual membership is $20, which includes one youth member and two adults. Family memberships, for three or more youth members and two adults, is $45/year.

Make a Child Smile, also known as MACS, provides support to children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses and their families. Families looking for an opportunity to volunteer can visit the MACS website and learn about featured children and their illnesses, then send cards, letters, and small gifts to the featured children and their siblings through postal mail.

Each child's mailing address can be found on their story page, right next to their picture.

Meals on Wheels provides meal services for senior citizens in need, and offers great opportunities for older children and families to explore community service and volunteering.

Visit the website to find opportunities near you.

Operation Goody Bag is designed to express appreciation for the sacrifices made by America's first responders, and to develop in students an awareness of the value of service.

The program ships brown lunch bags, hand colored with patriotic themes and filled with candy, gum, a personal letter, original poetry, and puzzles to US military personnel as well as local Fire, Rescue, Ambulance, and K9 organizations, Veterans' Homes, VFW Posts, military hospitals, and US military academies.

Information about how to help, including donating, creating brown bag art, and writing letters to be included in the bags, can be found on the website.

One child's great idea - "What if every child gave up one birthday, just one, by giving instead of receiving? How many sick children could we help?" - has grown into a non-profit dream.

Children register with the Fund, select a hospital where children are treated that will benefit, ask friends to bring a check for the hospital to the birthday party, then make a date with the hospital to present the donation.

The Fund sends participants an official Peter Pan Birthday Club Certificate and Order of Pan crest pin. Children and teens who participate are also eligible for consideration for induction into The Second Star to the Right Hall of Fame.

The Rancho Coastal Humane Society is unique in that it seeks to find loving homes for adoptable animals - but also has a leash-free dog park called Cricket's Corner Community Dog Park. The Humane Education arm of the Humane Society provides workshops and programs throughout the year.

Kids Community Service (KCS) is a program in which kids in grades 6-12 meet on Thursdays afternoons after school. As part of the four week program, they meet animals, participate in educational and fun activities, and help raise funds to support the animals.

Pet loving children can celebrate their birthdays with the shelter pets. The two-hour party includes a shelter tour, game, creative project, and live animal interaction - and can be held indoors or outdoors at the shelter's Community Dog Park. The cost for a party is $125 for up to 20 children.

Rebuilding Together's mission is to preserve affordable housing by bringing volunteers and communities together to rehabilitate the homes of low-income homeowners.

The organization's signature event, Rebuilding Day, takes place each year in April, but affiliates work year round in many parts of the country, delivering emergency services, home modifications, and green building to conserve energy and consumption.

The San Dieguito River Park is a work-in-progress to create and preserve a natural open-space park along the 55-mile corridor of the San Dieguito River Valley, extending from the ocean at Del Mar to Volcan Mountain in Julian. Thirty-eight miles of trail are currently open for hiking, bicycling, and equestrian use. It is maintained by a Joint Powers Authority.

The planned area is huge; it crosses through or is adjacent to six local jurisdictions and includes such landmarks as the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Lake Hodges, San Pasqual Valley Agricultural Preserve, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and Lake Sutherland. Currently, only a small portion of the Park is open to the public; the entire project will take many years to complete.

The Park hosts a variety of activities each week, including docent-led hikes and volunteer activities in which the public may participate. Volunteer opportunities include habitat restoration, planting, and trail maintenance. Scout-badge programs are available. For the latest on the San Dieguito River Valley's events, visit their website where hikes, programs, work projects, and other activities are posted, as well as the locations for each.

The Cognitive Development Laboratory at San Diego State University provides the opportunity for local children to participate in science-based community service by volunteering for science research studies.

The laboratory studies child development, in particular how healthy children's brains change with age. Current studies are designed to investigate whether brain activity and structure is different in children compared to adults. Children are asked to perform simple tasks, such as looking at a geometric pattern or tapping their fingers, while staff take MRI pictures of their heads.

Participating children have a chance to see first hand how scientists conduct research at the university level as well as the opportunity to see pictures of their own brains.

Volunteering involves a two-hour appointment at the Center for Functional MRI on the UCSD campus in La Jolla. Participants are awarded up to $40 for participation. All participants must have written consent from a parent or guardian and assent of the child.

Call for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Sharp Grossmont Hospital is the largest and most comprehensive health care facility in East San Diego County, with a service area covering 750 square miles.

The hospital offers programs and services in cardiac care, emergency and critical care, oncology, women's services, pediatrics, rehabilitation, orthopaedics, mental health, and hospice care. Grossmont also offers extensive outpatient services and prevention programs such as sleep disorder care, wound care, senior health center, diabetes, and hyperbaric medicine.

Junior volunteers are welcome to help out the hospital. For additional information, call 619.740.4175.

The Wilderness Project, headquartered in Albuquerque, NM, coordinates volunteer events to provide long-term environmental benefits for natural areas.

The Apprentice Ecologist Initiative provides guidance for kids and families interested in spearheading environmental cleanup and conservation projects on a local level.

United Through Reading has nationally acclaimed programs that provide opportunities for powerful emotional bonding to relieve the stress of separation through having family members read aloud to children using audio-visual technology.

The Military Program helps deployed military personnel stay connected with their children by reading books aloud on videotape or DVD and sending them home for their children’s ongoing enjoyment. (San Diego County and military communities worldwide)

The Inmate Program is for incarcerated parents and helps relieve the stress of separation and enhances parenting skills by having inmates read aloud to children via audio-visual technology.

Volunteer San Diego connects volunteers with over 800 associations that need them - including schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Projects run the gamut, and include helping feed the homeless, painting a shelter, cleaning up schools and parks, spending time with the elderly, planting gardens, among many other possibilities. In many of the events, parents are welcome to bring along their children. To volunteer without an adult in a family-friendly project, the child must be at least 16.

The Students Actively Volunteering for You (SAVY) program is the youth portion of Volunteer San Diego. SAVY involves students in grades 8-12 who are interesting in volunteering by providing over 30 projects a month designed for this age group. The program helps students learn the value of volunteer work and how to make a difference they can make in the community.

The Volunteer San Diego website includes an extensive database of volunteer opportunities within the community. Take a look and see if there is a volunteer opportunity that is up your alley!

VolunteerMatch is an online non-profit service that matches volunteers with organizations looking for help with programs, services, and events.

Families looking for an opportunity to volunteer - either as a family or on an individual basis - simply enter a zip code and get started.

Xcite Steps is an innovative after school and summer mentorship club dedicated to assisting children, teens and adults with developmental or cognitive disabilities. Xcite Steps has structured programs that fit the needs of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, developmental disabilities, cognitive disabilities, fragile x, or any other challenges.

Xcite Steps builds a program around your child’s needs and provides a qualified, youthful, and compassionate mentor who works with your child in an encouraging and positive environment. The key to our program is overcoming challenges step by step.

Xcite Steps mentors can get your child involved in fun outdoor or indoor recreational activities individually or with others and work on areas where they need improvement. The mentors select activities that inspire children, teens, and adults and teach them how to be successful with their own abilities.

Xcite Steps also offers week-long summer camps for kids and teens with developmental or cognitive challenges. Xcite Steps works hard to build and maintain an environment where campers feel like they can be themselves, open up, make friends and most importantly have fun. The sports, arts and crafts, community outings, and outdoor recreational games and activities help inspire and develop friendships.