A Class Act
Mondays at 9:00 am are usually not the highlight of my week. But this week it was, thanks to Ali and her 2nd/3rd grade classmates at Farnham Elementary. Ali is a cool kid with a big heart who wanted to do something to help other kids over the holidays.
We found a local nonprofit who works with foster kids and at-risk families and came up with the idea that her class would decorate stockings, fill them with a $5 gift card, a beanie baby, and a candy cane. The stockings would then be delivered to the nonprofit Help One Child for its annual Christmas party. (At the party, the kids get to sit on Santa’s lap and have their picture taken with him.)
Ali’s teacher was on board with the idea, flyers were sent home to the parents . . . and 100 percent of kids participated. Sure, this was a “feel good” activity but for 15 minutes this morning, Ali’s friends were able to learn about generosity through a hands-on project. (To kick it off, we did a quick talk about the importance of putting ourselves in other kids’ shoes and being more thoughtful.) My favorite part was that we weren’t planning on including notes from the students, but one girl asked if she could write a note—and then suddenly, everyone was eager to add a personal touch. I think we sometimes underestimate how thoughtful kids can be, so we lower our bar. These kids showed me the bar can be much higher.
I encourage us all, as we round the corner to 2015, to think about creative ways to make giving tangible for our kids. Perhaps it’s creating a new family giving tradition, or talking to your favorite nonprofit about a classroom giving project you can initiate. Or maybe it’s simply about buying less and experiencing more, together. Let’s raise the bar.
If you have ideas for giving projects you've done, we'd love to hear about them. Or if you need to quickly brainstorm a kids’ giving project...
Want to be on our mailing list and receive email notifications about new blog posts?