Grandparents Volunteering Benefit Everyone

By: AARP Foundation's Grandparent Information Center | Source: AARP.org | December 10, 2007

Ever wonder what goes on at your grandchild's school? Become a school volunteer and you can find out for yourself. By helping out, you'll get to know more about your grandchild's world. You'll show your grandchild that her education is important to you. And you'll be making your grandchild's school a better place.

Ask first: Before you get too excited about volunteering, talk to your grandchild. Is he comfortable having you around during the school day? If not, don't push it. Volunteering needs to be a positive experience for you and for him. You can still come to school events, like teacher conferences, concerts and fund-raising events.

Call the school: Your grandchild's school may have a formal volunteer program that will give you a job to do. If not, call your grandchild's teacher to see how you can help. Parent-teacher conferences and back-to-school nights are also great places to find out how you can help your school.

Think about making it a habit: Do you have time each week to volunteer? Consider making a regular commitment to help out. Become an after-school tutor. Help out each week in the classroom, library or lunch room. Does your grandchild belong to a club or play a sport? Call the moderator or coach and ask how you can help. There's just one catch. If you promise to volunteer regularly, be sure you stick with it.

Pitch in when needed: Don't have time to volunteer each week? Then make a vow to say "yes" when you're asked to do something special. Bake a cake for the bake sale, or prepare cut-outs for an upcoming art project - you can do both things at home after your grandchild is in bed. Help with classroom parties. Chaperone a field trip. Agree to talk about your job at Career Day. Offer to host your grandchild's class on a tour of your workplace. Organize a cleanup of the school grounds.