Looking for Main Line family volunteer opportunities that will make a lasting impact? Giving time together as a family creates meaningful connections and teaches children the power of hands-on community service. We’ve gathered the best kid-friendly organizations where your family can make a difference in our area, from stocking food pantries to comforting therapy animals. Plus, many of these opportunities let children as young as five participate, making it easy to start building a lifelong foundation of giving back.

While these Main Line family volunteer opportunities offer hands-on ways to give back, another option is to consider donating money to a charity that is meaningful to your family.

Ardmore Food Pantry

Food insecurity is a problem that can be addressed locally, and the Ardmore Food Pantry works to address it in Lower Merion. By holding a food drive or volunteering during the Food Pantry’s regular Monday hours, your family can contribute to the wellness of another family.

Connect Thru Cancer

Connect Thru Cancer specializes in helping families that are currently caring for cancer patients, as well as supporting families that recently lost someone to cancer. They offer in-home and out-of-home programs which provide aid varying from simple grocery shopping to massage therapy. Connect Thru Cancer runs with the help of dedicated and passionate volunteers. To find out how you and your kids can help, visit their volunteer page. You’ll find info on bag filling events and ideas for how to fundraise to benefit this organization.

Cradles to Crayons

There are many children in the greater Philadelphia area who don’t have access to simple pleasures that other children might take for granted. Cradles to Crayons seeks to give disadvantaged youths in the area “KidPacks” with useful day-to-day items they need. Any child between the ages of five and 18 can volunteer at their giving factory with an accompanying adult.

Kisses for Kyle

Founded by a mother who lost her son, Kyle to leukemia, Kisses for Kyle helps families battling childhood cancer. The organization provides a variety of over 40 programs, services, and special family events around the Delaware Valley. Your donations will go to events like Ocean City Family Fun Day, Phillies games, holiday gift-giving, and more. Run by a tiny staff and a multitude of volunteers, this non-profit helps alleviate stresses by providing financial assistance and special experiences the entire family can cherish.

MANNA

MANNA provides food and counseling to direly ill patients year-round. The holidays are an especially great time to get involved and help patients in the greater Philadelphia area. There are volunteer opportunities to help cook meals, deliver meals to patients, prep the kitchen, and more.

Main Line Youth Alliance

The Main Line Youth Alliance helps LGBT+ youth with the struggle of transition and other difficult life moments. The alliance offers a safe space for youths to speak their minds and have their voices heard. They run entirely on donations and help from adult volunteers like you. They need volunteers who can assist with grant writing, chaperoning, and activity assistance.

Pals for Life

Therapy pets (dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs, oh my!) not only bring happiness to hospital patients, college students, and senior center residents, but to the volunteers that work with them, too!  If your kids are 12 or older, they can volunteer with Pals for Life in Devon. Aside from helping with the organization’s regular programs at local institutions, they can team up with friends and start a community project for collecting pet food and pet supply donations.  What’s more, if your pet passes the test, they can become a Pals for Life therapy pet.

Plaid Pajamas Project

The Plaid Pajamas Project provides local children with comfortable, warm, and clean pajamas donated from generous families in the area. While predominantly donation-based, you can help this project by hosting a pajama-drive or organizing a sorting-and-wrapping party. Another way to help is by donating gift cards like GapCash, Kohl’s Cash, and other small-balance gift cards to buy pajamas for the project. Their primary pajama drives occur in the winter months, but pajama collections can happen any time of the year. For example, you might ask for pajamas in lieu of gifts at a sleepover party or instead of hostess gifts at your next dinner party. You can then reach out to Plaid Pajamas any time of the year and they will happily find someplace in need of pajamas.

The Saturday Club

This Wayne community service and philanthropy organization strives to help women and children in the Philadelphia suburban region. Their Kids Club allows the child or grandchild of any member (or even children a member might be a caregiver for!) to participate in kid-focused service projects like food drives, book drives, making care package, creating birthday kits, and more. The children also try to earn “Kindness Coins” and then pool the money to donate to a local charity that helps children in need in our area.

The Sunday Kids East Coast

The mission of the Sunday Kids East Coast is to provide volunteer opportunities for children of all ages, and to promote a lifelong love of volunteerism. They provide one volunteer opportunity and one monthly collection for kids to help in any way possible. There are no age or hour requirements.

Financial Donations

Aside from spending time volunteering, consider donating money or goods to reputable non-profit groups this season. Encourage your children to earn money to donate via a sales stand, providing services to a neighbor, extra household chores, selling their old toys, etc. Then check out these websites, or find a charity that is meaningful to your family, and explain the organization to your kids when you donate!

ASPCA

Bringing Hope Home

CHOP

Main Line Health

The Joy of Sox

Women’s Resource Center

Looking for even more Main Line family volunteer opportunities? Explore the conversations or ask in our Main Line Parent Community group on Facebook!

Jaime Metzger and Jes Lyons contributed reporting to this article. 

Lead photograph courtesy of Kisses for Kyle.