Most of the individuals who wear a military uniform do so with a strong sense of duty to their nation. These individuals make extreme sacrifices in their service to country. They get paid less, work longer, stay separated from their families for long periods, suffer injuries, and even give their lives.

It is a sad truth that, as a family, we do not take time to recognize the sacrifices of those serving in the military. Understanding the sacrifices military personnel make is critical to understanding how our nation has thrived for so many long years. It is also an excellent way to see service to others on a much higher scale than just volunteer projects.

Enjoying the outdoors as a family is a major section of Family Capers. Every activity listed in the Outdoor section of Family Capers involves a trail in some way. Trails provide the pathways to delight in the great outdoors. They are the facilitators of our journeys and guides to our destinations. We have a symbiotic-like relationship with trails as they provide the means for us to experience the majesty of nature while preventing us from inflicting unnecessary damage to the areas we explore. Volunteering to do a trail maintenance service project is the opportunity for a family to give back to the means of our outdoor enjoyment.

Our Core Family Value

Our family believes that it is important for each of our children to go on a short-term trip to an area that has a significantly lower standard of living from what they know. We prefer that they go somewhere outside the country; however, there are also plenty of opportunities right on our own continent. We like for them to go towards the end of high school or early on in college.

Our Rationale

There are several reasons that we hold to this core value in our family. One is that we want our children to have a global perspective of humanity. If all they ever experience is confined to their local town and certain tourist spots they have seen on vacations, then they have an extremely limited view of how people live. Experiencing another culture and seeing social issues such as deep poverty can only expand their minds to greater issues of the world. One of them may even become a world-changer and take on a global issue because of their experiences while volunteering abroad. 

Of all the service projects we have done through the years, this is the one that creates the greatest emotional response. It is both deeply rewarding and somewhat depressing at the same time. Experiencing these feelings can be uncomfortable and even cause families to avoid this type of activity. This would be a mistake since it is in these moments that hearts are impacted in significant ways. There is something profoundly special that happens in a child's spirit when they can look outside of themselves and care about someone else. The same holds true for any parent.

These poignant moments will have an immutable impact on a family. 

With the ongoing economic crisis, there are more families every day who live below the poverty level. This means that there are families who need real help. I remember when I was a child that we would often raise money for starving children around the world. Now that I am much older I can plainly see a great need right around my own community. Even though my family lives in a college town that is part of a fairly wealthy region, we only need to drive ten minutes to find families that do not have enough food to feed their children. The actual statistics of how many people in America alone cannot afford healthy food for their family is surprisingly high. This extends to every other developed country around the world.

Family Volunteering

Family Service Projects

Service projects and volunteering... we all think these are great ideas and most of us give them our greatest intentions. We then justify our lack of action by telling ourselves that some other person or family can do them. We rationalize why we do not volunteer as a family with a pile of excuses. While there is some truth in these excuses, they show a limited view of what family service projects are. A more complete picture of Family Service Projects offers many opportunities that any family can do.