If you think one family can’t do much to heal a troubled world, think again. When parents and children perform community service projects together, they learn that every human being has worth, that we are stewards of this planet, and that the world is a better place when we care for one another. Often all it takes is a little direction and inspiration from their school, parent group or faith community to get started.

Who: Jenny Friedman, Ph.D., is founder and Executive Director of Doing Good Together, author of The Busy Family’s Guide to Volunteering (Robins Lane Press, 2003) and co-author of Doing Good Together: 101 Easy, Meaningful Service Projects for Families, Friends and Communities (Free Spirit, in press). The mother of three children and a leading authority on family community service, Friedman’s workshops are inspiring, engaging and full of practical advice.

Where: Doing Good Together provides workshops and presentations for schools/PTAs; faith communities; civic, community and parent groups; neighborhood organizations and corporations. We also speak at conferences, educational programs and community events.

What: Workshop topics vary depending on audience and interests. We can easily tailor a presentation to the needs of your group. Please contact us about your specific needs. For details on specific topics, click on the appropriate link:

• Parent groups
  Choose such topics as “Family Volunteering: Simple Ways to Weave Service into Your Hectic Life” and “Compassionate Kids: 10 Steps to Growing a Caring Child.”
• Teachers, school administrators and service-learning providers
  Discover simple, practical strategies and materials for building partnerships between school, family and community to create a culture of service.
• Volunteer managers and social service agenciesWe offer effective-practice workshops for nonprofit agencies concerned with family volunteer management.
• Civic groups and service organizations
  Learn the multiple benefits of family volunteering and the tools to facilitate it.

Workshop Topics for Parents and Grandparents

Family Volunteering: Simple Ways to Weave Service into Your Hectic Life

This workshop addresses the unexpected benefits of family volunteering, along with dozens of practical and simple ideas for getting families involved in community service work; environmental, social and political action; and charitable giving. Parents will quickly see how much they can accomplish, and how easily they can integrate family service into their busy life.

Compassionate Kids: 10 Steps to Growing a Caring Child

Children have an innate capacity for kindness and compassion, but these values must be nurtured if they are to flourish in adulthood. Encouraging thoughtfulness is particularly important in a culture saturated with messages of materialism, cynicism and entitlement. This presentation, especially appropriate for parents of young children, explains how caring develops in children and how parents can teach those lessons. Included are 10 simple strategies for raising warm, curious children who understand the joy of compassion and service, and who meet the world with integrity.

Family Philanthropy: Engaging Children in Charitable Giving

If you make charitable giving an integral part of a child’s money-related education, you will encourage caring and civic responsibility. We’ll help you develop a family tradition around giving and help you inspire your children to become active philanthropists regardless of their age—or your income level. You’ll be able to teach your kids they have the power to effect change with their contributions and give them the tools to get started. We all have a responsibility to share with those in need, contribute to causes we believe in, and support the changes necessary to build a better world.

Workshop Topics for Teachers, School Administrators and Service-Learning Providers

Schools Partnering with Families to Promote Service and Encourage Civic Responsibility

Student learning and healthy youth development thrive when families work in partnership with schools and community organizations. Those collaborations can be especially powerful when they are built around service and civic engagement. Several Minnesota schools have partnered with Doing Good Together to create a schoolwide focus on community outreach. Workshop participants will hear about the benefits of this collaborative approach to service, learn about the opportunities, events and celebrations that are critical to establishing a successful program, and receive the materials to get started. Such an initiative can provide students with the inspiration, skills and heart to become compassionate and community-focused leaders.

Enriching Service Learning through Family Involvement

This presentation focuses on how families and service-learning providers together can support and nurture emerging service leaders. Participants receive simple, practical strategies and materials for (1) encouraging families to serve others; (2) educating parents about the benefits of service learning; (3) involving families in existing service-learning projects; and (4) building strong alliances between school, family and community to enrich service learning, increase academic achievement and create a culture of service.

Workshop Topics for Volunteer Managers

Supporting Families in Serving Others: Building an Effective Family Volunteer Program

Learn practical tools for developing unique, creative family volunteer projects and simple education and reflection materials that will help attract new volunteers, bring fresh energy to your program, and increase visibility for your organization.

Engaging Young People and Families in Fighting Homelessness

Young people have the creative energy, enthusiasm and skills to make a difference in our community. How, then, do we get the next generation to direct that energy toward ending homelessness? We will explain how community agencies can connect with schools and families to raise awareness of homelessness and its impact, break down stereotypes, and inspire action. This interactive workshop will encourage educators, families and organizations that serve and advocate for the homeless to learn together how to most effectively engage all citizens in service, research and advocacy to end this problem. Once young people have the benefit of learning about the devastation of homelessness and the value of service and advocacy through service-learning and family volunteering programs, they will have the tools to bring a new spirit of commitment and determination to eradicate this social evil.

Workshop Topics for Civic Groups and Service Organizations

Weaving Volunteering into Families’ Lives

Family volunteerism produces powerful results—strengthening families through quality time together, passing to children critical values of compassion and community responsibility, and supporting a new generation of volunteers and philanthropists. In this workshop we share our findings about the value of family volunteering and the tools needed to encourage families to serve others. DGT believes that service is as fundamental to what families provide their children as soccer and music lessons; our goal is to see every child growing up knowing that part of what we do—as citizens, as human beings—is to help one another out. We’ll let you know how we’re working toward that vision and how you can help.