As parents, we all want to share values, morals, and traditions that are important to us with our children. It's important, first, to remember that not all giving can be measured in dollars and cents. Giving your time is just as important for many organizations. These are just a few ways you can take ordinary charitable contributions and turn them into family traditions, not to mention beautiful memories.
Select a Cause as a Family
It's important to choose a cause the entire family can get behind. While children's causes often tug at the heartstrings, they're a little tough for most children to wrap their minds around. The Breast Cancer Society is a great option because it's about an issue that touches so many lives in ever racial, religious, and socio-economic group. It's also a cause that men, women, and children can get behind because we all have mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and daughters who are vulnerable to this disease.
Volunteer Your Time Before Your Money
Money is great. But it's a one-time gift that the family doesn't get to see in action. Volunteering your time, on the other hand, places you in a prime position to see your gifts in action. You'll actually get to see the lives that are impacted by your gifts and that can be its very own reward. Nothing reinforces a valuable lesson in quite the same way that seeing it in action does. If you want to teach your children the rewards of giving, this is your best course of action, by far.
Make it an Adventure
If you really want to drive the lesson home, make it a lesson that's fun to learn. When it comes to lifelong charitable giving and starting good habits young, your children aren't going to get excited by washing pans in a soup kitchen all day. It's just not going to get the reaction you want. Consider hosting a fundraising event if you really want to get them on board and excited about their role.
Choose a theme. Fun, family-friendly themes include things like Oscar night, circus night, mini golf, or amusement themes. Many of these places will allow you to rent them out for the evening and may even provide discounts for charitable causes.
Select a Cause as a Family
It's important to choose a cause the entire family can get behind. While children's causes often tug at the heartstrings, they're a little tough for most children to wrap their minds around. The Breast Cancer Society is a great option because it's about an issue that touches so many lives in ever racial, religious, and socio-economic group. It's also a cause that men, women, and children can get behind because we all have mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and daughters who are vulnerable to this disease.
Volunteer Your Time Before Your Money
Money is great. But it's a one-time gift that the family doesn't get to see in action. Volunteering your time, on the other hand, places you in a prime position to see your gifts in action. You'll actually get to see the lives that are impacted by your gifts and that can be its very own reward. Nothing reinforces a valuable lesson in quite the same way that seeing it in action does. If you want to teach your children the rewards of giving, this is your best course of action, by far.
Make it an Adventure
If you really want to drive the lesson home, make it a lesson that's fun to learn. When it comes to lifelong charitable giving and starting good habits young, your children aren't going to get excited by washing pans in a soup kitchen all day. It's just not going to get the reaction you want. Consider hosting a fundraising event if you really want to get them on board and excited about their role.
Choose a theme. Fun, family-friendly themes include things like Oscar night, circus night, mini golf, or amusement themes. Many of these places will allow you to rent them out for the evening and may even provide discounts for charitable causes.
If your cause is one like The Breast Cancer Society, consider offering a fashion show with modesty-inspired clothing appropriate for women who may have had breast cancer. It can benefit women who are currently going through treatment by raising funds as well as those who have been through treatment by helping them find elegant clothes they can truly be comfortable wearing after the fact.
The key is to get everyone on board and make it as fun for all as possible. And these are great ways to accomplish that goal while instilling values about charity and giving that will last a lifetime. The younger your children are when you begin teaching them about the importance of giving, the stronger those values will be as your children grow into responsible giving adults.
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