Struggling to Make a Difference

For the last two years, I've been working hard to find a way to have my kids participate in charity activities. I've tried different things each year, and have some new ideas for this upcoming year. My goal is to not only feel like I'm giving back to society, but also to teach my children that they have this responsibility.

Two years ago, I joined a local social association that raises funds through parties and events to donate to local social causes. My role in this group was to be the contact for a poor family living in our town. I thought it would be the ideal way to have my children realize how fortunate they are and to ingrain them with a generosity for others. They did pick up on the poverty is all around us part of the lesson, but interacting with the family, even to help me give them Christmas gifts, was too overwhelming for them. Instead of feeling good about how happy our gifts made the mother, my daughter was self-conscious and nervous about interacting with a stranger and made me promise that I would never make her do it again. I worried that I was turning her off of charity and backed off immediately.

Last year, I watched my daughter participate in social services projects through her daisy troupe while I discovered the power of the blogosphere in helping social causes. I was honored to be part of a group of 100 bloggers under the capable leadership of Deb from Jersey Bites who generated $7,000 in donations this fall for the NJ Food Bank. I also spread the word about a petition to keep mastectomies an in-patient procedure and helped collect funds for blood cancer research. It's amazing how powerful we mom bloggers can be when we unite behind a cause.

While I'm really happy with our involvement in charity last year, I want to work hard to make it a part of our home life this year. I'll definitely continue all of my cause blogging and will actively support Bella's girl scout activities, but I want us to also do activities in the house that involve all three kids. My current plan is to involve them in putting together Red Cross clothing donation bags and having them help me stuff it in the box, having them pick out toys to donate to needy children, and asking them to help me put together boxes of food for our local food pantry. I'm open to other suggestions though... what has worked for you with your kids?

This weekend Parent Bloggers Network is teaming up with Quaker Oats to spread the word about a special campaign Quaker Oats is doing with Share our Strength. Each time you purchase a box of Quaker Oats cereal and type in the UPC at the site linked above, they'll make a donation Share our Strength. This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company.