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 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!
Mom It Forward This Halloween by BOOing!
October 26, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
Check out these great Halloween boo-ing ideas from fellow blogger and friend, Cindy Hopper from Skip to My Lou. She shares how it’s not to late to Mom It Forward Halloween style to your neighbors, family, and friends! What’s more is this is a perfect family activity! In her own words: “It is all about the ding & dash.”
Gather some treats, download and print this special Ghost Door Hanger and you are ready to go. One side lets everyone know you have been booed, the other a fun poem and instructions about how to BOO!
You might also like this unique way to BOO with a decorated plastic pumpkin. “Am I a Cat or Jack Boo Pumpkin” makes a great way to BOO your friends.
Another idea is to make a special BOO! Cone .
If you are into paper crafts a BOO! Sign is a wonderful way to share some Halloween fun!
Let the “BOOING” begin!
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!
Make Today Unexpected
August 22, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 18 Comments
Do you ever feel that one day runs into the next without a lot of difference between them? This week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Famous Footwear, is about making this week—starting with today!—unexpected. Here are 11 ways to do that. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments!
- Make today loud by screaming with excitement when good things happen.
- Make today pop by wearing bold colors.
- Make today frisky by… well, I’ll leave that up to you
. - Make today playful by flirting with your spouse.
- Make today lyrical by playing and bringing classical music to life in your home and making up and telling fun stories to your children about what the music means.
- Make today glamorous by being beautiful on the inside!
- Make today fearless by stepping outside your comfort zone to serve someone you may not know well or at all.
- Make today heroic by being someone’s hero in whatever way they need to be saved, served, or made to feel special.
- Make today huge by making a triple batch of cookies and surprising your kids with some when they walk in the door from school, sharing some with your neighbors, and giving some to your friends as a thank you just for being in your life.
- Make today electric by shocking someone. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Drop in on someone unexpectedly just to let them know you care about them. Do something for yourself that you don’t typically do that will make you feel really good.
- Make today dangerous by taking a leap of faith. Only you know what that will be, but do it. You know you’ve been wanting to for a while. Don’t hold back!
These ideas were prompted by this fun video by Famous Footwear!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for making today unexpected?
- What are things that get in the way of adding variety between the days in your week?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has making today unexpected made a meaningful difference 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. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Famous Footwear.
- Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
10 Ways to Brighten Someone’s Day
August 16, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 67 Comments
This week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Crayola, is to brighten someone’s day by doing one or more of the following creative things. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments!
- Run up to a loved one and give him or her an enthusiastic bear hug.
- Smile to those you pass on the street.
- Ask someone how they are doing, listen to the answer, and comment on it.
- Give others heartfelt compliments.
- Give someone a bouquet of flowers just because.
- Together as a family, identify another family whose day needs brightening, prepare some artwork (each person preparing something that is special to him or her)—even something as simple as coloring a page from a coloring book—and deliver it to the family together.
- For a date night with just you and your spouse, get some butcher paper and finger paint a picture for your children, hang it on the wall, and let them see it when they wake up.
- Kiss everyone in your family at least five times in a day!
- Gather your family together, turn on some upbeat music, and start dancing. Dance with each of your children, even if you have to do it while holding them.
- Give each member of your family a gift that relates to their favorite color (this can be store bought or homemade).
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
What other ideas do you have for brightening someone’s day this week?- What are things that get in the way of brightening someone’s day?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has brightening someone’s day made a meaningful difference 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. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
- Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
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.
Make a Difference in Someone’s Life This Week by Giving Generously!
June 28, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 9 Comments
10 Ways to Make a Difference This Week By Giving to Others
Week 5’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Alice.com, is to give back to others in meaningful, selfless ways. This means identifying what your friends, family members, neighbors, and others really need by asking yourself, “What would be meaningful to them?” Then, put that into action.
This list below identifies 10 possible ways to give to others. Please share a comment with other ideas you have or things that have worked for you.
- Spend quality time with someone.
- Identify an act of service to perform for another and do it anonymously.
- Purchase a gift and give it to someone for being a great mom, a terrific friend, a nice neighbor, etc.
- Show your appreciation by telling others thank you, writing them a thank you note, or taking them a gift.
- Validate someone’s hard work.
- Identify a charity you support and make a financial contribution to their cause.
- Identify a charity you support and schedule time to volunteer your time for that organization.
- Identify a less-fortunate family in your neighborhood and help them in whatever way they may need help.
- Take time to hug each member of your family every day.
- Tell each member of your family that you love them this week. Add other important people in your life to the list as well.
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
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What other ideas do you have for giving to others? - How has giving to others made a meaningful difference 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 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 prizes from Alice.com by clicking here.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
10 Tips to Raising Service-Oriented, Giving, and Charitable Children
May 21, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 2 Comments
Growing up, I remember feeling frustrated when my parents dragged me from service project to service project, forcing me to give up precious time with my friends and, let’s face it, even more invaluable time sitting on the couch watching tv LOL! I was convinced my parents were service-a-holics. And what that meant for their six children, especially me being the oldest, was a life of indentured servitude… or so I thought.
Now, with two children of my own, I have realized that my parents taught me one of the most powerful lessons a parent could teach—a knowledge and a love of service. So, now as I “drag” my own children from project to project, I have wondered what, exactly, it was that my parents did that helped me turn my drudgery for service into a passion.
Here are 10 tips I have extrapolated from their parenting that I hope to instill in my children.
1. Serve With Your Children. Serving side by side with your children is one of the most powerful teachers of how to serve all while bringing the family closer. While kids may complain, the bonding time you share sticks in their memories as a positive experience. When they have children of their own and search for ways in which to bond with their children, they will want to repeat the positive experiences they had as a child and the cycle will continue.
- One of my most memorable service projects as a child was a family picnic where my dad did all the service. My dad was the president of our local Rotary Club and they were raising money to wipe out Polio. I was 10 years old and remember the hot Arizona day, watching my dad prepare the dutch oven luncheon for the event and him talking to me at length about Polio, explaining why the Rotary Club was focused on raising money to eradicate it, and the importance of my participation. I felt important! I didn’t do a thing but talk to my dad and eat the picnic lunch, but I felt I had made a huge difference for mankind.
2. Talk to Your Children About Giving and Sharing. When you are not able to serve side by side with your children, share in detail your experiences after the event. Specifically, help them understand the need, how you helped to meet the need, and why your giving and sharing was so important. If you can, take pictures or video and share it with them. Your excitement for your volunteering will be contagious!
Family Service Project at Assisted Living Facility
3. Choose Service Activities Your Children Are Passionate About. Service activities come in many shapes and sizes. Identify what is important to your children and choose activities and causes that fit with their interests. Some suggestions include animals, the environment, children will illnesses, an illness a family member suffers from, etc.
4. Choose a Cause That Taps In to Your Child’s Talents, Skills, & Abilities. Does your child play a musical instrument? Does she like to do arts and crafts? Is he good at weeding or picking up trash? Can she make homemade greeting cards? Can he sing in a group? Nursing homes is just one example of a place that allows kids to visit and share who they are with others. This act of sharing and giving boosts self esteem and helps children learn that their talents, skills, and abilities can be used for good.
5. Tie Everyday Tasks Into Service. Make service an everyday activity and giving a constant thought by reinforcing these concepts in simple things like sharing toys, taking turns, secretly doing a sibling’s chores, giving family members hugs and kisses, etc. You can do this by saying things like: “Johnny, great job at sharing your toys with Billy. That shows that you are a giving person.” To help kids recognize the many ways to serve, create a Giving Chart, where they identify either in written or drawing format things they can do on a daily basis to serve those around them.
Cousins Creating Treasure Boxes (Gratitude Charts)
6. Show Gratitude. Helping kids recognize and show appreciation for things they are grateful for is an important aspect of service. Involve your children in gratitude activities such as keeping a gratitude journal or art book; going on gratitude walks; keeping a Daily Gratitude Chart on the refrigerator where you, as a family, can list your blessings; and having activities such as sitting in a circle and sharing what you are grateful for about the person sitting to your right. Check out Fishful Thinking for their Grateful Sayings activity.
7. Add an Aspect of Giving to Holidays & Events. The Christmas and Hanukkah season is a terrific and natural time to give to others, but you can add a touch of service during many other events as well. For example, many people are now donating their birthday gifts to charity.
- When I was 11 years old, my parents enlisted our help in doing the 12 Days of Christmas for a family whose mom was dying of breast cancer. Together, we picked out all of the gifts, items that would help the family feel joy during the holiday season. We created a strategy for how we would anonymously deliver the gifts. Then, we created a schedule of which family member would take responsibility for various tasks: wrapping the gifts, delivering them, etc. Each day, we huddled together after it got dark to work on our tasks and carry out the project. I will always remember that as one of the best Christmases. Not surprisingly, I don’t recall what I received for my gifts that year.
Kids Bowling to Help Fight Poverty in Africa
8. Serve even when you’re away from home. What a better way to get to know and bond with a destination location than to serve it or its community? If you’ll be away on a long trip, you can arrange a project through an organization. Nearly every major city has a homeless shelter or rescue mission, for example. For shorter stays, simple tasks like picking up garbage at a park and smiling at strangers on the street can make a big difference. Before going on a trip, plan as a family by answering the question: What can we do to give back to the towns and people we’ll be visiting?
- When I was 12 years old, my parents gave me the wonderful opportunity of visiting their friends in Costa Rica for the summer and encouraged me to do a service project before I left. I planned and ran a bake sale with the help of some of my church friends. I raised a whopping $30, which felt like a million bucks! Once I arrived, Silvia, the mom of the family I was staying with, took me all by myself to the grocery store where we purchases items for three families—food that would help them survive for 6 months. The most memorable part of my summer was delivering the food to the three families, crying with them as they humbly accepted it, and gaining a stark realization at the age of 12 of how other people suffer and that I had the power to make a huge difference. I count that as one of the most fortunate experiences I’ve ever had and thank my parents for ensuring it happened.
Decorating Tree at Center for Abused Children
9. Do Unto Others as They Need You to Do Unto Them. What’s valuable to teach your kids about service is that everyone needs to be loved in different ways and that finding out and meeting their needs is most important. While some people need your undivided attention, others need a quick smile or hug. Still others may need a meal brought in (and yes, kids can and should help with that!) or their houses cleaned. When you look at a person and ask yourself and your child: What need does that person have and how can we meet it, you are getting at the heart of selfless service.
10. Emphasize the Role of Money in Charity. Giving includes all sorts of things, many of which do not cost a cent. A child can donate old toys, clothes, or art supplies to organizations that need them. But, since charities also require money to operate, volunteer opportunities and causes that require money offer a wonderful way to teach children about its value. For example, just as you can teach kids to save by reserving a percentage of their allowances for a savings account, you can also have them put aside a specific amount for a giving account. Turn this into a craft activity where they get to decorate three cans or envelopes, labeling them: “Spending,” “Saving,” and “Giving”.
For some great child-oriented service projects, read http://www.parents.com/family-life/work-money-politics/volunteering-philanthropy/10-kid-oriented-causes/.
(Top photo used with permission from Flickr.)
RSVP for #GNO’s Parenting Party: Raising Giving, Service-Oriented, Charitable Children!
April 20, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 4 Comments
Among the amazing adult guests on Tuesday’s #gno virtual panel (see bullet list below), we are also excited to announce our first kid panelists—Mary Margaret, an amazingly charitable 10-year old from Kids Are Heroes and Jason from Pencil Bugs, one of the world’s youngest entrepreneurs who believes in giving back a portion of what he earns to charity.
Join us for an inspiring evening where you’ll learn how to raise giving, service-oriented, and charitable children. We hope you’ll bring your best tips, insights, and experiences to share with other party goers as well!
- When: Tues., Apr. 21 from 9 pm to 1 a.m. EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)
- What: Girl’s Night Out (What’s GNO? Click here to find out!)
- Topic: Raising giving children—in conjunction with our charity to fight poverty in Kenya (Yehu, BasaBody, Coast Coconut Farms)
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- What are the best ways to be giving and charitable and teach this to your child(ren)?
- What are the best ways to model service and giving to others?
- How can you engage children in “giving” conversations?
- Given the state of the economy, what volunteer activities can you
do as a family that don’t cost money? - What are fun activities that teach service, giving, and sharing?
- In what ways can you focus on your & your kid’s skills sets,
talents, and interests to engage them in giving and service? - What fundraisers or volunteering have you done or are currently doing?
- What are ways you can teach being charitable with your money?
- Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)
- Who:@kidsareheroes @MMsmusicforlife @pencilbugs @lemonadedayfun @txworkingmom @resourcefulmom
- RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.
