here is an amazing and totally easy family project that you can do immediately. in fact your kids (age depending) might even be able to do most of this without you.
1. grab an empty shopping bag.
2. clean out your pantry of canned or boxed food you won't eat.
4. leave this (now full) bag next to your mailbox this saturday and your mail carrier will pick it up for you.
the united states postal service is running the STAMP OUT HUNGER program for every community nationwide. they will get this food to the local food bank and help countless of people in need.
here is a link for more details: usps.com
the lesson: talking to kids about others who might not have enough food is an intense topic. know you child and what he/ she is capable of hearing/ understanding and think about how to share this information without scaring them. sometimes it's enough to say, "we have a lot and some families don't have much".
***added bonus: those oreos will no longer be there to mock you as you stare at them each morning while wearing yoga pants.
well, this week marks the national launch of my other baby, Milk + Bookies. i started this non profit in 2004 and it is just now getting off the ground (good things come to those who wait). if you want a new idea for a birthday party or if you know some teens who are looking for a community service project, this is the place to visit: www.milkandbookies.org
there are step by step instructions to throw your own event where you can invite kids to a book store, (or your home) and ask them to choose, inscribe and donate books to local kids who have none.
this is really the same message i share here about giving little ones an experience where they can give back.
the motto: READ, GIVE, GROW.
ok, it is COOOOOLD out there. and in other parts of the country it is even colder. here is an easy and helpful activity to do this weekend to help those who need something to snuggle up with and get warm. there are 2 easy ways to do this one:
1.) with you kids, clean out your linen closet and bring all unused blankets to your local homeless shelter.
or
2.) with your kids, go to the fabric store, pick out some fleece, take it home and use the "project linus" guidelines to turn it into a no-sew blanket to be donated to their local chapter (see website www.projectlinus.org for locations)
here is the link for the blanket PDF
project linus, a nationwide nonprofit says, "it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
the lesson: it is too easy to take for granted something as obvious as a warm blanket. talk to you children about helping when and where we can. can they even imagine what it would be like to not have a blanket? a blanket is not only for getting cozy and good for fort building, but also for keeping us healthy and warm with a good night's sleep.
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now that our kids have so much "bright new shiny" with which to play, what better time to clean out the "dark old dull" ?
it is SO hard for most kids (mine especially) to part with even the smallest bit of broken lego. now, with all the new holiday loot, finding an organized place is a real chore. help them clean out the toys, books and even winter clothes that they barely notice hanging around.
make piles of (or use colored post-its) for;
MAYBE KEEP, GIVE AWAY and TRASH.
it will be hard to get them excited about the "give away" pile, but once you put on some music, eat some leftover xmas cookies or channukah gelt, they might get into the groove.
OR
you can tell them that for every new item they got, they need to give one away.
the lesson: abundance is the road to ungratefulness ? (ok, i think i just made that up, but it seems right, doesn't it?). plus, talk to your families about how lucky we are to get new things while explaining that not all families have the same luxuries or something like that, only more eloquent. then go back to the MAYBE KEEP pile and start again.
***added bonus: more organization means less likely chance of stepping on an errant action figure with bare feet - youch!
now you can thank your kids for, not only appreciating the things they have and keeping their toys organized, BUT MOSTLY for making a difference in another child's day.
as the end of summer arrives, there is no shortage of sunshine (thanks in part to global warming) and although we are still clinging desperately to our sunglasses, this is an easy activity.
lenscrafters has a program called GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT. if you drop off any reading or sunglasses to a local lenscrafters, they will use them to make a new pair of glasses for someone who otherwise couldn't afford some. so far, they have been able to help 6 million people see the world more clearly.
this is a great project for a DRIVE. get your kids to solicite glasses from friends and neighbors or even put up flyers at camp, school, church, temple, gymnastics class - whatever. there is so much power in a drive. i love a drive. i love the idea of the kids getting glasses (or whatever item your drive is about) and filling up a box. the pride they feel when they have so much more than they hoped for. the idea that a community can come together with SUCH LITTLE EFFORT and make a real difference. jeez, can you tell i am a fan of a DRIVE?
the lesson: talking to your kids about what it would be like to not see clearly and how that would effect your life. not be able to afford the medical care you need. not be able to participate in life the way you want. how difficult all of those things would be and how if we CAN help, why WOULDN'T we help?
mmmm, ahhhh, spring is in the air. smells a bit like... rotten crocs from last summer???
say what you will about crocs, yes, unattractive, yes, ubiquitous, yes, middle-american children everywhere running around in them, but they really serve their purpose. cheap (ish), slip on, waterproof and ALMOST indestructible. now that we are spring cleaning and gearing up for the warmer months, here is the place for those shredded crocs that haven't seen sunlight in months. SOLES UNITED will take old worn out pairs and recycle them into new, wearable ones to send to children in need.
the lesson: waste not want not?
added bonus: once you're already back there in the dark corners of your kid's closet, you might find some treasure. not sure what, but that's what makes it an added bonus.
here's a link: "soles united" for info and drop off locations
raise your hand if the bottom of your purse is lined with change, crumbs and lint. yep, my hand is up, too. this is a project your kids can take charge completely. they may ask guests to contribute, but mostly they can help you scrape out the back of the all purpose kitchen drawer, dig through the pockets of the diaper bag, tote bag, purses, backpacks and cup holders in the car. it's an ongoing experience so don't let them fizzle out. when it has reached capacity, take it to coinstar and turn it into paper money which can then be hand delivered to the cause of their choice, or even better, spend on pet food, books, canned food, blankets - whatever! then they can take that to their cause.
the lesson: ask your kids what they care about. let them know that THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. the penny (or all change) jar can be their own personal responsibility.
***added bonus, here's a great game: if siblings are participating, give them each a jar and a time limit (one month). whoever has the LEAST amount at the end, wins! this way they will be filling up each others jars to try to get it full!!
here's a link: find a coin counter near you
clearly not the most glamorous nor innovative philanthropic event, but a can drive is true americana. invite your child to make fliers (or print out a dozen copies on your printer) and deliver them door to door amongst your neighbors. these fliers should look something like this:
hi neighbor,
i am collecting cans for the local ___.
i will be back tomorrow around __ pm to pick up any canned food that you can spare.
thanks for your help.
sincerely,
your child's name.
when you go back to collect, don't forget some empty grocery bags, and a radio flyer wagon if you have one. once you and your child have delivered the cans, the next weekend's project can include teaching them to write thank you cards to those neighbors who were kind enough to participate.
if you are unable to find a recipient, any local church or temple will gladly take whatever you've collected and get them into the right hands (and mouths).
the lesson: talk about food. what they like best, when they feel most hungry, what they know how to cook, or what they want to learn to cook. talk about how your child never has to think about when their next meal will be or from where it will come; how some families aren't quite so lucky and how we can help those in need.
***added bonus: since getting yourself to the gym is your worst enemy, you will work those triceps lifting bags of cans for the afternoon!
as it is now january, the month of cleaning out, i suggest you and your kids put on some music, pop some popcorn, sit on the family room floor and go through all of your DVDs. this is an easy project that not only helps you feel organized, but it also gives back. KID FLICKS is a KID run organization started by 2 teenage sisters in los angeles. they distribute movies to pediatric wards of more than 200 hospitals all over the U.S. and even in South Africa.
the lesson: talk to your kids about how they might feel if they were stuck in a hospital bed. if they were feeling sick or scared and away from home, what would make them feel safe.
Thought you might enjoy my latest Greenwich Time column, which is non-political for a change:
British or Aussie expats among you might remember the long-running soap opera "Neighbours." The theme song went something like this: "Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours ..." It's been running through my head constantly since we moved into our new house in Cos Cob.
From the day we closed on the house, we've felt incredibly welcome. Although we weren't scheduled to move in till the following week, I went round straight after the closing and unloaded all the stuff that I'd been hauling around in the back of the car for the previous few weeks since we'd moved out of our old house. Later that afternoon, as soon as school was out, a posse of kids gathered on my doorstep, led by my No. 1 fan, Justine, whom I'd met when she sent me an e-mail after reading my book.
Justine has a bright future in public relations, because all the kids were under the impression that I'm a "famous author," to the point that my next-door neighbor Jack asked me if I go places in a limousine. I think he's got me confused with a genuinely famous author like Nora Roberts or J.K. Rowling, but we authors being a notoriously insecure lot, I'll take my adulation whenever I can get it.
I did, however, disabuse him of the notion that my authorly life is one of limos and luxury -- I drove myself to make the acceptance speech at last year's Sydney Taylor Award banquet in my food-bestrewn, dented Mom-Mobile. I think Jack was a bit disappointed that he wasn't going to be seeing stretch limos pulling up next door on a daily basis, but I'll admit to being glad that he hasn't given up on the idea that I'm famous. I figure if he thinks it, I might become it.
My daughter already has a horde of new friends who ring the doorbell wanting to know if she can come out to play, and my son has a devotee in young Chase next door. At 8 a.m. last Sunday, when I went out to get the paper in my PJ's, he asked me if Joshua wanted to play with him. I told Chase that Joshua was still asleep.
"Why?" my young neighbor asked, puzzled.
I gave a brief explanation of how becoming a teenager seems to change previously early risers (I used to call Joshua my "farm boy" because he was up with the sun) into late-sleeping lie-a beds. I'm not sure Chase was convinced, but I'm leaving more detailed explanations of puberty and hormones up to his parents. I've got enough "puberty talks" of my own to deal with, thank you very much!
We've been living in the house for almost two weeks now, and despite the fact that we don't have a living room sofa or my office furniture yet, it already feels like we belong there. I've unpacked my frighteningly large collection of books onto the new bookshelves, built by the wonderful Scott Heywood, who answered my frenzied plea to install shelves wherever he found a blank wall. Maybe it's the author and obsessive reader in me, but there's something about being surrounded by books that makes a house feel more like a home.
But it's the neighbors who've really made us feel like we belong here. The night of the closing, when we hadn't even moved in, we ended up with 10 kids and several moms gathered on our front steps, chatting. In the end, we called out for pizza (another of the joys of moving to Cos Cob -- food delivery, woo hoo!) and ate sitting on the flagstones on the back patio, our outdoor furniture being in storage with the rest of our belongings until we moved in the following week.
Since then we've been welcomed with beautiful plants and delicious homemade cookies. We've had several impromptu gatherings on the front steps and kids are running in and out of the house constantly. I love it. Living in backcountry didn't allow for this kind of informality, because seeing anyone involved getting in a car and driving.
Our dog, Sandy, loves it too. She sits on the front steps and watches the world -- particularly the other neighborhood dogs -- go by.
Now that I've got to get back into writing groove, I'm posting a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door leading to my basement lair. But I like knowing that when I emerge, my friends are on the other side of the door.
