Do remember when you were little and a rite of passage was getting a new box of crayons before the school year started? The box had a unique smell.  And, the crayons had perfect colorful points waiting to be selected.

Ten-year-old Riley has tapped into the joy that crayons bring by creating Rainbow Pack, a group dedicated to providing kids with supplies they need to be successful learners regardless of their economic circumstances.  Riley realized how lucky she was to always have the school supplies she needed and wanted to help ensure the same for other children.  Riley started delivering backpacks with school supplies to Kindergarten students. You and your kids can check out the Rainbow Pack Facebook page for a wish list of supplies you can donate and to learn more.  This is a sure fire way to brighten up the day for some very appreciative Kindergartners!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Thanks to the input and creativity of the Youth Advisory Board of World Connect, YesKidzCan! developed the Great Coin Race Community Service Project Kit.  The kit puts a fun spin on having kids raise money for Kids Connect (a youth-led program that supports arts, sports, education, and environmental projects in 12 countries) by collecting spare change.

We are excited to share that for the second year in a row, the Sage School in Foxboro, Massachusetts (serving 169 students ages 4-14) took on the Great Coin Race as part of their commitment to community service.

The first time out of the starting blocks, Sage School’s Great Coin Race was in honor of their 20th anniversary 2011.  The school selected a Kids Connect 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” helps a Dominican Republic community enhance their library by improving the physical space and 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!

This year, Sage School chose to race 3,758 miles from Foxboro, MA to Ancash, Peru in support of Camp JUMP, a three-day/two-night workshop that educates 40 teenage boys about vocational opportunities, community health, and leadership. Over the course of the camp, the teens hear from business, educational, and medical professionals and are challenged to return to the communities to implement service projects such as mural painting, social theater, hosting radio shows, and more.

The school kicked off the “Race” with a school-wide assembly.  Students made banners and colorful collection canisters and concluded with an event to announce their fundraising success.  Sage School students surpassed their goal of raising $940 and brought in $1,178.69.  Now that is a lot of spare change!

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

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Give some kids markers and crayons and they are happy little campers.  Let them know that the pictures they draw will help raise money to help other children who are sick, and they become happy, empathetic, and community conscious little citizens.

This is the mission of Kidz b Kidz (KbK), a nonrprofit that inspires kids to create artwork that is used in products such a t-shirts, note cards, and ceramics which are sold to support pediatric medical research.

Kidz b Kidz encourages children to come together in homes, schools, hospitals, and other venues to hold art parties.  Party organizers can download a Kidz b Kidz Art Party Manual for free.  Kids watch a short video to inspire them to draw and then spend about an hour making their masterpieces.  The party organizer scans the artwork and sends it to KbK on a flash drive.  The images are uploaded on the KbK Art Gallery where the young artists and their family and friend can buy t-shirts, aprons, or bags featuring their designs.  In addition, some of the drawings are  chosen for KbK’s national product line which are sold to hospitals, schools, coffee shops and other establishments.

The founders, Jan Weinshanker and Nancy Corderman know what they are doing.  Nancy (a textile designer) and Jan (a printmaker and painter) merged their artistic talents and desire to give back into this gem of an organization.  Think about holding an Art Party with your school, scout troop, faith group, neighborhood, team, or family!  It’s one way to show how a picture is worth way more than a thousand words.

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Any parent is familiar with the requests from your kids to support the school bake sale, purchase raffle tickets, attend the spring fling, or buy wrapping paper — all with the very noble goal of raising funds for the educational institution.  If parents are being honest, there are moments when we all think, “Not again!”

That’s why when we came across these unusual ideas for schools to generate funds, we had to share them.

Adult Spelling Bee:  Grownups get to show off their spelling skills much to the glee of a packed auditorium of kids.  Have a school administrator give the words (which can easily be found off the Internet).  Each class can have a team of parents who compete against each other.  Set an entrance fee per participant or team.  You can even ask a local business to help sponsor the event or provide a modest prize to the winners.

No Talent Contest:  Coordinate a talent show where the goal is to perform really badly!  Charge $1 to get in and $5 to get out!  Participants can sing off key or perform terrible magic tricks, comedy routines, or dance routines.

Teachers Who Rap:  A week or so before a pep rally, set up a table with jars that you label with teachers’ names.  Ask kids to put $1 in the jar with the name of the teacher they would like to see perform a rap.  The “winning” teacher gets to lip-sync a rap song at the upcoming pep rally.

School Spirit Chain:  During a set week, students buy strips of paper for $1 to use toward making a paper chain for their class.  Each class assembles the chain in secret and then reveals it at an assembly.  The grade with the longest chain wins.  The prize could be bragging rights, a school spirit award, or something else negotiated with the administration.

For more unique fundraising ideas, click here!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

Wouldn’t it be great to have our kids chow down on apples or carrots with as much enthusiasm as chocolate and ice cream?  The sad truth is that there are loads of kids who would actually like to crunch into some fresh fruits and vegetables but don’t have access to them — especially in their schools.

Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools is looking to change all this.  It’s no surprise research has shown that school kids eat more fruits and veggies when given choices via a school salad bar.  And the health benefits are well known — setting up a lifetime of better snack and meal choices.  The goal of this grassroots public health effort is to fund and award 6,000 salad bars in schools over the next three years.  The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity has endorsed schools using salad bars and upgrading cafeteria equipment to provide healthier choices for kids.

How can you become involved?  If you are a K-12 school district participating in the National School Lunch Program, you are eligible to fill out an application to add a salad bar to your school lunch line.  Once your application is approved for funding, you get a salad bar webpage for your district or school.  The Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative and your community raise funds for your salad bars.  Once funded, your salad bar equipment is ordered for shipment, and your school kids eat more fruits and vegetables!

Individuals can also make donations via the website to support one of the hundreds of schools listed in need of funds.  Or you can choose to donate to the general fund which will support schools who have approved applications.

As your packing your kids’ lunches, take a minute to think about the children who rely on their school lunch programs for healthy choices.  This is one way you can help other kids get in line for better health and good choices for their future!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

School volunteer activities are right around the corner!  To help you get prepared for 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.

And now, volunteers and parents who are invited to your activities can sign up from their smartphones — no apps to install!  When volunteers receive your invitation (via email, Facebook, etc.) and click the link from their iPhone or Android device, they will be automatically directed to sign up pages specially designed to fit their phones.

VolunteerSpots tools are 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!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

(Excerpts from the story shared by Dawn Nelson, Stevie Nelson’s mom)

Video games, DVDs, bikes, toy cars, anything related to superheroes…this is what a typical birthday list looks like for most little boys turning six years old. However, Stevie Nelson of Tilden, NE, had a different kind of list this year. For his sixth birthday, he asked for dog food, cat food, animal treats, various chew toys and money, $6,000 to be exact, a thousand dollars for each of the Stevie’s years so far. All to benefit the Northeast Nebraska Humane Society.

His dream gift is a safe shelter for Northeast Nebraska’s unwanted dogs and cats who are still looking for their forever homes. Animals have always had a special place in Stevie’s heart. Stevie’s compassion for animals reached an entirely new level last year after his two charcoal Labrador Retrievers, Bo and Luke, went missing from their family home just two days before his fifth birthday. Stevie’s only birthday wish last year was to have his two best friends returned to him—a wish that was unfortunately never granted.

Instead of having a traditional sixth birthday party, Stevie requested that his birthday party guests not bring him any gifts, but rather bring gifts that would help the thousands of unwanted pets in Northeast Nebraska, including dog/cat food, vitamins, toys, collars, leashes and treats. He stated that he wanted to “fill trucks full of donations.” Word spread across the country and soon people nationwide started making monetary and product donations.  To date, Stevie has raised $25, 778.19 in monetary donations and an estimated $5,000 in product donations.

According to Stevie’s mom, “He has made something so  positive come out of our family’s tragedy. This is an excellent example of  ‘Paying it forward.’  What is equally amazing is when Stevie’s friends in Tilden heard his story, they wanted to help him raise money so much that they split the contents of  their piggy banks with him. That was incredibly touching to me.”

Stevie shared, “I am just happy to get to help more animals feel loved.”  His mom added, “I have never measured the success of this fundraiser by a dollar amount. This has been a valuable experience. We are so pleased that at age of 6 , Stevie was able to look beyond himself and see a bigger picture and a desire to help others. I think we can all learn from that.”

For more information, or to make donations visit Stevie Nelson’s 6th Birthday Wish.

© 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

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

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