The Family Groove "Giving Back"

GIVING BACK
EASY WAYS TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO PAY IT FORWARD

Giving Back

In August, MTV debuted a show called Exiled, in
which spoiled-beyond-your-wildest-comprehension
teens get sent to remote villages in places like
Africa and the Amazon to learn a few real-life lessons.

Here’s hoping your children are not so spoiled that
they need to be sent to far-off lands, but this holiday
season—when kids typically get lavished with gifts—you may want to remind them that there are others out there who are less fortunate.

If you need some inspiration on how to accomplish that, here are a few ideas:

For Kids

Birthday Benevolence
In 2007, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis (www.lebonheur.org) inaugurated the Le Bonheur Birthday Club, which encourages children to ask for birthday gifts that can be donated to children in the hospital. After the birthday, parents schedule a time for the family to visit the hospital, where they get to see the gifts in action and receive a tour of the unit they chose to donate to. Plus, the gift-giving child is awarded with a special young philanthropist award. Consider establishing a similar program at your local children’s hospital or simply make it a birthday tradition among your family.

Donate for a Day
Trudy Schuett stumbled upon a volunteer effort with her son, who was 7 at the time. After relocating from Michigan to Arizona, Trudy started volunteering at the local senior center, where her son Sean’s grandparents lived. Soon, Sean started tagging along to the center’s special events. “Sean surprised everybody by pitching in and helping, and soon he became the center’s youngest official volunteer,” Trudy says.

So while your 7-year-old might not have the attention span to sit and play a full game of chess with an elder, Trudy and Sean prove that you can get your children involved in any one-day volunteer event. Assign them specific tasks, such as distributing favors or playing DJ or party assistant.

Money Matters
For children ages 5 through 12, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has established the Generations program (www.stjude.org/genhclub), which helps young children learn money management. As a member of the GenH (for Generation Hope) Club, your child will receive a Hopejar bank with sections for money that can be spent, money for saving and money that is meant to be shared. Participants receive quarterly newsletters, online access to games and a virtual hospital tour.

For Teens

Online Altruism
The Internet offers more than shopping and a way to keep in touch with friends and family around the world. If you’re looking for a safe way to let your teen explore the World Wide Web, check out www.firstgiving.com, a company that has applied the social networking concept to giving back. The organization works with more than 2,000 nonprofit charities and thousands of individual fundraisers to help raise money through online personal profiles—not unlike the ones you’d find on MySpace or Facebook. Donors have their names and donation amount displayed, and they also can add comments offering words of encouragement to the organizer.

Click and Give
Since your teen is online all the time anyway, direct him or her to United Way’s new website, www.liveunited.org. There, teens can enter their zip code and find ongoing volunteer opportunities nearby. Available activities depend on your family’s location but may include mentoring a homeless child, being a tutor or delivering meals.

Books That Benefit
Whether they want to or not, teens often have to buy books in preparation for high school and college classes—why not have a portion of the purchases go to charity? At www.abunga.com, 5 percent of all the online bookstore’s net profits are donated to a nonprofit organization of the buyer’s choosing. Charities include Cure International, Faith Promise Church and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

For The Whole Family

Schooled in Giving Back
Lyn Dobrin and her family put their own spin on gift giving when they decided to support an elementary school in Kenya (www.semaacademy.org). At a housewarming party, her family asked guests to make a contribution to the school instead of bringing a house gift. You can make this idea work over the holidays by asking family members to bring one gift to be donated to a local charity or a larger charity like Toys for Tots, or you could choose a school to sponsor, like Lyn and her family did.

Dog Days of Giving
Your family has been arguing over whether to get a dog for years, so why not try a trial run while also giving back? Leader Dogs for the Blind (www.leaderdog.org) lets families adopt a golden retriever puppy for one year, during which time the family teaches the dog simple obedience commands and takes it on familiarization excursions. At the end of the year, the puppy leaves to be trained to lead the blind. Of course, the departure can be hard, but your family will have learned a valuable lesson while also finding out whether or not you’re all ready to care for a dog!

Razor-Sharp Goodwill
After one of Don Young’s co-workers took part in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids’ Cancer (www.stbaldricks.org)—in which participants shave their head in support of childhood cancer research—Don just knew his family of five had to participate.

His wife, Kelly, understandably reluctant to shave her head, made a deal with Don and their three sons: If the family raised $2,500, just Don would shave his head. But if they raised $5,000, then the entire family would go for the buzz.

Within three days, the family had collected $8,000, which contributed to the $48.5 million the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has raised to date. A bold move for sure, but one that betters the world!

—Jennifer Merritt