Get Kids into the Spirit of Giving:
I have two kids, ages 7 and 3. We talk a lot about the world around
us. My daughter in particular is very sensitive to people being hurt or
suffering in anyway. This year after Remembrance Day she was in tears thinking
about war. So we focus a lot on The Helpers in all situations. Who helps during
war? People assisting refugees in any way, people working for peace, doctors
and nurses who treat the injured. We also talk a lot about how we can help as
individuals. With all the news about refugees, she wanted to donate some of her
pocket money to a BC based refugee support program, and my son recently chose
to donate some of his funds to the Community Emergency Fund with the CFOW after
the Alpine Fire. Since I am the Food Bank Coordinator with Whistler Community
Services, they also get to see me help the community in many ways and learn
about some of the other wonderful programs available in Whistler and know many
of Whistler’s own ‘Helpers’ personally. However, I am always looking at new
ways for them to learn the idea of giving, sharing, and community.
Below are some general ideas to get your kids thinking about giving
back, as well as some specific ideas to help the Whistler Food Bank and
Whistler Community Services.
Don’t miss our upcoming Family Day at the Food Bank where you and
your kids can take part. See the last suggestion at the end of this post for
more details.
General Ways to get kids
into giving:
1.
Pick a charity as a family that
you will help support. Could be the same charity all the time, or a different
one each month. Think of ways you can raise money for them, or how much you
want to contribute from your own funds (yours and the kids), and find ways to
volunteer for them if possible. Phone the charity and ask them for ideas.
Involve the kids in all the activities and planning.
2.
Talk to your kids about the
subtle ways we give to people – smiling to people on the street, saying thank
you to the cashier, wishing people a good day, sending a card to a family
member or even phoning relatives who live far away.
3.
Help out a neighbour – whether
you help them because they are elderly or a new parent, or just to be
neighbourly. Get your kids thinking about how they can help others. Shovel
their walk ways (young kids love this), bake them some cookies, or deliver a
home cooked meal (even if the kids didn’t help make it, have them deliver it
with you). Supporting others they know can help them learn to support those
that they don’t.
4.
Lead by example – do you give
money to charities, talk to your kids about this. Tell them why you choose to
give, how you choose who you give to. Do you volunteer in the community? Even
if the kids aren’t there with you, talk to them about what you do and why. They
will grow up thinking it is just a normal thing that people do.
5.
Instead of a straight allowance
(if you give one), have them put some aside for sharing. Let them choose who
they share with. If you decide to have them give a certain percentage of each
allowance to charity, make sure you give the allowance in a way that they can
easily divide into their regular allowance jar, and their sharing jar.
6.
Actively involve your kids in
volunteering. There are less opportunities for kids to volunteer their time in
Whistler, but there are some. Once your kids get older there are more
opportunities for them to get involved – don’t just focus on your preschoolers,
remember to talk to them about the benefits of volunteering in their pre-teen
and teen years.
7.
Make giving back a year round
thing. It is great that people think a lot about giving back in December, but
charities are in need year round and the more your kids are engaged in it year
round, the more the idea of giving back will sink in for them.
8.
Get into Random Acts of
Kindness activities. Think of cool ways you can brighten someone’s day without
them knowing. Kids love this, though they sometimes have a hard time not
knowing the outcome. They will wonder for days or weeks what that person
thought when they came across your surprise. Some ideas: Leave a box of
household supplies on a doorstep – not food in Whistler, due to bears. Slip a
note into the slot for books at the library thanking them for their work. Write
a note on a card and leave it on a car windshield or bike handle bars. Leave a
book or a plant or something else somewhere with a note attached (make the note
very visible, and put the item in a well visited area, and check back to make
sure it was taken).
9.
Bake for people! Make cookies
for the bus driver, cake for the librarians, desserts for the teacher’s staff
room. And make meals for parents of young kids and new babies. Even if the kids
aren’t involved in making the food, have them help deliver it.
10. Include your children in
your decision-making process, too, so that they can start to see that there is
a clear and thoughtful manner in which you make contributions to charity.
Explaining why you're choosing not to support organizations that have
pitched to you is an equally important lesson.
11. Encourage your child
along the way. Make sure they feel appreciated, if not be the people they are
giving to…then by you. Talk to them about how giving makes them feel, so they
can start to realize the intrinsic benefits of giving back. By giving back,
they can gain even more in return…help them see this.
How Kids can Support the Whistler Food Bank:
1.
Go shopping with your kids and
pick out food for the food bank with them, donations can be donated right at
Nesters and the IGA donation bins.
2.
The Food Bank prefers money
over food donations as this allows us to get what we want, when we want it, and
lets us buy more fresh foods. So talk to your kids about this and instead of
donating online, bring a cheque into the office and bring your kid with you.
You could even ask for a quick tour of the food bank.
3.
In December consider a Reverse
Advent Calendar. Get two empty wine bottles or bags from the liquor store (so
there are 24 slots) and decorate the containers with your kids. Then fill each
empty slot with a non-perishable food item each day. Bring it into the food
bank after Christmas. Remember to involve your kids in the process all along
the way (choosing the food item and taking the food into the food bank).
4.
Donate good quality clothing
and toys to the Re-Use It Centre – if you want to declutter or you think your
kids are hanging onto toys they have outgrown – talk to them about donating
them. Remind them how much they used to love that item and let them know that
they could share it with another child that could love it as much as they used
to. It can be hard for kids to let go of toys or loved clothing even if they no
longer use it, but it can help if they imagine another kids loving it in the
same way. The Re-Use It Centre (and the Re-Build It Centre) in Whistler help
fund several Whistler Community Services Society programs.
5.
Next year consider sponsoring a
local family for our Christmas Hamper Program. It is too late this year, but
next year we could match your family with a local family in need and you could
help purchase Christmas Hamper items for them (gifts for the kids, food, etc).
It is fully confidential, so you won’t know the names of the family members but
you get their ages and the needs and wants of the kids. A group of high school
students are sponsoring a family this year, so follow their lead and take part
next year.
6.
Volunteer! On December 21st
from 2pm-4pm the Food Bank will be having a Family Day at the Food Bank. We
invite all families with kids aged 2-18 to join us and volunteer. There will be
simple tasks for toddlers (with adult assistance), as well as jobs for older
kids. This is a family event, so even older kids will need their parents with
them. For families with kids under 8 one parent/guardian will be required for
every two kids. So if you have 3 kids under the age of 8 please have two adults
attend. There is limited space for this event, though if successful we hope to
do it other times in the year. Please RSVP to foodbank@mywcss.org to get involved.
