Supporting Hosts
Let’s support our host families to such a high degree that they can’t wait to host again! When you ask a host parent how you can help, they will often say, “We’re fine!” The key to supporting a host family is that you don’t give them a choice. See the text example:
Everyone knows you can take them a meal, but, if you need help thinking of a few creative ideas to help a host family, choose a few from the list below! PS-you don’t have to be an official volunteer for any of these ideas! But we’d really appreciate if you took the time to fill out this 3-minute Resource Friend Form so that we can better keep track of who’s supporting who.
The List
- Act as a life guard. Go swimming with the host family to help manage all of the kids in the water.
- Drop off a pack of diapers out of the blue–for the hosted kids or the other children in the family.
- Call the host family from Target and pick stuff up for them.
- Enable host families to enroll their kids in your day care, summer camp, or kid care at sport facilities.
- Offer to watch the kids during their life group/ Bible study if it’s in their home.
- Bring ice cream/ popsicles to the family.
- Pick up McDonalds Kids Meals for all the kids.
- Walk their dog.
- Mow their lawn.
- Offer to do summer camp drop off/ pick up of kids while the host parent stays home with hosted child.
- Watch all the kids outside while the host parents get some quiet time inside.
- Bring a basket of cheese sticks, goldfish, juice boxes, and popsicles.
- Text them that you’ve set your phone to remind you to pray for them every hour.
- Vacuum out their family vehicle (and the car seats).
- Assist as the second adult for a trip to the park.
- Bring fresh produce from your garden.
- Fund a weekend vacation or family camp for the host family so they can have time together as a family after the hosted kids go home.
- Bring iced coffee to that host mom. Just do it.
- Get a group together at church on Sunday (10 mins after service) to pray for everyone involved.
- Take their car through the car wash.