You know that gap of time when camp is over and school hasn’t started yet?   What to do with the little ones?  Here’s a different kind of project to consider.

• First, ask your kids to think about a cause that is really important to them — an issue, an organization, or a place.
• Next, have them do some (parent-supervised) research about that area.
• Encourage your them to brainstorm ways they can support their selected cause.  Check out these YesKidzCan! resources for ideas.
• Offer the option of including a timeline for  implementing their ideas.
• Suggest that your kids create a document, presentation or poster with visuals that summarize what they have learned and are proposing.
• Schedule a special time where your kids can make a presentation to the whole family.
• Explore if there are ways for the entire family to be involved.
• Provide positive feedback, and applaud their efforts.

This activity can be spread out over a period of time.   Just remember to encourage follow through.  Once the project is complete, you can ask your kids to create and present a summary of how things turned out. This kind of project goes beyond a way to fill time.  It offers a way to make time fulfilling!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Do we have a book for you!  It is a treasure trove of ways to give back that you can act on right away and make a daily practice. As the author says, “like brushing your teeth or kissing your kids goodnight.”  The book is How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist by Nicole Bouchard Boles.  What we love about this book is that it dovetails nicely with YesKidzCan! philosophy of easy and time-flexible ways to make a difference.  Most of book’s ideas are also cash-free, so that anyone of any means can give one of the 330 charitable ideas a try!  The book emphasizes coming up with your own giving solutions and avoiding the feeling that giving back has to mean solving the world’s biggest problems.  The book provides ideas you can do in 15 minutes, ways to use outgrown or unused items in a charitable fashion, as well as family and kid-friendly activities.  We also love the calendar at the end of the book that provides a year’s worth of national days or months that may just inspire your next kind act!  How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist is a great purchase for the summer to read through with your family and plan out some making-a-difference moments.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Thanks to the input and creativity of the Youth Advisory Board of Kids to Kids/Word Connect (a youth-led program that supports, arts, science, sports, education, and environmental projects in more than 10 countries), YesKidzCan! developed the Great Coin Race Community Service Project Kit.  The kit puts a fun spin on having kids raise money for Kids to Kids projects by collecting spare change.  We are excited to share that Sage School in Foxboro, Massachusetts which serves 169 students (ages 4-14) took on the Great Coin Race as part of their commitment to community service and to honor their 20th anniversary.

The Sage School selected a Kids to Kids project in the Dominican Republic called “Passport to the World” as the beneficiary of their Great Coin Race efforts.  Sage students and teachers “raced” to collect spare change to mark the 1,567 mile distance from Foxboro to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  Their goal was to raise 50 cents for each mile with a goal of raising $783.50.  “Passport to the World” will help a Dominican Republic community enhance their library by improving the physical space and improve the selection of books.

Sage School’s effort was school wide with every student, teacher, and administrator assigned to one of two teams:  Green or Blue.  The two teams competed in a month-long coin collecting race.  Members of the World Connect staff and the Youth Advisory Board attended the launch and spoke to the student body about the importance of supporting kids around the world.  While the racing was going on, students studied the history and culture of the Dominican Republic and learned about the challenges faced by kids in that region of the world.  After a month’s effort, the school held an assembly to celebrate their Great Coin Race accomplishments — raising a total of $1,161.20 which exceeded their initial goal!

Way to go Sage School!  We hope other schools and community groups will download the free kit and follow the fantastic example set by every student, faculty member, and administrators!  You put the “Great” in “Great Coin Race!”

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

By Lisa Novick, Co-Founder, YesKidzCan!

This past year, it seems that the world has been overcome by disasters.  There has been, of course, the Japan earthquake and aftermath; the devastating tornadoes that hit Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Joplin, Missouri; mudslides in Rio de Janeiro; the flooding in Minot, North Dakota, among others.  I am not certain that there have been more catastrophes this year than other years.  Perhaps it has felt more overwhelming to me for two reasons.  First, news stories are constant, repeated, and everywhere.  There are news feeds along the bottom of existing programming. There are news interruptions.  There is the internet.  And second, I have a daughter who is now old enough to want and need more information when she hears about these kinds of disasters.

I wouldn’t presume to tell other families how to speak with their kids about these overwhelming stories.  I will share that in our house, we discuss ways we can help directly.  Or, if we can’t help directly, we talk about ways others have been helping.  We all can’t possibly support every situation.  Sadly, there have been far too many tragedies. But I have found that if we talk about the kind things other people or groups have been doing, that helps us feel closer to the hope surrounding the disaster rather than the devastation itself.

I recently came across a quote in a lovely book called Good Person (compiled by Dan Zadra) that summarized how my family tries to deal with the barrage of bad news days:

“The accumulation of small optimistic acts produces quality in our culture and in your life.  Our community resonates in tense times to individual acts of grace.”  – Jennifer James

Perhaps it will help you, too.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

What do you get when you take caring about a cause, an entrepreneurial spirit, and neon-colored duct tape?  You get another winner of our Social KidPreneurz Award — Abigail (age 11) of Bethesda, Maryland!  Abigail loves making stuff out of duct tape.  Wallets, pencil cases, purses, totes, bookmarks!  She recruited a classmate to help make duct tape items (probably 50 when all was said and one) and sell them at a neighborhood stand that her family helped set up.

On the morning of the event, Abigail and her friend were a little shy at first — getting a feel for how to engage passers-by.  But after a few attempts, they started waving and smiling at cars, carrying their products to greet weekend joggers, and even engaging Abigail’s younger brother to make a huge sign and flyers to put on the windshields of neighborhood cars. They had quite an operation going!  And who could ever predict that their customers would include toddlers to senior citizens.  Several were so tickled by what they saw that they told Abigail to keep the change or made a donation without asking for a product in return!

You can watch Abigail’s success here!  And successful she was!  She donated $200 to the Save the Children’s Japan Relief Fund.  And while the financial donation deserves significant kudos, according to Abigail’s mom (a third grade school teacher), the success went deeper than feeling terrific about the donation.  She emphasized that the project was great fun to do with a friend and also helped build confidence in the kids.  Just goes to show it’s not your grandfather’s duct tape anymore!  Congratulations to Abigail for finding the creativity and compassion in duct tape!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Isn’t it great when you read a book and you find yourself thinking about it long after you’ve finished the last page?  Darrel Hammond’s book, KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play, is one of those reads.

First, we should say, we have known Darrel for a long time.  He is a loveable freight train of a guy who founded KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit that provides communities with tools, resources, and guidance to build and renovate playgrounds and playspaces. We met and worked with Darrel over a decade ago when KaBOOM! was a one-room organization but had a skyscraper full of ideas and promise.  Today, the organization has raised almost $200 million and built 2,000 playgrounds with a million volunteers, and made an everlasting impression on kids and families everywhere.  And we now have the privilege of having Darrel serve on the YesKidzCan! Advisory Board.

We promise you that we are not touting this book because we know Darrel.  We are sharing it with you because the messages it conveys go way beyond the importance of giving kids access to fun and safe places to play.   The book challenges you to think differently about yourself, to reflect on how you can contribute to society, to remember that inspiration can come in unexpected and unconventional forms, and to work really, really hard for your goals.

Darrel did not have a traditional upbringing as the book chronicles.  He grew up in a group home with his seven brothers and sisters.  He did not follow a fairytale path to discover his calling. He had some missteps and some self doubt but he channeled these experiences into true learning opportunities that helped him keep an open mind and take leaps of faith on more than one occasion.  His unvarnished retelling of his lessons learned should serve as a handbook for many of us.  And it also goes a long way that 100% of the author’s proceeds benefits KaBOOM!

So what’s the most memorable part of the book?  It could be the vivid stories about the dedicated volunteers in rain and extreme temperatures who made the playground builds a success. It could be the joy Darell describes in the kids’ reactions when they learn that they get to design their community’s playspace.  But in the end, what surprised us most was we found ourselves not only wishing that children everywhere could race around their new play spaces with unbridled exuberance and joyful commitment.  We also found ourselves wishing that we as adults — in pursuing all our hopes and dreams for our families and our communities — could and should do the same!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

July 8th is Video Games Day –  a day that celebrates popular video games that change the way our kids play games.  At YesKidzCan!, we like good games.  Literally good games — or games that have a positive social impact.  Games for Change is a leader in this area.  This organization supports and makes games that are played to address important issues and produce sustainable and positive impact on our society.

Thanks to the recommendation of Games for Change, we added another game series to our Good Technology tab on our website where we list online games we like because they either educate kids about an issue or result in donations to worthy cause — at no cost to the player.  The donation is made just because the game is played.  (And because of the generosity of a behind-the-scenes sponsor.)

The new online game we’ve added is an interactive education platform called One Ocean.  Kids can watch a stunning four-part documentary on the power and beauty of our oceans and their ecosystems and also play a series of different games to bring another fun element to their learning.  Kids can play Fishing Forever, The Biosphere (about marine reserves), Pollution Chaser, and Coral Reef Defender.  Check out this series and the other online games we suggest via our Good Technology tab — where kids and giving back click!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

YesKidzCan! is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland which was recently taken over by the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.  Something like 40,000 people swarmed the town to watch golf greats hit the links.  Exciting stuff — especially when Rory McIlory won the tournament by 8 strokes with a record 268 total.  But from YesKidzCan!’s perspective, the other big story was happening right outside the golf course grounds on a neighborhood street corner.

About half a dozen kids put up a roadside lemonade stand on the first day of the Open.  Almost before the first “FORE” was uttered, a local county government inspector showed up to shut down the lemonade stand because the kids did not have a permit and issued a $500 ticket!!  First of all, since when do kids need a permit to set up a lemonade stand?  Second, what will they do next?  Ban moms from making apple pie?  According to the Washington Post article, the county office received an overload of angry emails with accusations of being “un-American, squelching children’s entrepreneurial spirit, and simply, ‘You suck!’”

The County explained that the permit policy exists to protect neighborhoods from being overrun by illegal vendors outside sports venues that attract thousands of spectators.  And while the ticket was torn up in the end due to community pressure, too bad common sense didn’t play a role here to help distinguish between adults selling chotchkies and kids selling beverages.

In the end, the kids learned a lot!  They discovered location is everything!  They turned their 15 minutes of infamy into a concerted effort to sell, sell, sell, and donate 100% of the money raised to Just Tryan It which was running a kids’ triathlon that week in Bethesda to support kids with cancer.  And, perhaps they learned more than they would have liked about local politics.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Most kids understand that we recognize July 4th as a holiday to celebrate the United State’s independence from British rule in 1776.  The Declaration of Independence was drafted to spell out what was important to our leaders and citizens and our commitment.  Seems like a perfect holiday to add an easy service project to foster the leader in your kids.

We’re not talking about anything complicated.  The kids are looking for some entertainment while you’re heating up the grill.  So, set up a table with a few canvases and some paint and brushes and have the kids create inspirational paintings (perhaps with patriotic themes in honor of the 4th).  Many hospitals, senior centers, libraries, or schools would appreciate receiving the artwork to brighten up their hallways or waiting areas. For a complete how-to on this kind of project, purchase our Art that Heals Community Service Project Kit.  It includes a butterfly template as one artistic option.  It’s “almost free” at $8.  And, 100% goes to support children’s causes!  Our forefathers would be proud to see a project like this as part of a holiday that is all about leadership and banding together as a community.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011