Children giving to charityWhat a great (and effective) way to help our children understand how blessed they are. Teach them early to give to others in tangible ways. Local charities and service opportunitiesMany opportunities exist for your child to help meet the needs of people in your local communiites. Food banks, meal delivery, visiting shut-ins or elderly, children's hospitals. Sometimes opportunities to help other children who are in need can really have an impact on your child. Be prepared to talk with them about their experiences and help them understand. Often they will want to discuss and debrief with you and you should encourage that.You must be wise and match the opportunity with the age of your child... and always check out the organization to ensure your child's safety. Do not put your child at risk! There are plenty of ways to get involved through local reputable organizations. Consult your telephone directory or your chamber of commerce for charitable organizations to contact. Some local news stations and newspapers also have lists readily available (and the type of volunteer needs) for you to look over and decide how to get involved. Worldwide giving opportunitiesBe careful with giving to any charitable organization. Be sure that they are accredited, or audited by a reputable accounting standards organization. One fine example of this oversight is the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability).We as a family support many charities and ministries, but specifically for our children's involvement we have supported Samaritan's Purse. Making "giving" tangible... What we enjoy about this ministry (other than its very low administrative percentage) is how they've made giving very tangible and understandable for our children (and for us). Every year they publish a catalog of items that can be "purchased". See their catalog (opens in new window) Our kids can buy things such as: seeds to plant and harvest, hens to lay eggs to eat, medical supplies to help the sick, etc. Now our children can know that they (with their own money) purchased 25 boxes of bandages for people in the Sudan, for example. It is much more real to them. Operation Christmas ChildAnother of our favorite charity opportunities through Samaritan's Purse is their Operation Christmas Child campaign.Our kids can help fill shoe boxes (for a boy or a girl of a certain age) and know that they are bringing the joy of Christmas and a gift of love to some child in the world. It may challenge you more than your kids!Giving to others (in time, talents, or finances) is such a valuable discipline that we all need to make a part of our lives. We have so much compared to the rest of the world, and it takes so little to make a big difference.So challenge yourself if you are not already giving regularly to participate with your children in reaching out to the world in tangible ways.
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