Charity Begins at Home : Giving: Local religious leaders and volunteer directors say more and more parents want to introduce their children to needs of their community.

Cheryl Brewer had a 6-month-old daughter and wanted to help a few hours a week at almost any charity. When she called a local volunteer opportunity clearinghouse looking for a situation to which she could bring her baby, she was told it wouldn’t work.

But Brewer was determined, she says, because she believed that the earlier she accustomed her daughter to volunteering, the better the chances that her daughter would see charity as an ordinary part of life. After contacting about 10 organizations, Brewer found Meals on Wheels in Van Nuys, a San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council project that delivers more than 500 meals to senior citizens every day.

“They were skeptical at first. They couldn’t believe I could take my daughter, Erin, with me and handle the doors, the food and her. At first, I brought Erin in a child carrier--and it wasn’t a problem,” says Brewer, 29. “The older people really enjoyed seeing my daughter.”

Local religious leaders and volunteer directors say an increasing number of parents want to introduce their younger children to the needs of their community. Many parents feel a sense of frustration when they see their children lusting for the vast array of highly marketed toys without seeming to appreciate what they already have.

According to Rabbi Don Goor of Temple Judea in Tarzana, the concern for teaching charity to young children is growing. The temple recently incorporated the topic into its parenting class curriculum.

“Giving is not a natural inclination. It needs to be taught. People are not averse to giving, but they have to learn how to do it,” Goor says. The staff talks to parents about how to teach infants, toddlers and preschoolers to give.

According to Goor, the need to teach the true spirit of the holidays--giving--has become more acute in the last few years as Jewish families find themselves competing with Christmas. “Nothing shocks me more than walking into Sav-On or Thrifty and seeing Hanukkah stockings,” he says.

Goor says parents should look at the holiday they celebrate and highlight its true lessons for their children. He says that for Jews, the key is to teach the meaning of religious freedom--which is what Hanukkah celebrates--and the art of giving, which happens to be more a part of the secular celebration of Christmas than of the Jewish tradition.

What Goor suggests is that parents find ways to teach children to give on two different levels. On one of the nights of Hanukkah, for example, parents should give their children a sum, say $10, and help them choose a cause to which they will donate the money. Perhaps more important, he says, is to give children a hands-on lesson in charity, a way they can actually experience the act of giving.

“I think it’s so distant for a kid to send a can in to a food drive,” he says.

Mike Fasani, coordinator of children’s activities at Bel Air Presbyterian Church, recommends getting children involved in charity at any age and simply increasing the intensity or the level of involvement as they mature. For the last three years, the church has sponsored an Angel Tree Project: Even the youngest children can pull an angel off a Christmas tree in the lobby of the Education Center. The angel represents a family, and the adopting family gets details on what is needed and can furnish those things through the church. Older children can get more involved through Christmas caroling and distributing clothes to local shelters, Fasani says.

Despite the difficulty Brewer experienced when she tried to find a kid-friendly volunteer opportunity, there are some novel ways that families can choose to directly involve their young children in volunteering.

At the Valley Shelter in North Hollywood, for example, families can volunteer to give a monthly birthday party to the homeless children whose birthdays fall in that month. Volunteers--their own kids included--only need to sign up for a third Saturday of any month and bring a birthday cake for the shelter children to enjoy. Even the youngest children can appreciate the gift of a birthday party, says Jeff Farber, director of social services for the shelter.

Children also can volunteer to help children involved in the kindergarten-through-sixth-grade School House, which provides education to about 25 homeless children who live at the shelter. Kids can coach or tutor younger children in homework after school, review basic skills, read to them or help with performing arts or other enrichment, Farber says. Families or youth groups also can sponsor field trips for the School House children if they can furnish transportation.

At Loaves and Fishes in Van Nuys, a food pantry for low-income and homeless residents sponsored by Catholic Charities, children and their parents can get hands-on involvement in sorting food and clothing and bagging groceries.

Families with a yearning for more fresh-air community service can work for the National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains. Jeanne Brae, local public relations director for the National Park Service, suggests the new children’s room in the visitors center at Malibu Creek State Park in Agoura. Families can help run the crafts activities the center offers visiting children and can answer questions and provide interpretive information. Serving as nature-walk docents and assisting with trail clearing also are options for young families.

The Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles sponsors an Adopt-A-Soviet-Family program to help Soviet Jews who have recently moved to Los Angeles. According to Ron Rieder, director of public affairs, the council is looking for young families to make a six-month commitment when they informally adopt incoming families. The council tries to match families with children of comparable ages, to assist the new families in developing friendships and adjusting to Southern California.

The Jewish Federation Council also sponsors Project Caring, which connects interested youth groups with nearby nursing homes that request visits by children.

The Meals on Wheels program with which Brewer and her young daughter got involved needs drivers not just on a weekly, two-hour-a-stint basis but also on Thanksgiving and for the December holidays, says Alma Patotzka, project director. Volunteers can deliver meals in their own neighborhoods and need to have a driver’s license and proof of insurance to qualify.

Cheryl Brewer now has a second child and is no longer volunteering with Meals on Wheels because she thinks two children plus a meal might be too much to handle. But she’s looking for a new place to volunteer. “I want my kids to see me volunteering, and I like knowing I am doing something good for someone. I also like the added benefit that my daughters are bringing joy to others,” Brewer says.

Volunteering Opportunities

For more information, contact:

* Valley Shelter, 7843 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood 91605, (818) 982-4091.

* Loaves and Fishes, 14525 Delano St., Van Nuys 91411, (818) 997-0943.

* Malibu Creek State Park, 28754 Mulholland Highway, Agoura 91301, (818) 706-8809.

* Adopt-A-Soviet-Family, Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, (213) 651-5573.

* Project Caring, (213) 271-3306.

* Meals on Wheels, 6514 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys 91401, (818) 781-3300.