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Giving Tuesday: What I am Teaching My Daughter about Giving This Year

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Special thanks to The Motherhood for partnering with me to make this Giving Tuesday post possible. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own, as always. 
We are just a few short days away from Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday), friends!
Maybe I should back up for a second….have you heard of Giving Tuesday? This year it will take place on December 3rd, and it is designed to follow on the heels of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which I think we all can agree tend to be a little heavy on the spirit of excess consumption. On Giving Tuesday, we turn our attentions to the joy that can be found in giving. It’s also an opportunity for people to join together to think of ways to give more, give smarter, and to let personal philanthropy shine as part of the holiday season.

What I am Teaching My Children about Giving

Last week my Sunday School class had a great conversation about how we cultivate a spirit of gratitude and a spirit of generosity, both within ourselves, and within the children who are part of our lives. I shared my approach to the topic that day, and it made me realize that it is something others might want to hear, as well. I don’t think I have the perfect approach, by any means, but I do think it has been an effective with my preschooler. Perhaps it will be helpful to some of you, as well!
One of the ways that my family gives back during the holiday season is by participating in the Angel Tree, and purchasing some needed and wanted gifts for a local child whose family is struggling to provide. I involve my child in the entire process of selecting a child to “buddy up” with (as opposed to “sponsor”) and she also helps me with the gift selection, based on the child’s expressed needs and wishes.
Because she is a child, she understandably goes through a period of discomfort when the remembers that the awesome stuff she has picked out is not for her. And that’s when the questions begin about why we are giving away these things, and why she can’t have the same stuff.

Taking Turns

This is when I talk with my child about how one thing it is important to do as a human is take turns helping out one another. Then I help her remember all the ways that people help us in our lives. I point out babysitters, friends, teachers introducing lessons, going over to someone’s house and being treated to dinner, and even shopping at the thrift store, which we love to do. Darah knows that everything in that store is there because someone was ready to share with others. After I help her recall how others give to us and how wonderful that feels, I explain that it is our turn now to give to someone else.
Perhaps the examples I give her of us being helped are not as obvious as something like being helped by Angel Tree, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a whole lot of people out there who, one way or another, have helped us so that we can be our very best selves and be safe and happy. When you help a child to develop empathy for a situation, and to relate to being helped, then helping others doesn’t feel like a hand out, or reaching down to someone who is in some way “less.” It is simply about taking a turn to be the one to share.
Will the lesson need to get a little more complicated over time? Of course. But my real hope for now is that I’m laying the foundation in my children that they will be more aware of how much others help us, so that they will feel a compulsion to pay it forward and help others. Not trying to be too Pollyanna here, but can you imagine how different the world would be if giving to others was something everyone just naturally did? And I know it is big task to try to develop that in my own children, especially since I will tell you that I sometimes struggle to role model that behavior, but I think it is a goal worth pursuing all the same

Join Us

This Tuesday, please join me in being generous in whatever way speaks to you the most, be it by writing a check to a nonprofit whose mission moves you, or by volunteering, or by helping your neighbor in some small way. We are going to be taking a load of donations to the thrift store that we also shop at, because it is our turn to share some items with others! We are going to try to send more toys this time around, so that some of those toys might find themselves under someone else’s Christmas tree this year! Here are a TON of ideas to get your family started!

There are over 2,400 charities, volunteer organizations, corporations and foundations working together in all 50 U.S. states to help get the word out about Giving Tuesday, and to encourage individuals to live out one of the most awesome traits of Americans: generosity. And remember: it doesn’t have to be grand to be good. Every turn taken to be the one to share has a ripple effect. Get ready to start one of those ripples this Tuesday!

 

A Lesson in Gratitude for Sharing with #SpinbrushCFK

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You may remember that about a week ago I did some shopping for oral care supplies to donate to a local nonprofit organization as part of the #SpinbrushCFK Simple Service Project. I purchased several items at Walmart, and if you missed it, you can read all about my Champion for Kids shopping trip here.

We donated the oral care products to Room in the Inn, which is a transitional housing facility for women and their children who are experiencing homelessness. It was my aim to get Darah very involved in this project, and for this to be an opportunity to talk about sharing and gratitude. I started off by laying out all of the products we were going to donate for Darah to see (I’ll tell you about the aluminum foil, which likely seems out of place, later).

Darah was quick to notice the Arm & Hammer brushes that had stickers, and picked them up to give them hugs.

When I told Darah that we would be sharing these toothbrushes with other children, her face fell. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she wanted to keep these toothbrushes. I’m actually really glad that she felt that possessiveness take over, as it gave us the opportunity to really talk about sharing.

I asked her to think about the times when she has gone to someone’s house to play, and how wonderful it was when they shared with her. I also asked her to think about all the times that mommy has come home from the thrift store with new treasures, all because someone else donated them to share. I told her how thankful I was that people share with us all the time, and she said that she was thankful, too.

Then I told her that part of loving other people is to share with them whenever you are able. We had the opportunity that day to share with other people, and isn’t that so wonderful? At this point, she really got excited about sharing, and it made my heart melt. If Tim and I can raise children with compassionate hearts, we will have left the greatest legacy.

So we got in the car and went to Room in the Inn. Upon our arrival, Darah immediately spotted the playground!

We then headed inside and met with Mary, the administrative assistant and former client. She had an amazing story to share and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to visit with her.

 

Then I asked Darah to unpack all the things we brought to share.

The products I selected were based on a conversation I had with the staff at Room in the Inn before I went shopping. I called to see which oral care products they needed the most, and I’m so glad I did, because the answer surprised me. They said they actually had an over-abundance of toothpaste, adult toothbrushes and dental floss, but that they had nothing for children. They also mentioned to me that they could really use some aluminum foil, so I picked some up for them while I was shopping (check out how I found a really good buy on aluminum foil in my Google+ shop link!).

Before you make an in-kind donation, you might want to give the site a call to make sure you are getting what they really need the most. The answer may surprise you, and your call will definitely ensure that your donation gets put to use!

I want to encourage you to check out the Champions for Kids nonprofit and think about small act you can do to help better your community. You can follow them on Twitter or Facebook, too.  And if you liked those fabulous toothbrushes with the stickers, get connected with Spinbrush and Arm&Hammer via Facebook and Twitter, too!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions For Kids #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Making a Difference in My Community: #SpinbrushCFK

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Did you know that children living in poverty are twice as likely as their more affluent peers to suffer from tooth decay? I’m not very surprised to hear this, as MANY people in this nation, even those who have basic medical insurance, lack dental insurance, and a trip to the dentist can be a real budget-buster.

But these kids who have untreated oral disease suffer daily from pain and from the embarrassment of having discolored or damaged teeth. While I don’t have the funds to help cover dental bills for another family, I CAN help on the prevention side, and so can you!

I’m part of the Champions for Kids program, which seeks to gather folks together to donate oral care supplies to local nonprofits who work with children. I’m participating in the Spin into Action SIMPLE Service Project, and through this, I’m going to be donating some oral care items to Room in the Inn, a Chattanooga residential program for women and children experiencing homelessness.

Room in the Inn is an impressive program, because it works with the women in the program for anywhere from 3 to 9 months to help them find stability and reduce the likelihood that they will find themselves homeless again in the future. Health care, life skills training, parenting classes, mentoring and assistance with finding affordable housing are all offered. I really respect what the program does!

Two days ago I went shopping  at Walmart for some oral care supplies to donate, and you can check out my shopping experience here, if you like! Here are a few highlights:

Cute Arm & Hammer spinbrushes! You can customize your look with stickers!

It’s important to look for flouride-free toothpastes for little ones who might not remember to spit it out after brushing!

Anti-cavity rinses are a great way to help prevent tooth decay in children. 

I hope you are inspired by this post and might be able to make a donation of oral care products to an organization in need in your community. If you decide to be one of the Champions for Kids, please go to www.championforkids.com/simple and let us know that you are one of millions who has made a positive difference! You can also keep up with what’s happening with this program by following Champions for Kids and Spinbrush/Arm&Hammer on Twitter!

Stay tuned for an update next week where I tell you more about my donation experience!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions For Kids #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.