Social Responsibility
Imagine a world where all people understood they had a responsibility to take action to help the world, beyond just wearing an INSPI(RED) T-shirt? Your daughter can be part of that world, if you raise her to understand social responsibility.
A first step in social responsibility for a teen can be in doing what matters to her. Does she have a family member or friend who struggles with a disease or issue? That can be a nice place to begin helping the world. A fundraiser like a walk is a nice start, or calling a foundation that helps and asking where she can pitch in is a good move. Girls who are struggling can find that helping others helps themselves too. Social responsibility can offer girls the feeling of success, leadership, and good will.
If your daughter does not have a friend or family member in need, encourage her to read about different issues in the world. World hunger. Women's rights. Poverty in America. Anything that piques her interest — help her find a way to make a difference. Make sure, though, that it's a cause that truly matters to her. That buy-in could be her first step toward being a helping and positive member of society.
She may find, too, that helping in itself can be a help. Girls who volunteer for organizations generally have better self-esteem (see Chapter 6 for more on this). They also find that the rewards go far beyond just knowing they've made a difference.
First, there's the school spin: more than a few girls have found great school project subjects or essay ideas from within their volunteer work. Teachers and schools react positively to girls who work on such projects and who carry over what they have learned to the classroom.
There are other rewards as well: scholarships, award programs, and even national recognition are available to teens who volunteer. In years that can be thick with rejection and worry, such recognition can go a long way in building a girl's self-confidence and character (and scholarship money makes Mom and Dad happy too).
In the end, social responsibility may pay off but should be undertaken for its own sake and for what it is: one human reaching out and helping another human, the purest kindness that exists.
