Giving Back: 10 Ways for You and Your Family to Harvest and Help Others

giving back • my world • Mom It Forward Mondays • tips for giving back

by Mom It Forward on September 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

Service—This week's Season of Service challenge is based on the word "harvest" and involves opportunities to help others by harvesting. While that word generally refers to the harvest of food, and thus to the resolution of the problem of hunger, it can involve other, broader issues as well.

Go to AmpleHarvest.org to find out which food banks will take any excess produce from your garden.
Buy one 2 x 4 piece of wood a week for the next several months, then send them to KatiesKrops, an organization which helps people start vegetable gardens and then donate all of their harvests to local organizations that fight hunger. KatiesKrops is in need of a shed.
Ask a local farmer, if you know one, for a small plot of land where you can plant a few seeds next year and donate the harvest to a food bank.
Plant 10 tomato seeds in your own garden, if you have one, next year and donate the harvest to a food bank.
Volunteer to help harvest at your local community garden or with an organization like FieldtoFamilies, which is like KatiesKrops.
Go to AmpleHarvest.org to find the best place to buy meat that was harvested from an animal farm where animals were treated humanely. The site can also help you locate your nearest farmers' market, etc.
Help design a campaign factsheet for Harvest for Dignity, a coalition of non-profits, social justice activists, medical providers and researchers and union organizers dedicated to improving the lives of farm workers in North Carolina.
Buy a set of handmade Honduran dolls for $15 from SustainableHarvestInternational, a nonprofit that addresses the tropical deforestation crisis in Central America by providing farmers with sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture.
Help your kids put together a Penny Harvest by making a crossword puzzle using all the words they can think of associated with "harvest," doing the puzzle with their friends, and asking each of their friends for a penny to contribute with theirs to a local charity.
Go to DiscoveryEducation's Motivation Station to get new ideas to inspire your child's learning, anticipating the harvest they'll reap in their lives from your combined efforts.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

What other ideas do you have for giving to others through harvesting?
Has participating in a harvest made a meaningful difference for you this week?
How have others given to you this week and what difference has that made in your life?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Season?

Make a meaningful difference this season by taking the Season of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here's how you can participate:

Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week's challenge.
Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week's challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
Enter to win each week's giveaway. Check out this week's prizes from Dr. Praeger by clicking here.
Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.