Earlier this year, my son's class had a woman from United Way speak about service. She asked if they had ever volunteered and my son told me he said "no." That seemed surprising to me, since I feel like we volunteer all the time, but that made me realize that it's really me volunteering - timing at swim meets, teaching Sunday school, scoring at baseball games, organizing the school spelling bee. They are the recipients of many of these efforts, but not the actual volunteers. Sure, they've carted food to the Food Bank or donated money/books/supplies through various community drives, but I can't name any real work they've done.I would like to change that this year. My children know the causes that are important to me, and I want to expose them to more of this in a hands-on way, but I would like them to also develop their own interests and passions.
If you're interested in getting your kids to volunteer, there's also an added incentive this year. Give a Day Get a Disney Day is offering a free day at any Disney park for each person (minimum age 6) who gives a day of service to their community through the HandsOn Network, a group which will link you to local opportunities. There are restrictions and limits, so make sure you read all the rules.
So far, I haven't found a specific opportunity that works for us, but they do have extensive listings of organizations that can be contacted - everything from our local zoo to EarthCorps. The website allows you to sort the options by your interest - Animals & Environment, Health & Human Services, etc. Of course, if we do earn our Disney tickets, I imagine that will leave them wanting to go to Disneyworld, won't it?? Maybe my younger son would fare better on the Dumbo ride this time around. 
