(As published in The Savvy Source, August 30, 2010)

Kids love pets.  Owning them, petting them, and cuddling them.   And, so many pets would benefit from kids taking care of them — particularly those in rescue shelters.  The challenge is many facilities require volunteers to be at least 16 years old.  So if you have younger kids, where do you begin?  With the help of a wonderful organization, www.adopt-a-pet.com, a nonprofit that helps get homeless pets into caring homes, I have some great tips about where you should start and how you can follow through.   First, double check with your area rescue groups or pet adoption agencies about their age limits for volunteers. Many will let 12-year-olds volunteer.  And, younger kids may be allowed as well if they are accompanied by a parent.  Next, see which of the following ideas are right for you and your kids of all ages:   

Donate supplies — Shelters usually have a wish list of supplies they need.  Go through your house with your kids to see if you have any items needed at the shelter. These can range from blankets to a computer printer to an old crate and more. Your kids could also decide to use some allowance or holiday money to purchase much-needed grooming supplies.  A well-groomed animal is far more likely to be adopted than one that is scruffy.

Work an adoption event – Shelters frequently host adoption events to help animals find homes.  Your kids can hand out flyers that publicize an upcoming event at school, around the neighborhood, or during extracurricular activities.  At the event itself, kids can help parents attract people to the information table.  Older kids can walk, groom — and yes — clean up after the animals on site.  All necessary parts of caretaking!

Give some TLC — While shelters are safe havens for homeless animals, they can also be stressful places, too.  They are foreign environments filled with many anxious and loud animals with a constant flow of strangers.  Petting and comforting animals is a wonderful way to ease their anxiety and make your kids feel pretty good at the same time. Adopt-a-pet.com also suggests a few fun twists.  Bring a bunch of friends and soothe the animals together.  Or, hold a “pet-a-thon” where your kids can get family or friends to sponsor them for each animal they pet.  The money raised can either be donated to the shelter or used to purchase needed supplies off of a wish list.

Use technology skills —   The Internet has revolutionized the pet adoption process.  Posting photos and descriptions of animals in need of homes can increase the likelihood of a successful placement.  Find out if a local shelter would benefit from your kids’ taking video of the animals to bring to life the online listings.  Kids (with parent permission) can also do some “social PETworking” by posting a link to a shelter pet on your Facebook page or via TwitterACritter to spread the word about specific pets to hundreds or thousands of people.  If you have a personal website, consider adding a link to a pet search site as well.

Adopt a shelter worker – People who work in shelters have extremely difficult jobs with long hours and little or no pay.  They often witness challenging circumstances that can be draining and disheartening.  Showing them a little appreciation can go a long way.  Your kids can stop by to say “thank you,” drop off a note, send an email, or bake some treats for a pick-me-up.

Not every kid can bring a pet home.  But any kid who is a pet lover can give some care and attention to an animal in need of a home. Start by contacting your local rescue shelter, humane society, or pet rescue program today!

© YesKidzCan!, 2010

At YesKidzCan, we’re all about inspiring children to get involved and give back. And, we know that involved kids often have involved parents. That’s why during this busy back-to-school time, we’d like to tell you about VolunteerSpot, a great resource that has a time-saving and sanity-saving online coordination tool for organizing all your volunteer efforts. VolunteerSpot’s free online sign-up sheets make parent participation at school, sports events, and in the community a snap!  No more passing around clipboard sign-up sheets or putting up with reply-all emails or phone tag just to help out.

With VolunteerSpot, ANYONE can launch a free sign-up calendar, and invite people to help in minutes. Parents choose their spots (when to help and what to bring) through a link in an email invitation or a button on your website or online group page. The best part is, once signed up, VolunteerSpot sends automated confirmation and reminder emails to keep everyone on track. It’s great not only for scheduling classroom volunteers, but also for parents who help with school carnivals and book fairs, parent-teacher conferences, soccer snacks, walk-a-thons, concessions stands, Scout campouts, and more!

Whether you are a room parent, coach, or committee chair in charge, one way to show our kids how much we enjoy volunteering at school is to make it as easy and fun for ourselves as possible. VolunteerSpot  helps parents do just that!  Also, for a chance to win $100 in classroom supplies for your favorite teacher from Class Wish, register before October 1, 2010 and use the promo code ‘TeachersSave.’

© YesKidzCan!, 2010

(As published in VolunteerSpot, August 20, 2010)

With school just around the corner, we are featuring some inspirational stories and giving back ideas that help those less fortunate get ready for the new school year! 

Get Inspired By: “Share What You Wear”

It’s back-to-school time.  For many, this means the annual ritual of giving away clothes that don’t fit any more and getting some new things for the school year. While you and your kids are going through this process, take a minute to read about two pretty terrific girls:  Zoe Baris and Samantha Zabell from Orange Village, Ohio.  Both are only 18 years old and are cofounders of Share What You Wear (SWYW).  Four years ago, they began hosting a back-to-school, one-day shopping event each August for needy kids of all ages.  They gave away 2,000 items their first event and almost 5,000 last year.

With mentoring by and collaboration with the Cleveland Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), the young ladies now accept donations all year; store clothes, shoes, accessories, and school supplies in their basement; and have drop-off sites at their homes and school.  Zoe and Samantha are headed to college but they plan to start SWYW sites near their universities and hope that kids of all ages are motivated to create their own local chapters.  Something valuable to think about as we pick out new outfits with our kids for the new school year. 

(If you are interested in making a financial donation to SWYW, click here and specify that your gift is for SWYW.  They use monetary contributions to buy new underwear and socks.)

Find or Start a Clothing Drive Near You

Here’s another way to teach your kids not just to think about getting themselves ready for school, but also how to help others do the same. Participate in Family Circle and GoodWill’s back-to-school clothing drive.  Joining this Donate Movement is easy:

• You and your kids clean out the closets and bring unwanted clothes to one of more than 3,500 Goodwill donation centers and stores nationwide from now until September 30.
• Set up your own Back-to-School Clothing Drive at your school, office, or anywhere friends and neighbors gather.

Click donate back-to-school clothing to learn more.

YesKidzCan!, 2010

For my family, it was that time of year when we needed to open up the closets, face the garage, and dig into the toy chests to figure out what we truly needed to keep and what would be best to donate.  We always involve our daughter in this process to reinforce the importance of charitable actions.  Sometimes it’s difficult for her (and us!) to part with certain things – even though we have outgrown them or don’’ use them anymore.  Belongings – while just belongings – do carry memories with them.

We were a relatively well functioning team and assembled a significant amount of items to donate – items we hoped would make another family happy.  We had bikes, artist easels, a pogo stick, games, dolls, clothing, shoes, an old television, and even an enormous plastic slide (a gift from the grandparents when our daughter was a toddler)!

When we have a large number of items to donate, we like to give them to the Vietnam Veterans of America which support Vietnam-era veterans and their families.  First, they accept so many different things including old electronics, furniture, carpets, books, toys of all sizes, kitchen appliances, clothing, and much, much more.  Second, they have a charitable donation pickup service in a handful of states across the country (Minnesota, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and New York) where you can package up your donations, label them, and leave them outside for the VVA truck.  (Super convenient!)

So, this past Sunday afternoon, we labeled and set out our belongings for a Monday morning curbside pickup.  My daughter and I left early Monday for camp and passed our pile of memories at the end of our driveway.  My daughter said, “Hey, mom, where are the bikes?”  I stopped the car and assessed the belongings we had left out the day before.  Sure enough, not only were two bikes missing, so were the pogo stick and two artist easels.

Now what do you say to your kid when your donations are stolen?!  It had crossed my mind and my husband’s that our belongings could be the target of vans and trucks that rove the streets looking for valuable goods to resell or keep.  Oddly, Angus MacLachlan had just shared his funny take on this very thing in a piece called “Lives: Curbside Pickup” in the New York Times Magazine.

Fortunately, I got off the hook easily as far as my daughter was concerned.  She evaluated the situation with her own conclusive analysis.   She said, “That’s pretty mean of someone to take stuff that was meant for people who really needed it.  But . . . maybe the person who took it really needed it, too.”  Then the real clincher for me was this:  “Mom, maybe next time I will do what Atticus Finch did in To Kill a Mockingbird when he set up a chair outside Tom Robinson’s prison cell to protect him.  I’ll guard our stuff until it gets picked up safely.”

Not only did my daughter understand the value of donating items to a worthy cause.  She was willing to do what it took to make sure the intended recipients received them.  I think I ended up being the one who received a lesson about generosity that day.

© YesKidzCan!, 2010

Young do-gooders are all around us, and Liberty Mutual (the fifth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S.)  wants to acknowledge them for their efforts.  

Through Liberty Mutual’s The Responsibility Project for the Win, teens ages 13-17 are encouraged to share their stories about how they have made a difference this summer so other teens are inspired to put giving back on their radar screen. 

To enter the contest, teens need to complete an entry form and submit an online essay (300 words or less) that describes their personal “responsibility project.”  This can include a charitable activity, a community project, or serving as a leader, an inspiration, or a supporter to others. The contest deadline is August, 31.  Parent permission is a must.

Five teens will be selected as winners this September.  Those honored will receive the following:  a $500 donation made in their name to a nonprofit of their choosing by Liberty Mutual; their essay featured on The Responsibility Project, and an invitation to guest blog their winning story.

What better insurance policy for the world we live in?  Teens motivating teens to give a little and care a lot!

 © YesKidzCan!, 2010

If you know a boy or girl who did something to make his community a better place or was  brave in a tough situation or helped out a friend in need?

Show your support by nominating that special child or teen for the NESTLÉ® DRUMSTICK® Heroes Contest. Fifty children between the ages of 6 and 17 will win a fun-filled, summer celebration package, with enough NESTLÉ® DRUMSTICK® Sundae Cones for a party of 50 pals.

To nominate an outstanding child or teen, go to DRUMSTICK® Heroes Contest  to submit an entry form along with a short story (150 to 300 words) describing why the individual deserves to be honored as a DRUMSTICK® Hero.  You must turn in your entry by September 15, 2010.

© YesKidzCan!, 2010