It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week, and our message to kids is: It’s Cool to Be Kind!  And easy, too.  Encourage your kids to smile at someone who is helping them, give a friend a compliment, help a teacher straighten the classroom, or be more patient with a sibling.  Or take it to another level.  Have your kids leave a book that he or she finished somewhere with a note on top that invites someone else to take it and read it. Offer to walk a neighbor’s dog or water the plants.  Give your kids some quarters and have them feed a few parking meters.  Whatever you do, it can be fun or playful.  You can encourage kind acts toward people you know or those you don’t.  Or, you can come up with your own “stealth” acts of kindness.  Even if the recipient doesn’t know who the kindness came from, just knowing that you might have made someone’s day is pretty powerful stuff.

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

We are all used to the heart in Valentine’s Day representing love and affection.  Wonderful sentiments for sure.  Perhaps this Valentine’s Day, the heart can also come to mean acts of kindness.  Instead of having your kids ask someone to “Be Their Valentine,” have them ask others to “Be Their Volunteer!” Kids often enjoy projects more when a buddy is involved.  Here are some Valentine volunteer activities your kids and a friend or two can do together:

• Make Valentine’s Day cards to give to a residents in a  senior center, your mail carrier, or even a waiter or waitress you see regularly.
• Package and send Valentine’s Day candy wishes to troops overseas. (Be sure to select candy that can’t melt.)
• Bake holiday treats and deliver them to your neighborhood fire department or police station.
•  Buy a few Valentine’s Day balloons and surprise some young kids in a shopping mall or grocery store by handing one to them.

The heart has an amazing capacity to expand.  Test it out with your kids this Valelntine’s Day!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we thought we’d share ways you can add some heart to the holiday with ideas for charitable twists.

Kids always like holiday craft projects, so this Valentine’s Day, consider having them make a Giving Jar.  With this project, kids decorate and fill jars with special contents such as a portion of their allowance to give to a cause; kind acts to fulfill each week or month; or inspirational messages to pass on with the entire jar as a thoughtful gift.  You can download the how-to kit for free!

How about making a donation to worthy cause as part of this heart-filled holiday?  For example, you can make a contribution to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in someone’s name and print out a personalized Valentine’s Day certificate to share what you have done.

And it is always fun to give and get a few presents for the holiday.  This time, you can select gifts that do something extra special by shopping at the American Heart Association’s online store.  There’s loads of great stuff from apparel to jewelry to accessories and gadgets. You will be helping the fight against the number one killer of women — heart disease.

Just a few ways to keep the holiday fun and have a balance of receiving and giving!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Here’s a good News Year’s resolution: give back in the new year without spending a dime. There are ways for you and your kids to be charitable for free!  Here are some creative ideas that involve donating your time, talent, and a little bit of treasure.

• Adopt a favorite outdoor spot.  If your child loves the outdoors, pick a favorite spot such as a park, trail, or playground and make a commitment to go there regularly; not just to enjoy what it offers, but also to keep it clean for the community.  This costs nothing but a little time!
• Encourage a research project.  Talk with your child about what issues or causes are important to him or her.   Invite your child to do some research on the topic, write it up, create a PowerPoint presentation, or give a little speech on the subject to the family.  Not only will you be helping your child feel great pride and a sense of accomplishment, your kid’s enthusiasm could be contagious and motivate your family to do more in this area. watch the contributions grow.
• Use your voice.  There are many people who would love some company, have someone to talk to, or have a book read to them.  If this of interest to your kids, contact a local senior center, assisted living facility, or hospital volunteer coordinator.  You can also see if your faith group knows of members who would benefit from some extra attention.
• Care for animals.  Animal shelters depend on volunteers to do many tasks around the shelter including walking, brushing, and playing with the animals.  Many shelters do have age limits, but some allow younger children if they are accompanied by an adult. Connect with your local shelter to find out their requirements which may include attending an orientation and committing to a certain number of volunteer hours per month.

With some creative thinking and your willingness to give your time, you and your kids can make a big impact without spending anything.  Look for our next blog which will feature a handful of ways to make a big difference with just a little cash!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Now here’s a fun and meaningful idea for you and your kids this holiday.  Have your kids be elves!  No green tights required!  At participating post offices around the country, you can be part of Operation Santa and read letters that needy children have written to Santa Claus.  You can take home a few letters that move you, and go out with your kids to buy gifts.  Simply send them in the US Mail marked, “From Santa.”

If your local post office does not participate, visit Be An Elf for other ways you and your kids can serve as Santa’s Helpers.  For example, you can drop off presents to an orphanage, an inner city elementary school, or a homeless shelter that supports families. Or you can make a donation to Be An Elf as well!

Enjoy your holidays, and at the same time, help make them a little brighter for those less fortunate.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Sending out holiday cards this year?  Why not involve your kids in picking out a card design that is being sold by a nonprofit organization to help support its mission. Sometimes these cards are hard to find, but Cards That Give has a gallery of beautiful cards that give back.  You can pick a design you like and see which charity it supports.  Or, you can look for the charity you are interested in and see if you like the holiday image.  Once you receive your cards, your kids can help with the envelope stuffing, labeling, or stamp licking!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

You know those times when you have done something nice for someone, they say thank you, and you reply, “You don’t need to thank me!”  Well, here is a situation where you won’t be saying thank you for an act of kindness because — you can’t! There is a good-deed doer who sneaks around (in the best way possible) and leaves thoughtful messages, unexpected gifts, and cheerful reminders without so much as a calling card or expectation of acknowledgement.

This stealth operator is Patience Salgado (a.k.a. Kindness Girl).  A 35-year-old mom, Patience writes about her secret missions on her blog.  And she comes up with some wonderful and caring surprises.  For example, she once placed $5 Starbucks gift cards on  bus stop benches.  On the first day of school, she wrote messages along the campus sidewalks such as, “Don’t be shy, we’re all new friends.”  She has even tied a note card to a flower in a public place that read, “It’s going to be okay.”  Or, she has tucked gift certificates for ice cream in the pocket of a new backpack at a store.  And, Patience wants you and your kids to duplicate her missions!  Now, how fun is that!  You can actually encourage your kids to sneak around and be secretive — all in the name of generosity and kindness!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

By Lisa Novick, Co-Founder, YesKidzCan!

It’s October which means I better get my daughter focused on her Halloween costume. Then, there’s the big debate over which candy to hand out. I’m a nougat fan! My husband will take anything with coconut. And, my daughter is a crispy chocolate lover.

What if this Halloween, we give as much attention to the candy wrappers as the candy or the costumes? Thanks to a cool company called Terracycle, you can turn our Halloween candy wrappers into a fundraiser for your kid’s school or a charitable organization. Or, you can coordinate a family and friends activity where you donate your wrappers as part of a recycling effort. Here’s what you should know.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a range of non-recyclable waste materials. The company runs free national collection programs that pay schools and nonprofits to collect used packaging such as candy wrappers (as well as drink pouches, energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, chip bags, and more)! The collected materials are “upcycled” into affordable, high-quality products including tote bags, purses, shower curtains, and kites.  Terracycle’s collection programs prevent tons and tons of waste from going into landfills.

This is how it works.  TerraCycle has created a second life for candy wrappers through its Candy Wrapper Brigade.  After eating your Halloween candy, save the wrappers to send to Terracycle.  For most items, two cents will be donated to the nonprofit or school of your choice.  Or, if you want to simply donate your wrappers, you can do that, too.  You just need to meet the minimum requirement of 100 wrappers in order to receive a free UPS shipping label.

Go to TerraCycle’s Brigade for more details. Talk about getting a lot out of one or two bites!  This is a great way to enjoy the treats of Halloween, help reduce waste, and contribute to good cause.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Looking for a proven way to have your school make a difference in the community?  Then you should know about KIDS Consortium.  The KIDS stands for Kids Involved Doing Service-Learning, and this nonprofit serves schools and community groups through its award-winning educational model by helping  educators work with kids in grades K-12 to identify, research, and address community challenges using knowledge and skills from the classroom.

The KIDS Consortium website has examples of existing projects by grade level on topics including animal welfare, literacy, veterans, school beautification, injury prevention, and physical fitness.

The KIDS Consortium model of service learning involves critical elements including:

• clearly defined learning objectives (that relate to learning standards and curricula),
• partnership opportunities with active community members, and
• shared student-adult decision-making.

This formula has resulted in greater student leadership, a deeper understanding of the community, and millions of lives touched — students, teachers, and those in need.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

(As published in Raising CEO Kids, June 19, 2011)

When should we start teaching our kids about money?  At very young ages, they seem to be awfully good at wanting to spend it!  YesKidzCan!’s Co-Founder Julie has two boys ages 7 and 9.  She and her husband feel strongly that if their kids want to spend money so badly, they should not only learn about spending it responsibly, but they should also appreciate saving and donating it!  When the boys were ages 6 and 8, they came up with an approach to teach them how to make thoughtful and personal choices with their allowance. Here’s what they did to foster financial responsibility, awareness, and generosity in their house:

• First, the spending piece.  They took their boys to the store so each could pick out their own wallet for money they can spend.
• Second, they each designed a “savings box” for money that will be kept for big-ticket items or the future.
• Third, the boys decorated a “giving jar” for money that will be donated.  They captured this fun project on video!

They spent time discussing the purpose and meaning behind each container, and also created a “matching savings program.”  Whenever the kids place money in the savings box, the boys understand that mom and dad will match it dollar for dollar.   They decided that the kids cannot touch their savings until after college.  On allowance payment days, the boys take out their jar, box, and wallet and they give them the payment in crisp one-dollar bills.  They watch as they choose how much money to put in each container without any coaching or coaxing.

To bring together the entire concept, they set up a family craft project.  They purchased a canvas and, working together, created a painting about the spend/save/give concept.  The painting hangs in their upstairs hallway in a spot that the boys regularly see as they race up and down the stairs.  The painting has literally added color and life to a topic that can sometimes cause kids to glaze over.

Parenting seems a little easier when fun and creativity are added to the mix!  Think of how much of a kick kids get out of learning fun synonyms for “money.” Words like dough, cash, bucks, or moolah. How about giving our kids equally fun ways to learn about finances?  Why not make “spend, save, give” part of your family time?

© YesKidzCan!, 2011