Mondays For Moms | The Volunteer Spirit

Have you ever wondered how you can foster the volunteer spirit in your child? I’ve found that children love to help. But they need encouragement to grow that quality in themselves and keep it through adulthood.

This week, our Mondays for Moms post is featuring an awesome young boy who, at seven years old, is already out there taking action to do something about what he sees happening in the world. Maybe he can be inspiring to your children.

We’ve heard that lots of the oil in the gulf is being eaten up by bacteria, but that doesn’t mean the problem is over. There’s still a lot of work to be done, and many have had their livelihoods severely damaged by the disaster. We can’t let our concerns fade while they’re still in need of support.

So meet Dylan.  (This is an old photo of Dylan from a family portrait session.)

Dylan’s traveling down to the gulf area and will do some interviews to find out what’s going on and what still needs to be done. So far, he has lined up interviews with the Audubon Zoo/Aquarium, business owners,  and is hoping to speak with the Mayor as well. With his determination, I bet he gets that interview!

How can you help encourage Dylan, support his efforts, and foster this volunteer spirit in your child? I have a few ideas to get you started:

Follow Dylan. You can get on the computer with your children and visit Dylan’s website, OneStartsMany.com, and encourage your kids to follow his video blogs there, his twitter account, and join his Facebook fan page. You can also buy a “One Starts Many” wristband he’s selling to raise funds for his trip. They can be purchased by emailing onestartsmany@gmail.com, and Dylan will send you an invoice by PayPal. Wristbands are only $3 each, plus $1 for shipping and handling, or a 4 pack for $10.

Follow WITkids. WITkids.org (WIT stands for “whatever it takes”), an organization that supports kids who make the world a better place has recognized Dylan by naming him WitKids July Kid of the Month! They’ve also been helping him with contacts in New Orleans, and Dylan will now be doing special reports from the Gulf, as a correspondent for WITKids! I think that’s incredible!

Spread the word. Share his links, tweet him on twitter, and talk with other moms about Dylan. Maybe they’re looking for a way to get their kids involved in something like this. There’s a video on the home page of the WitKids site that’s very inspiring.