Gratitude Cards

I love this idea!! Jenn, from one of the blogs that I follow "My Delicious Ambiguity" created gratitude cards.

"I thought it would be fun to make a set of gratitude cards with questions, crafts, activities and acts of service that we can do together to learn about gratitude and to help others in our community. In total I came up with forty-eight things that we can do as a family."

You can download these cards in PDF format at her Etsy shop.

Adopt an Orphan

So, for those of you who don't know me, we're an Xbox family. For years, I swore I would never purchase a system as I lose my family members to the television and computer enough as it is and felt that a gaming system would fracture that family time I'm always looking for. I was definitely wrong. It's something we definitely do (and laugh at) together. One of the games we love is Toy Story 3 and a part of the game is that you have to save the "orphans."

Immediately, a lightbulb went off in my bed. I couldn't believe I hadn't yet posted about a program I'm very excited about. It's called Show Hope: A movement to care for orphans. For just $35 a month, you can sponsor an orphan in dire need of care. "There will be opportunities to send letters, prayers, and encouragement to the children you will impact; and through pictures, updates, and visits, you will be able to connect with the special needs orphans you help at Maria’s Big House of Hope." How awesome would that be to have your preschooler connect with someone across the world? Not only does this teach compassion and empathy but it just might save a child's life. 

Change homepage to Yahoo!

Posted from one of my favorite blogs, Money Saving Mom:  "Yahoo! (is) offering to give $10,000 to the charity of my choice in exchange for me to ask you to change your homepage to Yahoo! for two days." Simply go to her blog and follow the link and that's it. (I know, I know totally has nothing to do with community service projects for kids but what a great opportunity to help!)

Helping the Disabled

"Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone."
-- Martina Navratilova

Here in Maryland, there is an organization called the Arc of Baltimore. Their focus is to "ensure that people with developmental disabilities have maximum opportunities to actively participate in all aspects of community life, and to offer programs and services that support them in doing so."

They have a particular program called People2people that matches a disabled person with a volunteer living near them to share activities and interests. "Volunteers might provide a friendly visit, trip to the mall, movies, sports, events, restaurant, special event, anything they choose to do together." This is such a fantastic opportunity to get your family involved in bringing their positive energy to another person's life.

Host an exchange student

I absolutely loved "The Holiday" with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. I loved the idea of going to another country and falling into another person's life, culture, home (and if Jude Law just happened to be in that particular home, well, even better).

But hosting an exchange student is all of that and so much more. Education First-Foundation for Foreign Study writes:  "Few experiences can spark an interest in the world like welcoming an exchange student into your home. By hosting, families can connect to their communities in exciting new ways and create life-changing friendships. They can share the Amerian way of life with enthusiastic visitors, and expose their own children to international cultures. Hosting an exchange student offers a profound experience that does more than change your world view. It changes your life - forever."

By going to Education First's website, you can chose which region you are interested in, learn about the students in need of homes and even learn about their interests and hobbies to find an appropriate match. What an incredible example and lesson you are providing for your child by opening up your home and your family to a complete stranger so that not only can they learn and experience all that "the states" have to offer but that you can learn quite a bit in return.

Reasons to volunteer

What Kids Can Learn From Volunteering (excerpt from Kids Health from Nemours- no idea who they are but I like what they have to say ;)

If volunteering begins at an early age, it can become part of kids' lives — something they might just expect and want to do. It can teach them:

• A sense of responsibility. By volunteering, kids and teens learn what it means to make and keep a commitment. They learn how to be on time for a job, do their best, and be proud of the results. But they also learn that, ultimately, we're all responsible for the well-being of our communities.
• That one person can make a difference. A wonderful, empowering message for kids is that they're important enough to have an impact on someone or something else.
• The benefit of sacrifice. By giving up a toy to a less fortunate child, a child learns that sometimes it's good to sacrifice. Cutting back on recreation time to help clean up a beach tells kids that there are important things besides ourselves and our immediate needs.
• Tolerance. Working in community service can bring kids and teens in touch with people of different backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, ages, and education and income levels. They'll learn that even the most diverse individuals can be united by common values.
• Job skills. Community service can help young people decide on their future careers. Are they interested in the medical field? Hospitals and clinics often have teenage volunteer programs. Do they love politics? Kids can work on the real campaigns of local political candidates. Learning to work as a team member, taking on leadership roles, setting project goals — these are all skills that can be gained by volunteering and will serve kids well in any future career.
• How to fill idle time wisely. If kids aren't involved in traditional after-school activities, community service can be a wonderful alternative

Make A Child Smile

There is something completely magical about smiles. New parents will tell you the exact moment their children first smiled (and insist that it wasn't just "gas"). Parents of toddlers will tell you how their children's entire face lights up when a parent comes into the room (especially when the parent is carrying a package of Goldfish crackers). And parents of preschoolers will tell you how exciting it is to see their children smile with pride when they overcome a particular challenge (like when their parents finally give in and let them have whatever it is they've been whining about for the past 45 minutes).

Make A Child Smile is an organization that recognizes the importance of smiles, especially when they are flashed on the face of a child with chronic or life-threatening illness. Their goal is to encourage people to send cards, letters and small gifts to children who could really use a smile. By clicking on the "featured kids" link, you can read about these spectacular children and get their addresses to send your support directly.

Please make sure to read the FAQ's section before sending to the children and their families for recommendations on what to say and what not to say, how children are featured, what might be appropriate things to send, etc.