It's so important to teach our children the importance of giving. Children should know that there are people living in difficult situations, and that it is our responsibility to help when we can. Unfortunately, this is a topic about which I talk a lot, but don't do a lot.
So this year I am making giving part of our homeschool schedule. My goal is to get the boys involved in at least one giving project a month.
I have plans to have them help pack emergency aid boxes at a distribution center, the boxes go to places like Haiti that have been struck by natural disasters or extreme poverty. What I really want to get them involved locally, but living in a pretty small town, I'm scratching my head over where to start.
What ways do you give locally? Where is your family's favorite place to volunteer?
We do a lot of work at church volunteering. Dd and ds volunteer with our church's bus program. :D
ReplyDeleteWe do a lot at church as well but we also deliver food to the elderly once a month as a family through our local county program. It has really opened our eyes to others less fortunate than us. The children are responsible for using some of their spending money to supplement the food boxes and they have a great time using coupons to see who can get the most for their money. How about Meals on Wheels?
ReplyDeleteI also want to teach my kids about volunteering and helping others, but with three kids under four I was hard pressed to find something that they could be involved in and fit into a schedule full of babies. My solution is that twice a month separate from our own grocery shopping, we're going to go to the grocery store and each kid is going to pick out a few of THEIR favorite foods and then we'll drop that off at the food bank.
ReplyDeleteUmm, we foster. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe kids do the following:
donate clothes and toys to either the resource center for foster kids, or salvation army or goodwill - this is a good thing to do after birthdays and christmas when they get all new stuff and are more willing to part with things they no longer use
donate half of piggy bank savings to a charity of choice (the daughter ALWAYS picks an animal themed charity)
run/walk for a cause (I do the 5k and the kids do the Fun Run) you can do this for cancer, a local person with medical needs, at a zoo for an animal fund drive, etc.
visit an assisted living home (The Daughter freaked out when we went to a nursing home, so we changed to an assisted living facility where the people are fully functioning but in need of company) where the kids will read, play games, or just be squished to death by multiple hugs
Two things I feel compelled to recommend are to donate to United Way (or call and ask them how you can help) and make toiletry bags for kids in foster care (call your local social service agency to find out where you can drop these off)
And on an unrelated note, Fruitful Thursdays bothers me (and really, it's all about ME - Haha). It should be Fruitful Friday so you can take advantage of the alliteration of it all, like Practicing Patience and Getting Gentle. Or maybe I should just shut up already. LOL
Oh, and the boys could serve lunch at a local VFW ... service and history all in one.
So glad you posted this! I am adding the same thing to our plans this year. I think most 13 year olds are fairly self-absorbed so am hoping that *giving back* will reap some positive life lessons. The things I had on my list so far were:
ReplyDelete*Serving a meal at a mission
*Volunteering in a local elementary classroom to help with reading, math, or whatever teacher needs.
*Visiting an elder care facility.
*Check into Habitat for Humanity.
*Check the hospital to see if he can help with visitor guidance or deliveries.
For each mission, I would like to have him serve once a week for at least three to four weeks so he has the opportunity to actually meet and experience people rather than doing drive-by good deeds.