Teaching Kids Charity

[Nightfly]

I am thinking about how to get my kids to think other than themselves. Is there a charity, such as sponsoring a child that you feel is best? We are looking at other options but I did this as a kid and remember it.

 

[Luna_Lovecraft]

I am thinking about how to get my kids to think other than themselves. Is there a charity, such as sponsoring a child that you feel is best? We are looking at other options but I did this as a kid and remember it.

How old are your kids? What are their interests? Hobbies? Do you have family interests/hobbies? There are lots ways to give. I’d suggest getting them involved in something meaningful to them to make a bigger impact on them.

 

[Nightfly]

They are 5 and 9. They like sports a lot.

 

[heart4home]

I am thinking about how to get my kids to think other than themselves. Is there a charity, such as sponsoring a child that you feel is best? We are looking at other options but I did this as a kid and remember it.

I think your idea of sponsoring is certainly good for modeling the idea of charity, but if you are writing the check, then how great will the impact be?

Perhaps giving up something as a family, say perhaps a dinner out, or whatever to help sponsor someone, or having them do odd jobs around the house to help earn money to contribute to what you send etc.

Talk to them, and see what they’d like to do to help others. Have multiple suggestions ready and let them share what they’d like to do and why.

Also consider local help? Is there a neighbor, senior, disabled person or fellow parishoner in need of some help around their home. Perhaps they could help keep their flowers/lawn/plants watered, or depending where you live, their front walk shoveled. A 9 year old could handle that.

I think getting them involved and actually participating in whatever you choose, could have a very good impact.

 

[heart4home]

I am thinking about how to get my kids to think other than themselves. Is there a charity, such as sponsoring a child that you feel is best? We are looking at other options but I did this as a kid and remember it.

I think your idea of sponsoring is certainly good for modeling the idea of charity, but if you are writing the check, then how great will the impact be?

Perhaps giving up something as a family, say perhaps a dinner out, or whatever to help sponsor someone, or having them do odd jobs around the house to help earn money to contribute to what you send etc.

Talk to them, and see what they’d like to do to help others. Have multiple suggestions ready and let them share what they’d like to do and why.

Also consider local help? Is there a neighbor, senior, disabled person or fellow parishoner in need of some help around their home. Perhaps they could help keep their flowers/lawn/plants watered, or depending where you live, their front walk shoveled. A 9 year old could handle that.

I think getting them involved and actually participating in whatever you choose, could have a very good impact.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

They are 5 and 9. They like sports a lot.

That’s an easy one. Find a charity that provides sports equipment to low-income children or children in another country. I prefer local things but there are tons of organizations to provide equipment to kids in other countries. If it’s something in another country, find out if any of the recipients would like to be email pals with your sons.

 

[vera_dicere]

My parents were friends with a rather low income family, so every now and then my parents would have us gather up toys and clothes and take it to them. To be honest, I didn’t like the girl, as I thought she was mean, but it showed me that there were peopel who didn’t have things like we had, and didn’t have a lot of food or a warm house like we did, and it helped me understand that when we have a lot of something, we should share it with people who don’t. It wasn’t about making us feel good about giving, it was about us realising that every one is part of God’s family, brothers and sisters, and we should help them out, like we would our own brothers and sisters in our little family.

 

[JillyAnn]

Things My Mom had me do as a child:

a)we would bring food for the needy to church at Thanksgiving. back then, we would bring the bags and put them on the alter where they would receive a blessing. My Mom would help me bring the bags to the alter. It was a good bonding and giving experience. Mom and I would go to the grocery store, pick out what we thought the families would like, package it up and go to Mass with it.

b)at Christmas, Church would collect gently used toys and clothes for children/adults, wrapped and labeled or unwrapped. Once a year, before Christmas, we would go through my toy closet and clothes and donate the things I didn’t use anymore. I would make cards and write little Christmas notes to the unknown recipient. I loved doing this. Unfortunately, now, they only take brand new stuff…

c)we would go to the nursing home with my choir groups at various times of the year and sing or just visit with the residents.

Those are just a few ideas…I am a fan of actually doing things for people rather than “throwing money at the problem” . While sponsoring a child is a great thing (I have 2 beautiful little girls through CFCA) I feel as though children need to learn first hand by seeing and doing.

There are many sports types charities where you can donate used clothes and sneakers, especially for underprivileged children.

It’s great that you are thinking about these things! I’m sure you will find something meaningful for you and your family

 

[JoArtist]

When I was a kid, my family supported a kid through World Vision. I mean it is a protestant charity, but my family is protestant. We wrote this other child letters and drew them pictures and they did the same for us. Seeing their picture and knowing their story and talking to them helped us realize how much we were blessed and that we should use our blessings to help others. We even decided to use our allowance money to pay the sponsoring money each month.

 

[Bartolome_Casas]

I am thinking about how to get my kids to think other than themselves. Is there a charity, such as sponsoring a child that you feel is best? We are looking at other options but I did this as a kid and remember it.

I sort of doubt that something like a child sponsorship will impact them. Too far away. Too abstract. Too foreign. Too distant.

What would?

I don’t know.

But I recall how Blessed Pope John Paul II always talked about the family as the “domestic church,” and I think many take that to mean that getting kids to be really charitable with each other in the family is the context that will be meaningful to them.

Kids are often forced or practically forced to do community service project when in high school. But many are pretty cynical about it. Some do this just to load up their college applications.

I think being charitable to strangers is strangely too easy, and not very meaningful, even for adults.

The real challenge is to be charitable with family members, including cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so on, especially the ones you really don’t like because of their attitude or habits.

 

[Nightfly]

I did this with a boy in the Philipines. We wrote letters, I would send him stickers in the mail. It was cool.

When I was a kid, my family supported a kid through World Vision. I mean it is a protestant charity, but my family is protestant. We wrote this other child letters and drew them pictures and they did the same for us. Seeing their picture and knowing their story and talking to them helped us realize how much we were blessed and that we should use our blessings to help others. We even decided to use our allowance money to pay the sponsoring money each month.