Involving Your Children in Helping Feed the 35 Million Hungry Americans
January 26, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
According to the US Department of Agriculture, “At least 35 million Americans aren’t getting enough food each day. Yet about 100 billion pounds of food are wasted in America every year.”
This is an astounding fact. Ask yourself: Are you contributing to the waste or are you helping feed the hungry? And, are your children aware of this fact and involved in helping reduce the number?
Raising giving children is as simple as identifying every day opportunities to give and taking advantage of them together as a family. Feeding the hungry is one such opportunity. But how to begin?
Here’s five simple steps to involving your children in this cause:
- Find a food bank in your area. Visit FoodPantries.org to identify locations.
- Collect non-perishable items you aren’t using from your own pantry and home. (Be sure to check the expiration dates on canned food and baby formula and food.)
- To add an element of fun for your kids, have them decorate a cardboard box to put the food in.
- On the way to the food bank, share with your family the facts of people facing hunger in your area.
- On the way home, ask each child to describe his or her experience, specifically how it made him or her feel to help those in need.
Making the experience meaningful, fun, and emotional will help them create a positive association with giving.
This picture is used with permission. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Teaching Children to Give—Involving Them in Charitable Programs
December 7, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 2 Comments
The single most impactful thing you can do to teach your children to fall in love with giving is to involve them in giving activities, discussing throughout them why you are giving (what the cause is for) and how it makes you and the recipients feel.
Sometimes, identifying volunteer programs that allow young children to participate in can be difficult. Today, I came across Feed It Forward (perfect name, right?). It is a charitable initiative that allows you to send $10 restaurant gift certificates to 30 people each day during the holiday season. And here’s the clencher: It’s free and only requires a few bits of data and the click of your mouse. What’s more is that you can involve your kids by coming up with a list of friends together and sitting and completing the information side by side.
You have 18 days left to take advantage of this giving opportunity. That’s 540 people you can send gift certificates to. Get ready. Get set. Go!
The Details
The Feed It Forward initiative is built upon a single giving Web site, www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward, stocked with a total of three million, $10 Restaurant.com gift certificates totaling $30 million. The site will be live through midnight PST on Dec. 25 and allows individuals to go online to give gift certificates on a first come, first serve basis. Gift givers choose whom to give to and gift recipients then decide where to dine among more than 6,500 participating Restaurant.com restaurants nationwide.
To send free $10 gift certificates, gift givers simply enter their name and email address, as well as information for the people they wish to give to—as many as 30 people each day for the length of the initiative. They can go to www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward every day and share gift certificates with people anywhere in the country, giving out a total value that far exceeds even the most impressive holiday gift giving budget during the healthiest of economic times.
Once a participant selects their chosen recipients, they can share a brief note about why they are giving. Restaurant.com will feature some of these messages of appreciation on the Feed It Forward home page and, if chosen by the individual, will send the giver’s personal message along with the gift certificate. As people join in the celebration of giving and give away gift certificates, a U.S. map displayed on the site will depict the areas of the country where the giving is happening along with keeping track of the amount given in real time.
Feed It Forward 2009 features include:
- Generous “daily give” allowance—Givers can give to up to 30 people per day, with the potential of giving up to $9,000 worth of Restaurant.com gift certificates through the duration of the program.
- Feed It Forward Facebook application—The application allows givers to easily access their friend network and select those they wish to give to. Recipients are sent messages alerting them of their free gift and givers’ status updates will reflect the amount of gift certificates they have given and who has received them.
- Personal message delivery—Beyond sharing their giving story publicly on the giving site, participants can choose to write a separate, private note that will be sent along with the electronic gift certificate, making the surprise of a gift certificate that much more meaningful.
About Restaurant.com
Restaurant.com is the trusted and valued source connecting restaurants and diners nationwide. The company offers savings at more than 13,000 restaurants nationwide with more than 20,000 gift certificate options. Restaurant.com brings people together to relax, converse and enjoy well-prepared and -served meals at affordable prices. To date, Restaurant.com customers have saved more than $100 million through the gift certificate program. Restaurant.com has operated since 1999 and is based in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Teaching Children to Give—Reindeer Candy Canes as Thank You’s
December 2, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 34 Comments
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is my favorite holiday movie. I love it not only for its whimsical characters and witty rhymes, but also for the lessons it teaches in true Dr. Seuss fashion. The one that stands out to me the most is individual choice.
The Grinch ’s choice was clear: He wanted to do everything in his power to have a miserable holiday season and to ruin it for everyone else, including an innocent dog and the unsuspecting Whos in Whoville. But, in spite of all of his efforts, the Whos chose holiday cheer and togetherness over reacting negatively to their stolen Christmas.
When you are out in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, are you a Grinch? Do you focus on the increased traffic, lack of parking places, long lines, or when the person in front of you takes the last toy on the shelf—the only one Tommy really wanted? Or, do you choose holiday cheer? Do you let drivers merge into traffic, turn up the holiday tunes and sing with your children instead of focusing on the frenzied freeways? Do you notice cashiers and servers and postal workers that greet you with a smile? Those that stand in all sorts of weather to collecting donations?
Teaching children to fall in love with giving during the holidays is not only about choosing holiday cheer, it’s about looking for examples of it and showing gratitude for it. A tradition we started last year to do just that was to give out candy cane thank yous to people during the holiday season. Here’s what we did:
- Made a goal for how many candy canes we’d like to pass out and purchased them.
- Placed stickers on the candy canes that said: “Thank you for spreading holiday cheer!”
- Put them in a bag and carried them with us in the car wherever we went.
- Took a few into each place we visited.
- Took turns handing them out to people who served us, people we felt were examples of spreading holiday cheer, people that looked like they could use a pick-me-up, people who were lonely, and more.
- Squealed in delight when we’d get back in the car and talk about our experiences.
- At the end of the day, recapped together as a family the holiday cheer we witnessed, people’s reactions to the thank yous, and how awesome it was to give out the candy canes.
I think the last step is one of the most important in helping children fall in love with giving. The act of giving is necessary, but feeling excited and good about it stays with you forever and not only that, it is contagious!!!
What will you do this year to spread holiday cheer?
Click here to see the candy cane making process!
Teaching Children to Give—Reindeer Cookies as Holiday Neighbor Gifts
November 29, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 5 Comments
When I think of favorite holiday activities, giving is the first one that comes to mind. I love seeing all the Angel Trees around town, collection bins for the Food Bank, boxes accepting winter coat donations, and much more. That so many organizations are centered on helping those in need is uplifting. I appreciate them making it easy for me to play a part in that outreach!
My parents were like these organizations. They provided ample ways for our family to help others while at the same time helping us fall in love with the act of giving. So, as the holiday season gets under way, I want to share a few ways you can teach your children to fall in love with the act of giving as well.
Service and giving can have many different recipients: self, family, friends, pets, neighbors, community, the world, etc. Part 1 of my “Teaching Children to Give” series focuses on those right around you—your neighbors.
Neighbors are a vital part of the community in which you live. They often are the people you see at common places in your life—at the grocery store, at church service, at your kids’ school, at volunteer activities, at community events, and more. Showing appreciation for them and teaching your children the importance of valuing them is not only important, but can be fun!
Baking reindeer cookies is a tradition I started with my two boys several years ago. My mother in law shared the recipe with me and helped us bake our first batch. Now, my family bakes these every Thanksgiving holiday weekend and takes them around to our neighbors to kick off the holiday season with a bang!
Check out this Whrrl story for more pictures and detailed steps on how to make them!
If you join or log in to Whrrl, please comment and share your fun holiday giving traditions too!
What’s on Your Holiday Wishlist This Year? ($3800 in Prizes???)
November 23, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 9 Comments
Win a Sleighful of Gifts!
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter, I’m sharing this meme with you. Did I mention this giveaway features $3,800 in prizes? For those of you that know me, you know I’m not exaggerating, because if I were, I’d exaggerate using an odd number. LOL!
Click here to check out the ginormous amount of goods.
To enter to win them, all you need to do is the following three things:
- Answer the questions in this meme on your blog.
- Make sure to post links back to TodaysMama.com and Provo Craft (using this link: http://bit.ly/4ikY3c ).
- Tag your friends!
Create a Wishlist!
1. What 5 items are top on your holiday wish list?
- A piano
- A trip to India
- Maid service (even one a month would be heavenly!)
- A trip to New York City (I would love to get this gift early, so I can go this December!)
- A new printer like my old one (where the sheets feed into the copier)
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
Do my grandma’s banana cookies count? Honestly… there is no better handmade gift than that!
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
I’d love to knit a hat as long as someone else could do the knitting for me!
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
Holly Hobby Easy Bake Oven… hands down the best gift evah!
5. What items are top on your kids wish list this year?
- My 6YO wants an electric guitar.
- My 8YO wants us to get a piano. He’s willing to forego toys for it!
6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Where to begin?
- Reindeer cookies
- My MIL’s sugar cookies
- Saurkraut
- My mom’s prime rib roast
- Caramel Apple Spice from Starbuck’s
- Hot chocolate
- Veggie trays (especially if I got to chop the veggies)
- Olives (especially when eaten off my finger tips… tell me you did that as a kid too!)
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
Thankfully, nada (unless making reindeer cookies as neighbor gifts counts)!
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
All of them! I love holiday movies!!! If I had to choose just one, I would probably say How The Grinch Stole Christmas, especially the part when his heart pops out of his chest!
9. Favorite holiday song?
I can’t choose just one:
- Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- We Three Kings/Star of Wonder by BNL & Sarah McLaughlin
- Bring the Torch, Jeanette Isabella
- That one by the Osmond’s that @troypattee dies for (can’t remember the name… not Puppy Love though!)
10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Giving!
Tag! You’re It!
Now, it’s tag time! I’d love to see answers to these questions from all of you, but since the task is to tag some of you and since tagging all of you would mean the rest of you would have no one to tag, here we go!
- Amy from Mom Spark
- Niri from Mommy Niri
- Robyn from Pensieve Robin
- Melissa from Isly
- Carissa from Good and Crazy People
- Angie from 7 Clown Circus
- Elizabeth from Parenting Pink
- Kim from Crafty Mama of 4
- Holly from June Cleaver Nirvana
- Jenny from Jenny on the Spot
Changing Your Community Starts at Home With Secret Service Agents
November 15, 2009 by Marie LeBaron · 1 Comment
When we think of service, we tend to think of giving to others outside of our home. Serving in your own family is sometimes harder than it seems. So our family came up with this fun way to give service to each other, right here at home. We now have our very own “Secret Service Agents”!
My daughter drew a fun picture for her brother, we slipped it in a note paper pouch, then we secretly put it under his bed. When my son goes to sleep, he’ll see the fun pouch, open up the note, and see that his little sister gave him a special picture.
The Secret Service Agent pouch is then passed on to my son to choose who’s going to get a fun note from him. Someone in our family is going to get a fun surprise under their pillow almost every day! It’s been a fun way to serve right here in our home!
**To make a little note pouch, fold a piece of paper up and glue the two sides together. Write some fun words on the top or write, “Your Secret Service Agent”. Draw/write your special note and slip it in the pouch.**
How OfficeMax Is Helping Erase Teacher-Funded Classrooms
September 19, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
What Is “A Day Made Better?”
“A Day Made Better” is a national cause founded by OfficeMax and nonprofit organization, Adopt-A-Classroom, to lead the fight to end teacher-funded classrooms. Annually in October, more than 3,500 OfficeMax associates surprise and honor more than 1,000 teachers at 1,000 schools across the country with $1,000 worth of classroom supplies. Nominated by their school, teacher recipients receive this honor for their exceptional contributions as an educator.
The name, “A Day Made Better,” is derived from the concept that OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom can make at least one day better for teachers by providing them with essential classroom supplies. Through 1,000 simultaneous events, OfficeMax seeks to call attention to the issue of teacher out-of-pocket spending and motivate the public to take action by supporting local educators through Adopt-A-Classroom. “A Day Made Better” was first conducted in October 2007 and has since contributed to the funding of more than 10,000 classrooms.
Why Is OfficeMax Doing This?
“A Day Made Better” was founded in response to the fact that teachers are now spending on average $1200 out-of-pocket for necessary classroom supplies—collectively nearly $4 billion annually—to offset budget shortfalls, according to a 2005 survey by the National Education Association. Striving to erase teacher-funded classrooms, OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom are working together to create awareness and generate widespread support for teachers nationwide.
Education Facts
Fifty percent of teachers leave the profession within the first five years:
- Each time a teacher leaves the education system, the cost is approximately $11,500 to recruit, hire, and provide orientation and professional development for the replacement.
- Teachers cite a lack of support as the top reason for leaving the education profession.
- Education is one of the “top ten most important problems” facing the United States (Gallup Poll, 2007).
How You Can Help
To show support for “A Day Made Better,” the public is invited to do the following:
- Host your own “A Day Made Better” surprise for a local teacher.
- Join the Facebook Cause page at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/116541.
- Follow the cause on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adaymadebetter.
- Learn more about the cause at www.ADayMadeBetter.com.
- Adopt a local teacher through www.AdoptAClassroom.org.
- Purchase an oversized paperclip magnet at OfficeMax stores, which benefits the OfficeMax Charitable Foundation’s program supporting K-12 public school teachers.
Libby’s Picnic Basket Giveaway Worth $450 (3 Winners)
September 12, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 393 Comments
Think picnic season is over? Think again! This trendy Picnic Time Metro Basket is going to make you want to move your picnic indoors this fall when you see all the goodies that come inside!
Prizes
Three lucky winners will each receive this picnic basket filled with everything you need to make a delicious family meal, including:
- Assorted Libby’s Vegetables
- Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Makeover book
- Picnic Time Metro Basket
- Scanpan CTX Saute Pan
- Scanpan CTX Fry Pan
This entire basket has an approximate retail value of $450.00.
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do two things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries).
Note: Entries that do not follow all of these requirements will not be considered.
- Sign up to become a member of Libby’s Get Back to the Table community, which promotes family togetherness.
- Post these messages on Facebook and/or on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:
Join #gno Tues 9/15 from 9-11 ET 2 share tips on family togetherness & mealtimes w/ #Libby’s & @feedingamerica RSVP: http://bit.ly/espTa
GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 a chance 2 win picnic basket w/ #Libby’s veggies, ScanPan pans, & more! (Ret Val $450) http://bit.ly/aooGl
Extra Entries
You can earn up to five extra entries for this week’s giveaways. These extra entries count for both giveaways. You do not need to repeat them twice!
- Join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
- Post the “Mom Is a Verb” button on your blog. (See right-hand sidebar for button with code.)
- Join the Mom It Forward Facebook page and leave a comment on the wall, answering one of the questions about mealtime and family togetherness.
- Join the Mom It Forward Google Friend Connect. (See right-hand sidebar.)
- Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Libbys and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, September 20 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older.
This Summer’s Last SOS Challenge—Giving the Gift of Cleaning and Organizing!
August 29, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 31 Comments
Does your spring cleaning ever turn into fall cleaning? Or, do you feel that the housework is never done? This week is the last in 14 weeks of Summer of Service challenges and is sponsored by Dyson, because it is all about making this week—starting with today!—squeaky clean for you, your friends and family, and/or your community. Here are 10 ways to do that.
- Make time to clean or organize one area of your house/apartment each day this week no matter how big or small.
- Put the days of the week on a different piece of paper and have your children draw a different day out of a hat. On the assigned day, help your child clean his or her room, teaching the skills needed to do it on their own.
- Go through all the sock drawers in your house, matching up all the pairs and throwing out those without a match.
- Have a family cleaning party. One example is to play songs like “Whistle while you work!” and see who can pick up the most things or get the most accomplished before the song ends.
- Be a clean person by living according to your values. For example, be honest and fair in all of your dealings, be a person of integrity, etc.
- Identify a friend or family who is sick, having a difficult time, or who could use a break. Stop by their house unannounced and do their dishes, empty their garbage, sweep and mop their floor, or clean the guest bathroom. If you know this person well and have access to their house, do it anonymously!
- Take your children to a local park or cemetery and spend 15 minutes picking up the trash.
- Call a local non-profit agency or church and make arrangements to help weed, pick up trash, or clean the facilities. If appropriate, take your children along to help.
- The next time you are at a friends, family members, or in laws for dinner, offer to do all the dishes after the meal.
- Have a laundry folding party as a family and play games as you fold and put away the clothes.
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for being squeaky clean this week?
- What are things that get in the way of cleaning for yourself, your family and friends, or your community?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has being squeaky clean this week made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
Remember to enter this week’s giveaway where 3 lucky winners will get a Dyson vacuum cleaner!
Is Service Sexy? Take This Week’s SOS Challenge and See!
July 19, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 17 Comments
10 Fashionable Ways to Make a Difference This Week
Service doesn’t have to be stodgy! Make service sexy and “in” by taking on this week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsorsed by Lifetime TV. How? By doing one or more of the 10 ideas listed below!
- Buying or making some beautiful stationary and writing a thank-you note, congratulations card, birthday greeting, get-well wishes, or other thoughtful sentiment and delivering it to a friend or family member.
- Planning a date for your significant other and getting all dressed up for it.
- Taking care of yourself inside and out: Treat yourself to a new hair-do, mani/pedi, spa treatment, or makeover. Pay attention to your overall health and well being.
- Have your family pictures taken.
- Treat your daughter(s) to a spa day. Paint their nails for them, wash their hair, help them try on different outfits, and have a special luncheon just for them
- Decorate the table beautifully for a special family dinner you plan.
- Go through all of your closets and give any old or unused clothing to charity.
- Comment to one person each day during this week’s challenge on how beautiful he or she looks. Watch the difference it makes in their countenance.
- Have a family activity where you share the things that make each of you beautiful on the inside. Share with your family the importance of internal and external beauty.
- Encourage your children to take care of their outward beauty by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and taking care of their health!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for serving in style this week?
- How has serving in style made a meaningful difference this week for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer 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.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s prize from Lifetime TV.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
