Kids Give Back hosts family volunteer activities

A Kids Give Back event in August.

Families interested in teaching children about the importance of helping their community are encouraged to join an upcoming Family Volunteer Day hosted by Kids Give Back.

The program was founded by Denise Gavilan, a resident of the Mantua neighborhood just west of Annandale.

The next event, on Oct. 24, will focus on fall gardening. There will be two volunteer shifts, 1-2:30 p.m. and 2:30-4 p.m., with no more than 10 families per shift. Volunteers will also install a mural consisting of more than 200 tiles made by kids.

Participants at a Family Volunteer Day on Nov. 21 will make Thanksgiving baskets for local families. An event on Dec. 21 will feature holiday baby boxes – with diapers, clothes, bottles, and other items for newborns.

The Family Volunteer Day events are held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, although the program isn’t connected to that church or any other religious organization.

Denise Gavilan with kids at Family Volunteer Day.

The events are geared for children age 6-12, but parents can bring younger siblings. Families must register in advance. Participants must wear face masks and practice social distancing. There’s a $25 fee per family for supplies.

Gavilan feels strongly about giving children opportunities to volunteer. In 2019, she started the Kids Care Club at Mantua Elementary School, launched, a summer camp focusing on volunteering at the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club, then hosted a brief session during the teacher workdays in November.

“That program took off really fast,” Gavilan says. “Parents were very supportive.”

She expanded the concept by forming the Kids Give Back nonprofit organization. But then when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, she had to cancel plans for more camps and activities.

In August, she tested the idea of having a Family Volunteer Day where kids assembled backpacks full of school supplies for FACETS. That was a success, so she began organizing more similar events.