teach kids to give back: $250 volunteer grants for students

I am thrilled to be able to share with you some super ways to teach kids to give back to their communities.

WeAreTeachers has asked me to help spread the word about $250 grants that teachers can earn thanks to the Allstate Foundation WE Volunteer Now. Friends, if ever there was a blog post to share with your child’s school, this is the one!

We all know that volunteering–or giving back to our great, big world–has profound effects on all parties involved.

Now your child’s school can apply to grab a $250 grant to help cover the cost of volunteer work! But the most amazing thing is that all of the volunteer prep–the planning, the deciding, the implementation–can be aligned with your child’s curriculum.

And everything is provided for you: planning sheets, checklists, ideas, activities, you name it.

It’s amazing.

The resources available on the WE Schools site are unbelievable.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Teach Kids to Give Back — $250 Volunteer Grants for Students:

Volunteering has profound effects on both those who are volunteering and those who are being helped.

Each month through the winter months, our family takes a morning to serve breakfast to 200 homeless men at a local shelter. It’s not easy, but from November through March, our kids and their friends know that one weekend a month, they will wake up early, prepare food, and serve to those who need it.

We use an online sign-up form each month and share it with our friends, family, and neighbors in order to get all of our food items and server slots filled.

And you know what? The kids love helping. The families love helping.

Each month the very first slot filled is the slot for servers. People want to help. They want to give back.

So when I saw that there were 500 $250 volunteer grants available for schools and groups and that all folks had to do was follow a few simple steps in order to secure these grants, I knew I had to share.

How to grab a $250 volunteer grant for your school:

First, know that the grants will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to all eligible schools or groups.

The eligible school or youth organization must:

1.) Have an educator, administrator, or adult group leader to fill out this application: Grant application on WeAreTeachers site

2.) Be based in the U.S. and registered in the WE Schools program

3.) Plan to use the provided funds between October 2017 – October 2018

4.) Include students/youth participants in grades K-12

5.) Participate in the WE Volunteer Now Campaign

Super simple, right?

The volunteer possibilities for a classroom are endless.

Think about it.

Elementary, middle, or high school students (depending on ages!) can:

organize coat drives for winter months;
provide holiday meals for needy families;
prepare filled backpacks for back-to-school;
gather books for those in need;
do park clean-up days;
visit elderly in nursing homes;
teach elderly how to use electronics;
serve meals at a shelter;
help build homes or clean yards;
the possibilities are endless!

But you don’t even need to know exactly what you want to do for your volunteer work before you apply for your grant.

WE Schools provides resources to help teachers and students decide exactly what project is the best fit for them.

When you sign up at WE schools, you’ll get an instant download from WE Volunteer Now, full of information on how to start a volunteer campaign at your school. You’ll also get access to grade-specific lessons you can use right away.

Plus, 500 schools will receive a $250 grant to use towards their volunteer project!

WE Volunteer Now Campaign Resources include:

A step-by-step guide on how to get started with service learning curriculum in your classroom
Volunteering ideas
Teacher checklists to keep you on track
A worksheet for you to complete with your class—by the end you’ll have a solid idea of which volunteering option is best for you!
We Volunteer Now curriculum

The resources on the WE Schools site are incredible.

They’re available online and pdf–and on OneNote!

Need a bit more convincing?

Check out these 7 reasons to join WE Schools.

Check out a few volunteer ideas for students.

What do you think? Are you going to apply?

fyi: This is a sponsored post brought to you by WeAreTeachers, the Allstate Foundation and WE. As always, my opinions are my own, influenced only by my experience as an educator and parent.