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Bonding With Helping Hands
Volunteering With Grandkids
By Sue Poremba
It happens in even the closest grandparent-grandchild relationship. The grandchild turns into a teenager, and suddenly, it seems like the grandparent is dealing with a complete stranger.
Because the grandparent-grandchild connection is so important to both generations, grandparents are encouraged to make every effort possible to keep a close bond with their teenage grandchildren. One way to do this is by volunteering together.
Plus, a lot of teenagers simply enjoy volunteer work, according to Arthur Kornhaber founder of Foundation for Grandparenting and author of The Grandparent Guide (Contemporary Books/ McGraw-Hill).
"Kids today seem to have an altruistic bent," says Kornhaber. Sharing volunteer activities with grandparents is a wonderful idea as a way for the two generations to connect. "Grandparents are a source of knowledge for the grandchildren, while the teenagers keep their grandparents caught up with all the changes in the world," he says.
The joining of the generations works especially well in community service, according to Steven Rothenberg, who, through his company CollegeRecruiter.com, works closely with the volunteer recruitment efforts of AmeriCorps.
