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If you ask Brooke Anthony about her family's volunteer efforts, you'd better be prepared to listen for a while. The list of groups Anthony and her family have volunteered for is long and growing.

Both Rachael, 14, and Emily, 12, spend their summers assisting teachers and tutoring younger students in schools near their Mount Airy home. They also have volunteered at Frederick County Animal Control, helped their mother to reactivate a Neighborhood Watch program and are members of Volunteer Frederick's Youth Action Corps.

The Corps is a group for 11- to 17-year-olds that brainstorms, coordinates and executes service projects throughout Frederick County.

Both also participate in numerous projects coordinated by the Service-Learning Advisory Board of Frederick County Public Schools, spend time at a nursing home and help to coach cheerleading.

It's no wonder they both were nominated for service awards by their schools.

According to Anthony, the girls want to expand their volunteering by getting involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Frederick County, an organization that helps support at-risk youth. And they'd like to raise funds for Operation Smile, a children's medical charity.

"Volunteering is contagious," she said.

Anthony herself volunteers for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, working to make wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses, has coached both soccer and cheerleading and participates in many of the service projects alongside her girls.

"It's amazing how uplifting it is to lift up others. As a mom I want my children to know we are an average family, and we really don't need much," Anthony said. "If you can help others, it brings a smile to your face, a smile to their face."

Alison L. Miller, a psychologist at Frederick Psychology Center who specializes in working with children, says that it is important for parents to instill the value of volunteerism for the "strength of moral and character development that it encourages."

Miller said that when children give of their time to help others, it teaches them a sense of responsibility to the world and their community and gives them "the ability to show empathy, altruism and to tolerant differences in others.

"It also helps them to see that they really do make a difference, and that they have an impact on the world," she adds.

Jim Ferrant, career and technology education curriculum specialist and service learning coordinator for Frederick County Public Schools, said the state of Maryland requires students to complete 75 hours of service learning by the time they graduate. This is "to encourage youth volunteerism because it's a good character builder."

Frederick County Public Schools promotes service outside of school, but also infuses it into the curriculum, having students prepare and reflect on projects ranging from food drives to writing to Congress.

Stacey White, youth services director for Volunteer Frederick, said volunteering can also help older children become more focused about a career. "[Volunteering] helps them determine what they want to do in the future, helps them get out there and experience things they may not have done," White said.

Despite all the benefits, parents still might find it difficult to get a child to volunteer for the first time. Even Anthony says her daughters were nervous when first getting involved with the Youth Action Corps because "it was something new, new faces." Her suggestion to parents is a "three-time" rule.

"That's my philosophy with anything. Go to a meeting three times and then decide," Anthony said.

Miller suggests volunteering as a family at least at first, so children will be less intimidated.

"It also strengthens the family unit, which can be a very positive side benefit," she added.

White says offering a variety of volunteer options to children is helpful in getting them motivated, so they can pick an activity with which they are most comfortable.

"[Volunteer Frederick] offers a variety of projects for kids to be interested in, so if they do not like to do crafts, later we might have a trail maintenance project," White said. "And there is no set commitment. They can come as much as they want."

And what age is best to start encouraging volunteering? Although there is no hard and fast rule, Miller says at about the age of 7 or 8, a child has "more understanding of self and other," and can grasp the concept of being helpful. But, volunteering as a family could allow children to start getting involved at an earlier age since parents are there to assist.

At Volunteer Frederick, Youth Action Corps Junior involves ages 5 to 10 and is a scaled down version of the older group, meeting just once per month for a service project.

Miller said at any age, children how to "work together, work toward a goal, work to accomplish something," by volunteering. "It gives them something worthwhile to do," she said. "It gives an opportunity for face-to-face, real involvement in the community."

White says that once young people start volunteering, "they generally learn they love it and come back."

Volunteer Frederick has more than 70 participants in its Youth Action Corps. "There's a big push in our nation to serve, and [children] are the ones leading the way," she said.

Learn about ways your child could volunteer in the community:

-Volunteer Frederick

Contact: Stacey White, staceyw@volunteerfrederick.org, 301-663-5214, www.volunteerfrederick.org

-Service-Learning Advisory Board, Frederick County Public Schools

Contact: Jim Ferrant, jim.ferrant@fcps.org, 301-644-5000

-American Red Cross, Frederick County Chapter

Contact: Marilyn Wright, 301-662-5131, www.frederickredcross.org

-Youth Service America

www.ysa.org