Monday afternoon, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a young man with a stack of grocery sacks and papers in his hand.
He introduced himself and let me know he was doing a food drive in our neighborhood for the local food banks. He gave me a plastic sack, asked if I’d be willing to fill it up and said he’d be back later in the week to pick it up.
The girls and I immediately took the sack downstairs to our “pantry” (i.e. some shelves on the wall in our utility closet). We came up with tuna, pasta and a number of other canned and jarred goods to fill the sack with. As we were pulling things off the shelf, it provided an excellent opportunity for me to share with the girls again about how important it is that we live our lives with open hands, seeking to give to and bless those in need.
It was such a simple thing and a grocery sack full of non-perishables won’t really make that much of a difference. However, our hope and prayer is that by constantly looking for opportunities to teach our children to be givers, it can make a lifelong impact in their lives — and in the lives of all those they come in contact with.
How have you been encouraging your children to be givers recently? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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When my daughter gets her allowance, one portion of it is designated for charity. When the time comes to spend this portion, she often goes to the Samaritan’s Purse website and views their gift catalog. They have many options that are less than $10 (Ex: $9 will feed a baby for a week) and it allows her to see EXACTLY how her money helps those less fortunate. She also loves being able to choose which way her money will be spent.
Zachie and MacLean have been looking for a summer service project–we try to do one big thing a quarter that they’ve picked so that they’re invested in the outcome. The twins decided to do the “Backpack Project” to put together toiletries and school supplies for kids at the School With No Name. This amazing little place is operated by dedicated teachers at the Road Home, our local homeless shelter for families. When kids are local, every effort is made to keep them in their regular schools, but sometimes that’s not possible. The School With No Name keeps these sweet kiddos up with their grade, but there’s not much money for extras. Every kid deserves a new backpack and school supplies!
If you’ve got a Smith’s nearby, they’ve got an amazing sale right now on toiletries and school supplies. I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked for a discount to buy 10 backpacks for charity. The nice manager immediately gave me 20% off everything! I know that Walmart and Target are offering great deals right now, too. We saved our money this summer and budgeted to spend $11.00 per backpack. The total bill was actually $73.24, so we kept under budget!
We bought basics like toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandaids, shampoo, baby wipes and DEODORANT. (When you can’t take a shower anytime you like, hygiene is a challenge.) The twins packed all the backpacks, and added a note to say “hi” to their new friends, wishing them a happy school year. I’m so excited to take the boys down to the school with their gifts–but not as thrilled as they are! See why I’m crazy about my boys?
For more information about The School With No Name, click here. To help kids in need in your city, click here.
Around Christmas time, I have my two sons go through their toys and belongings and choose the ones they want to donate to those in need. I use this time to teach them that there are children out there (even some in your school and in your classroom) that are in need of toys, clothes, food, etc. (I, of course, never tell them any of the children’s names.)
My boys always feel good afterward that they were able to help those in need.
Crystal, forgive me but I must correct you… when you say the small bag of food will not make that much of a difference… but you are so wrong. It will make a world of difference! Each little thing we do adds up. Even if we donate just one can of food that could be a meal that you provided that would have been missed! Each little thing we do makes a huge impact! It may not seem like much to us but to someone who doesn’t have the blessings we do, it is a HUGE thing! When my neighbor was a young boy he searched threw trash dumpsters each day for dinner because they were so poor and one small bag of groceries would have meant the world to him! You are doing such a great thing!
We try to teach are children to be thankful for the many blessings they have and explain that some children are not as fortunate. Just threw little things like this our children have a heart to give toys, money and all sorts of things to those in need. We recently completed the Mission India series from Sonlight and my daughter still talks about sending money to India. Another thing I do often is prepare meals for those in need and this has been a huge teaching experience as we show server through doing. My daughters help prepare the meal and are proud of the part they play in giving to others!
Thank you Crystal for all you do, I’m so glad I found your blog recently and look forward to all of your posts!
During the holidays, I let my daughter use the change from our checkout to put in the “red bucket”….this year we talked about it helping other families have a nice holiday…we are also working through Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve from Heavenly Homemakers…its great and we are helping friends and neighbors that maybe just needed a smile from my girls that day…
My husband works for a national food manufacturer and every once in a while we are able to purchase company products at a huge discount. Nothing you could make a meal out of, but staples and necessities. We started calling the closet where we keep it “God’s closet” and every time the boy scouts or our church’s food pantry asks for donations, we go to “God’s closet” and fill a bag or two. Since we started doing this, the closet has never been empty or run out. Even though my children are teenagers, they have been able to see God’s provision not only for us, but for those who are in need.
We have 3 separate banks for my 4 year-old: his personal savings bank, a baby bottle to save coins for the crisis pregnancy center we support, and a bank to save coins for an orphanage in Honduras. We take both of our kids (4 years and 20 months) on family mission trips every year and this is a fantastic way to teach the kids how to give to others. I think the most important thing with giving to others is that you are giving in faith, knowing that God has a plan for that money. Once we give it, it is out of our control. Sometimes it is the obedience of our giving not just the person receiving it.
We are a family of service. We make meals at least once a month, sometimes once a week. Sometimes they’re for someone that just had a baby, someone struggling with cancer, or someone that just had an overwhelming week. My husband takes the older boys and shovels drive-ways for the ones with cancer or physical limitations. And finally, during the summer, we have them pick a neighbor to do a service project for. Maybe it’s an elderly who needs their yard raked, someone with physical limitations that needs their yard picked up, a dog walked, etc. Trying to make them aware of others in a world where we are so caught up in ourselves.
THE BOY SCOUTS ARE DOING THIS IN 2 WEEKS ALSO LAST YEAR THE TOTAL FOR THE LOCAL FOOD BANK WAS EST 900 LB OF FOOD!!!!! ITS AWESOME
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