Recently we were not chosen to receive a local grant. If we had been selected, it would have offered us essential funding to sustain our diverse Family Volunteer projects. Additionally, it would have provided valuable community visibility and introduced our mission to a broader audience of families.
However, we were not chosen. The reason remains unclear to us, but we do have some theories. Here are some reasons we occasionally fail to secure grant funding:
We're Not Solving Major Societal Issues. And Yet...
Our Family Volunteer projects will not solve cancer, end food insecurity or ensure every person has a safe place to live. These challenges may take years and years to solve. What our Family Volunteer programs do instead is get kids outside of their bubbles and exposes them to the realities within the community.
How do you explain to a 7 year old that there are kids who don't have a safe place to live and are on the street? Can a 10 year old understand why a New American family must live in a hotel upon arriving in this country? These are complex societal issues that may be beyond the understanding of a Kid Volunteer. What our Family Volunteer programs do is provide age-appropriate ways for kids to make a difference by making every volunteer project meaningful, impactful and fun. Â
Kids are expected to become our community's next leaders and solve the world's problems, how exactly? Through volunteering, kids develop these basic skills which are needed to craft Next Generation Leaders: - project leadership - ownership of a task - working together as a team - interact with people that are outside of their school-activities-home bubble - learn to be comfortable in new and different situations.
How To Explain All That We Do
Family Volunteering checks so many leadership, altruistic and feel-good boxes. We know that we are considered a "nice to have" option for families who have the time and ability to volunteer alongside their kids.
Tucson Family Volunteers began because the founder was told to leave a nonprofit when she showed up to volunteer with her kids. We know that our projects may not completely address the most pressing issues in society. The best way to help our community is to empower kids with the tools to recognize a problem, rely on their (volunteering) skills to solve it and ultimately, put more good into the world.
Want to be part of our behind-the-scenes team? We have opportunities for parents/adults/responsible teens to become Project Leaders. With support of the community and funding from supporters like you, Tucson Family Volunteers will be able to offer even more volunteer projects to Tucson families.Â