The Power to Make a Difference for Others
You don’t have to be a parent to positively impact a child. No matter if you are a caregiver, grandparent, neighbor, coach, teacher, or simply a friend—when you spend time making a child feel valued, you are helping to build their confidence. You are preparing the child for a lifetime of success, and also helping to improve their resilience for when life can be difficult.
The Power to Help Your Community
You can help provide great childhoods by mentoring a child or caregiver, supporting family-friendly policies, or donating to organizations that help children. Other ways to get involved include:
Mentoring a child
Children’s lives are shaped by their experiences, their environment, and the relationships they have with adults they look up to. It only takes one adult to positively influence a child and help ensure long-term health and well-being.
Help a friend, neighbor, or relative with childcare
Offer childcare to friends and family members, especially during holidays and schools breaks.
Get involved
Ask community leaders, clergy members, libraries, and schools to develop services to meet the needs of healthy children and families. Offer to help obtain needed resources.
Promote programs in school
Teach children, caregivers, and educators how to build up protective factors so children can grow up safe and healthy.
Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program
For information about volunteer opportunities, email OCTF here.
Help a family in need
Offer to help meet material needs of families or donate money needed for children’s activity fees or club memberships.
Community Protective Factors
- Adequate resources to meet community needs
- Community norming of acceptable parenting behaviors
- Social connections and cohesion
- Quality public transportation
- High-quality pre- and post-natal programs
- Quality child care
- Communities of faith and interest groups for belonging
Community Risk Factors
- Impoverished neighborhood
- Environment problems
- Neighborhood violence
- High crime
- Unemployment
- Social isolation
- Poor schools
- High mobility
- No safe place for child play
- Inadequate housing and homelessness
- Inadequate/non-existent social support and cohesion
