Swing Sets

Posted by Carrie Henderson Weston Apr 2, 2006

Probably one of the most valuable, but least visible forms of volunteerism that ever happened at the center that I work at has been the woman that pays us every two weeks. For the past 12 years or so, she has calculated and written up checks, not just for the daycare, but for the staff of the church we are housed in, as well as the staff of the senior daycare that also finds residence in our church. She has no desire to come in and work with the children, but has still found a way to use her talents to help out those that she sees in need.

Another amazing contribution to our center came in the form of a father who saw that when several children on our playground would play on the swingset that it would begin to wiggle. He not only saw that this was an issue-- he did something about it. That weekend as his kids played on the remainder of the playground, he cemented the posts of our swingset into the ground, and also placed a wooden enclosure around our air-conditioning unit to protect little fingers, and the air conditioner.

Volunteering doesn't need to simply take the form of watching kids during a Valentine's Day party. There are many non-traditional ways that busy parents can feel like they can contribute to making their child's center a happy and safe environment. A few of these ideas are discussed in my latest article, "Volunteering." Also, if you have any ideas of how you, or other parents have volunteered, feel free to comment in the discussion section at the end of the article.