Service learning can improve communities while preparing students for a lifetime of responsible citizenship. It helps students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized services that occur in and meet the needs of communities. Volunteering at a young age can lay the foundation for a lifelong commitment to community…

Discusses how parents can get their children to volunteer for community services, examining how volunteerism benefits children, how to choose a volunteer activity, and how to get children involved (e.g., having the parents serve as role models). Two sidebars focus on whether fund-raising teaches children about giving and how service-learning…

Discusses the importance and history of volunteerism in America in the context of President Clinton's 1997 Volunteer Summit for America's Future, which promoted the spirit of community service. A sidebar discusses reasons to volunteer. Another sidebar presents the story of elementary school students who participated in a multifaceted community…

These handouts describe: Respecting Differences to Find Common Ground (a PTA program to provide parents with ideas and resources for talking to their children about respecting diversity); tips for parents on helping their children understand and respect differences; and the Our Children Newsletter, which contains excerpts from the March 2002 Our…