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Raising Philanthropic Children 2019

” You are never too young to change the world.”

Author unknown

This past weekend I attended Once Upon a Room’s holiday fundraiser, where my youngest son has been Santa for the past few years. I couldn’t help to be proud of all the work he has done for this organization but more importantly who is because of his service to others. Our goal as parents is to plant that seed of compassion in our children and continue to nurture and cultivate it.

As parents today we have many challenges, especially during the holidays. We all walk the fine line of asking our children what they want, realizing that they don’t really need anything and all while trying to explain to them the real meaning of the season.

So the question becomes, how do we raise philanthropic children? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Start young, the earlier the better. For little ones (4 or 5), keep it simple, perhaps canned food for a local shelter or blankets, something that they understand.

2. Be age-appropriate. Don’t overwhelm young children with world hunger but rather something relatable to them, perhaps something local in your community.

3. Engage your children in the process, especially the older they get. Find out what they care about? Perhaps they love animals and want to support a local shelter? Have them use their passion to make a difference. Catch them where they are and meet them there. Your children’s service choices will evolve as they do so be flexible.

4. Research together and suggests a few choices. With 1.7 million non-profits it can be overwhelming for all of us. Our family usually picks 3 or 4 ideas and then we vote on a holiday philanthropy project. We have adopted soldiers, fed homeless, adopted inner-city families for Christmas. Ultimately it is the kid’s vote that decides. Utilize tools like Project Giving Kids for age-appropriate ideas.

5.  Be intentional with your own giving. Teach by example. Discuss what causes you care about. Let your children hear and see your volunteer efforts or participate in them if possible.

6.  Make giving habitual by being consistent. Whether its part of your allowance structure, a holiday tradition or something you do at birthdays, be consistent and establish giving as a tradition and habit. It’s no different from any sport, the more you participate the easier and more fun it becomes. Ultimately it becomes a part of who they are.

7.  Emphasize the joy and the experience of giving rather than money. Philanthropy is about being a part of something bigger than yourself. Giving is so much more fun than receiving. Make it a joyful experience for your family and something you share in together. Perhaps, start with entering a 5k walk or charity run or volunteering together.

The benefits of philanthropic children: 

  1. Opens children’s eyes to the fact that others are not as fortunate as they are
  2. Develops empathetic thinking
  3. Fosters an appreciation for what they have
  4. Enhances self-esteem
  5. Correlates to improved performance in school

Like everything we do with raising our children, it takes time, patience, consistency, and love.  Chances are you already do most of these things and don’t even realize it and your children do too. This holiday season, enjoy the process of giving in whatever way you decide to participate. You and your children will experience the real joy of the holidays….together.

Charity Matters.

 

Copyright © 2019 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

Charity Matters Quotes: Giving

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

St. Francis of Assisi

CM-giving ChristmasVacation

Its Friday and the Christmas season is here! This weekend many of us will get our trees, begin to pull out the boxes of decorations, order our holiday cards or start some Christmas shopping.  All of these are acts of giving.

We decorate to give our families and neighbors a sense of our holiday joy, those Christmas lights are for them. The cards that we agonized over and spend late nights addressing are gifts we are sending to those that we love.

The shopping, is no different. We do this because it is more fun to give than to receive.

This holiday season think about the act of giving as you complete each one of these tasks. My guess is that rather than feeling like a chore, it will bring you joy in knowing that you have made someone else’s day, view or holiday a little bit brighter because you gave.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2014 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

Charity Matters Quotes

“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”  

Theodore Roosevelt

day after xmasI hope this finds you rested and relaxed from a wonderful holiday. As you dig out from all that wrapping paper and think about returns, clean up and how blessed you are, remember all those who might appreciate your duplicates.

Enjoy your family and wishing you a wonderful relaxing weekend!

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

Charity Matters Quotes

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” 

Janice Maeditere

xmas opening heart

And so the count down begins, 9 days until Christmas!  Less than two weeks left to soak up the spirit of the season and too open up our hearts to the magic of the holiday. While we begin our week with shopping list, cards to address and gifts to wrap, lets give our selves a moment to stop and enjoy all the wonder that surrounds us.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

Giving Tuesday

Giving tuesday 2013What is Giving Tuesday and why is everyone talking about it?  First of all, you might want to mark your calendars because its tomorrow. GivingTuesday™ is a national day of giving at the start of the holiday season. The purpose is to celebrate and encourage charitable activities in support of non-profits.

This day and now movement began as something to counter Black friday and Cyber monday, It was started by New York’s 92nd Street Y, which has 139 years of fundraising experience. They reached out to the United Nations Foundation and joined as partners. Soon after, big corporations and non-profits signed on to help spread the word and the rest is history, as they say.

 

While Giving Tuesday is just a few years old, it is definitely not going away. Last year alone, over $10 million dollars in online donations was processed, which was a 53% increase compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the year before.

We all love holiday shopping but really the point is to give. So tomorrow, think about what cause moves your heart, who you can help? Maybe giving to that cause is the gift you give to someone else or perhaps just one you give for yourself.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.