Volunteering has such a rewarding feeling. I have volunteered at a children’s hospital spending time with kids who were recovering from their surgeries and when their parents had to go back to work or needed a dinner break. We read books together and played board games and sometimes just talked about unicorns, Star Wars or who was the cutest boy in the latest boy band. I had also helped at a geriatric hospital in the gift shop re-creating their window displays each week and helping visitors pick out items for those they were visiting. I’ve continued volunteering in various ways now as an adult from running the local artist community to just plain helping out small businesses. But my love for volunteerism started when I was young and it’s stuck with me. I’m eyeing Kenya next.
Aside from the community service hours needed for high school and the ultimate feel good for helping others, teens who volunteer are recognized this week for their efforts and I think this is definitely worth celebrating!
In honour of NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK, Menchie’s launches its Community Smiles Program in Canada. This special incentive is just for teens, as a way of saying thanks for helping to make a difference in their communities. From April 22 to 26, 2013 Menchie’s Canada will give away a free cup of frozen yogurt (up to a value of $5) between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. to any teen who presents evidence of their great volunteer work.
When Menchie’s talked to teenagers about their volunteer work, teens said they find
volunteering a rewarding experience. In turn, for 46 per cent of parents, having their teen volunteer meant developing a greater sense of responsibility. “We found when speaking to both teens and parents, volunteering is an activity of value and importance to them,” says Shneer. “This aligns with our beliefs, and Menchie’s Community Smiles Program is a way to show our appreciation and support for the volunteers of tomorrow!”
Show your creativity! Menchie’s launches “My Menchie’s Creation” Contest in all locations.
Canadians are invited to visit their local Menchie’s store, create their own frozen yogurt masterpiece, name it, snap a picture of it, share the Menchie’s store name and post it to Instagram with the hashtag: #MenchiesCreation.The sweetest part? The Grand Prize winner will receive Menchie’s for a year! To top it all
off, every single Menchie’s store in Canada will also give away a $50 gift card to
one lucky winner. “The ‘My Menchie’s Creation’ Contest celebrates teens’ love of
social media, while expressing their creativity in-store,” adds Shneer. “It’s our
way of saying thanks to our Canadian fans while giving them a chance to win a very
sweet prize.”
For more details on how to enter the contest, go to http://menchiescanada.wordpress.com
Do your kids volunteer? I’d love to know what they’re doing!
This post is not sponsored nor was I compensated.
I also think volunteering is wonderful but let me tell you a story about Menchies.
Today when I picked my 6 year old from school near The Danforth a Menchies employee and a Menchies mascot we handing out their advertising to young elementary children as they were leaving the school grounds. I think direct marketing to children is terrible and I am appalled that the Menchies store on the Danforth would stop children outside a school to give them advertising for their store.
Once Will is older I’m going to get him volunteering! I think its’ awesome. I’m on a couple of boards but I’d really like to do more hands on volunteering. Ah to find teh time!
I think it’s a great way of both opening the eyes of teens to what other people face in the world (and let’s face it – teens, by design, tend to be myopic and self-centred) and also giving them a sense of purpose, and a chance to feel good about themselves. Excellent building blocks to make a responsible, giving adult, I think. I don’t have teens yet, but I hope to send them down this sort of path when I do!