I believe, that whenever possible, we should help those who need help. Sometimes that may be in the form of monetary donations, hands-on services, emotional support, tangible items, or simply friendship. Anyone may need assistance at anytime - meals for a grieving family, donations for a medical necessity, helping fundraise for a variety of reasons, and even just lending an ear. We may give to our family, friends, community members or even complete strangers and non-profit organizations which champion a plethora of causes. I do believe whenever we are called to be thoughtful, caring, and supportive in our communities, we need to answer.
I oftentimes share acts of kindness with our homeschool group hoping to engage families and youth to be more community service minded; my boys are no exception. We routinely see a need and try to fill it or at least do our part to lessen someone else's burden. Our family really believes that helping others is a part of life.
Earlier this month, I wanted to set up a shoe drive for Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Soul's Ministry. This is a fabulous service project for groups to do together and I highly recommend starting one in your community. However, I found out two weeks ago that Buckner was collecting shoes for our community's impoverished children through our local Lifeway Christian Bookstore and Chick-fil-a, so I decided to rally the troops and give-back locally. Shoes from this donation would be supplied to the Junior League of Longview in their annual school supply drive where area youth would not only receive necessary school supplies, but also a uniform top, new shoes, and a hair cut.
Several of our homeschool families participated and I was completely pleased with their efforts! The boys and I did some shopping for our family and another and then delivered our purchases to Lifeway. While this was a simple monetary/tangible goods donation, my kiddos took careful time to select the shoes they thought would make a boy or girl happy to wear. They were careful to stay within our donation budget and visited many stores before finally making their purchase. Not only did this act of kindness help other children, it taught my boys how to be price conscience, how to stay within a budget, how to think of others, and how good it feels to help someone else.
What are some ways you encourage your children to be good stewards in their community? Do you have a favorite organization or activity you give to each year?
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