Childhood doesn't last forever. Neither does the opportunity to shape it
Less than a 5-minute read, 3 steps, and tools that can help you change your life.
Step 1 – Before creation
3 Questions That Open the Heart
Question 1
Who are we creating for today?
Choose a different group with the children for each activity.
Our surprises reach children in hospitals, people with disabilities, older adults in care homes, and other groups in the community.
You can ask:
What might their day look like?
What do they enjoy?
What do you think would make them smile?
🎯 GOAL
Introduce children to a different person's world each time — and help them develop empathy for different groups in society.
Question 2
What could make them smile?
Now we move from thinking about who will receive the surprise to thinking about how they might feel and what could bring them joy.
You can ask:
What colors might make them happy?
How would you like them to feel when they receive the surprise?
What could you add to make them feel that someone truly thought about them?
🎯 GOAL
Turn the activity from “something I am making” into something I am making for another person.
Question 3
If you were in their place, what would make you happy?
Here, children use their own feelings and experiences to understand another person.
You can ask:
What helps you on a difficult day?
What kind of surprise would make you happy?
What makes you feel that someone truly thought about you?
🎯 GOAL
Help children connect their own feelings with the feelings of others. This is the heart of empathy.
Step 2 – During creation
Bring the children's thoughts back, from time to time, to the person who will receive their surprise.
You can ask:
Why did you choose that color?
How do you think they will feel when they see it?
Is there anything you would like to add especially for them?
You do not need to stop the activity for another conversation. A few small questions along the way are enough.
🎯 GOAL
Help the child not only make something — but feel that they are creating it especially for another person.
Step 3 – When the creation is complete
Continue to talk and stimulate thought even during preparation.
Start with a question:
“Do you know what an ambassador is?”
Listen to their answers. Then explain:
“An ambassador is someone who carries an important message and shares it with others.
Today, you are Kindness Ambassadors.”
When you get home, tell someone in your family:
Then tell the children:
“Maybe because of you, someone at home will decide to do something kind too.”
🎯 GOAL
Help children understand that they have the power to make an impact beyond the activity — to carry an idea forward, inspire others, and create new circles of kindness.
Long-Term Effects of Volunteering
Giving and Its Connection to Social Status
Children Influence Their Parents’ Behavior
How Children Learn to Care for Others
Physiological Changes and Empathy
Empathy – Physiology in Preschool Children
Giving Leads to Happiness in Children
The study examines adolescents who volunteered and finds a positive connection between volunteering during adolescence and later mental well-being, higher self-esteem and social involvement
The study shows a direct connection between volunteering during adolescence and confidence and mental well-being, while also pointing to a lasting impact — supporting the importance of early exposure to volunteering
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Volunteering at a Young Age Is Linked to Confidence and Mental Well-Being
“Volunteering is associated with higher levels of psychological well-being and self-esteem.”
📍 תוצאות ודיון (Results / Discussion sections)
➡️Connection:
The research directly points to a connection between volunteering at a young age and confidence and mental well-being — strengthening the idea that early exposure to volunteering can contribute to personal and emotional development
🔹 A Lasting Impact Over Time
Described throughout the article – a connection between volunteering during adolescence and outcomes in young adulthood
📍 Based on longitudinal data (longitudinal study)
➡️ Connection:
This is not only a short-term effect — but a connection that remains over time, emphasizing the importance of starting at a young age
Stephen G. Post
A broad research review showing that volunteering is associated with improved mental well-being, reduced depression and a stronger sense of meaning
The review shows a consistent connection between volunteering and mental well-being — reinforcing the potential of volunteering as a tool for developing resilience and meaning
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Volunteering Contributes to Mental Well-Being and Health
“There is strong evidence that volunteering is associated with improved mental and physical health.”
📍 Beginning–Middle of the Article (General Review of Findings
➡️ Connection:
The article points to a clear connection between volunteering and mental well-being — a principle that may be especially meaningful when the experience begins at a young age
Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, Lara B. Aknin
The study examines elementary school children and shows that acts of giving and helping others improve mental well-being and social status among peers
The study shows that acts of giving during elementary school years improve mental well-being and social relationships — findings that support volunteering activities at a young age
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Acts of Giving Improve Well-Being and Social Relationships
“Performing acts of kindness led to increases in well-being and peer acceptance.”
📍 תוצאות (Results section)
➡️ Connection:
The study presents a direct impact of helping behaviors on well-being and social relationships — key factors in the development of emotional resilience
Gustavo Carlo, Laura Padilla-Walker et al
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
“Children’s prosocial tendencies can shape parenting practices over time.”
➡️ Connection:
✔A child who behaves with empathy → changes family interactions
✔ The beginning of a “bottom-up influence
Nancy Eisenberg,
Richard A. Fabes ואחרים
The article explores the development of empathy and prosocial behavior in children, showing that social experiences and helping others strengthen empathy and positive behavior
The article shows that helping others strengthens empathy and social behavior — a finding that supports volunteering activities at a young age
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Helping Others Strengthens Empathy
“Prosocial behaviors are strengthened through opportunities to help others.”
📍 Sections discussing the development of empathy and prosocial behavior
➡️ Connection:
If helping others strengthens empathy — volunteering activities at a young age may serve as a direct mechanism for developing empathy.
The article explores the role of the hormone oxytocin in social behavior, interpersonal relationships and empathy
Oxytocin has been linked to bonding, trust, emotional regulation and prosocial behavior from an early age
The article does not directly discuss volunteering, but it presents a biological basis for connection, empathy and social behavior, emphasizing the importance of early social experiences — principles that support the value of early social and volunteering activities
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 A Biological Basis for Prosocial Behavior and Human Connection
“Oxytocin plays a central role in the formation of social bonds, affiliation, and prosocial behaviors.”
📍 Beginning–Middle of the Article (Theoretical Review of the Role of Oxytocin)
➡️ Connection:
If there is a biological system supporting connection, empathy and prosocial behavior from an early age — exposure to social activities such as volunteering may activate and strengthen these mechanisms
🔹 Early Development of Relationships and Emotional Regulation
“Early interactions with caregivers shape the oxytocin system and influence social functioning across development.”
📍 אמצע המאמר (חלק על early development)
➡️ Connection:
If there is a biological system supporting connection, empathy and prosocial behavior from an early age — exposure to social activities such as volunteering may activate and strengthen these mechanisms
The study examines children and finds a connection between physiological responses (such as heart rate and arousal) and empathy and prosocial behavior
The study shows a connection between physiological responses and empathy and social behavior — reinforcing the understanding that empathy is a deep process that also includes biological components
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Empathy Is Connected to Physiological Mechanisms
“Physiological responding is associated with empathy-related responding and prosocial behavior.”
📍 תוצאות (Results section)
➡️ Connection:
The study suggests that empathy is not only an abstract idea — but is also connected to physiological systems, meaning that social experiences may influence children on a biological level as well
The study examines preschool children and shows that even at a very young age, children naturally tend to help others, even without reward, as part of the development of empathy and prosocial behavior.
The study shows that preschool children display a natural tendency toward helping and empathy — supporting the importance of nurturing these abilities at an early age through social activities.
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 נA Natural Tendency Toward Helping and Empathy at an Early Age
“Young children readily help others in instrumental tasks, even without being rewarded.”
📍 Experiment Results (Results section)
➡️ Connection:
The study suggests that young children already possess a natural tendency to help — therefore frameworks such as volunteering can nurture and strengthen this existing ability
🔹 Empathy as a Basis for Prosocial Behavior
Described throughout the article – the connection between helping behavior and the development of empathy
📍 Introduction and Discussion
➡️ Connection:
If helping behavior appears at an early age as part of empathy development — exposure to activities of giving can support and strengthen this development
The study examines young children and shows that giving to others — even at a very early age — increases happiness more than receiving a personal reward
The study shows that children experience greater happiness when they give to others — supporting the idea that acts of giving may contribute to emotional well-being and resilience
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Giving Enhances Emotional Well-Being (a Foundation for Resilience
“Children were happier when giving treats to others than when receiving treats themselves.”
📍 Results section
➡️ Connection:
The study shows that giving creates positive emotions — and emotional well-being is one of the central components of emotional resilience
The study shows that using resources for others (giving) increases happiness more than using them for oneself, including among children in follow-up experiments
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Giving to Others Enhances Emotional Well-Being
“Spending money on others promotes happiness.”
📍 Results section
➡️ Connection:
The study suggests that acts of giving create positive emotions — a principle that supports volunteering and giving activities at a young age
A meta-analysis of long-term studies examining the connection between volunteering and mental health
The findings show that volunteering is associated with improved mental well-being, reduced depression and an increased sense of meaning and control in life.
The research mainly focuses on adults rather than children — but it still provides an important foundation, especially when combined with studies about children
The meta-analysis shows a consistent connection between volunteering, mental well-being, reduced depression and a sense of meaning — findings that support the potential of volunteering in developing emotional resilience
Connection to the HELEK Initiative – Education for Community Volunteering & Selected Quotes
🔹 Volunteering Is Linked to Mental Well-Being and Resilience
“Volunteering was associated with reduced depression, increased well-being, and improved life satisfaction.”
📍 Results section
➡️ Connection:
The study points to a consistent connection between volunteering, mental health and resilience — principles that may be especially significant when volunteering begins at a young age
🔹 Sense of Meaning and Control – Components of Resilience
Described throughout the article – sense of purpose and control)
📍Discussion section
➡️ Connection:
A sense of meaning and control are central components of emotional resilience — therefore volunteering activities may support the development of resilience
