Here’s a good News Year’s resolution.  Giving back does not have to cost a bundle. There are ways for you and your kids to be charitable for five dollars or less or for free!  It just goes to show that the price point has nothing to do with the difference you can make. Here are some creative ideas that take donating time, talent, and a little bit of treasure to a whole new level!  

• 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.
•  Set up a “give” registry:  For an upcoming special event such as a birthday, bar mitzvah, communion, or holiday, talk with your child about a cause that is important to him or her.  Through an online organization called, Changing the Present, , you can set up an online giving registry online where friends and family can make donations to a specific charity that has significance to your child.  There is no cost to set up the registry.  You and your kids can log in regularly to watch the contributions grow. 

Our next blog will feature another handful of ways to make a big difference with a small investment!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

With the New Year just days away, as Co-Founder of YesKidzCan!, I’ve been taking stock of what we’ve accomplished over the past year, and I realized that my two young boys (among many other kids!) have played a sizeable role in helping to shape our company.

My kids have tested many YesKidzCan! community service activities including making giving jars, baking dog biscuits for animal shelters, making pillow cases for wounded soldiers, painting murals for local hospitals, acting in an educational video, and posing in countless photos.   Through these giving experiences, they’ve developed a strong sense that community service is rewarding and fun.   In fact, they constantly ask me when they can do another YKC community service project.

To say the least, I’m thrilled with their enthusiasm for community service.  However, I’ve also realized that because they’ve been so busy participating in the activities that I’ve selected, they haven’t yet developed a true sense of their personal philanthropic interests.  While I don’t think this is a terrible thing – we all have to begin somewhere in teaching our kids charitable giving – I do think that part of building our community leaders of today and tomorrow involves helping these young givers gain a sense of what topics interest them.   So often, we sign up our kids for this club activity or that school fundraiser without considering their charitable interests.

To give my kids even more of a voice in their charitable giving efforts, I decided to make a few of my own giving resolutions for 2011:

1)   Talk more frequently with my kids about their philanthropic interests and help them to discover the causes they want to support.

2)   Talk with my kids about what they enjoy doing (sports, reading, cooking, arts and crafts, etc.) and how these activities can tie into charitable areas they like.

3)   Together with my kids, research how to support their charitable interests.

4)   Undertake at least one service activity to support a cause of their choosing.

We’ve witnessed countless examples on the evening news, in the newspapers, or around our communities of an inspired child who passionately championed a particular cause and achieved great things.  Anything is possible.  That next child could be yours!

Fellow Co-Founder of YesKidzCan! Lisa and I send our best wishes for 2011, and hope the New Year is full of many wonderful giving experiences for you and your kids.

“Tis the season of shopping.  So, why not shop and give to charity at the same time.  NonprofitShoppingMall (NPSM)  makes it easy to do just this.  NPSM is a unique web-based tool that uses online shopping to drive revenue to nonprofit organizations.  NPSM lets you shop online for the items you normally buy, the brands you regularly choose at the prices you normally pay.  Then, a donation is made to charity you select from a list of participating nonprofits. The retailers who participate on NPSM pay a commission for the sales and a significant portion of those payments go to the nonprofit you have selected.  Stores include GAP, Northface, Staples, Target, Macy’s, iTunes, eBay, Athleta, and more! It’s do-good multi-tasking:  holiday shopping and charitable giving! 

© YesKidzCan!, 2010

Last week, we shared Social Change Technology:  Part One.    The field is evolving constantly, so we thought we would let you know about a few more easy ways to give.      

Donation Connect:  Here’s another super easy way to give to charity this busy holiday season.  Donation Connect brings all your charities to your phone.  When you download the app, and hit “Find Charity” you get a list of categories where you can select which charity to support.  The amount you choose to give will be charged to your wireless bill. 

GoodSearch:   If you’re like me and use search engines to try to quickly find that perfect gift this holiday, why not use a search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to causes and schools selected by its users.  You use GoodSearch the way you would use any other search engine.  It’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get effective search results.  The funds GoodSearch donates to organizations come from its advertisers – consumers and beneficiaries do not spend a penny.  A similar kind of search engine to check out is Every Click  which is UK-based.

As we learn about technological advances that make your giving experiences faster, easier, or just plain cooler, we will pass them along.  And, let us know about those you come across. We’ll share them with our readers! 

 © YesKidzCan!, 2010

It Can Be as Simple as “Add Water and Stir!”

“I’m so busy!” is the cry heard from moms and dads everywhere.  While this declaration can sound overused and even annoying, the truth is, parents are busy.  What we seek is convenience!  That’s why we love those bags of already-peeled baby carrots, drive-through pharmacies, and one-stop super stores! We are the “add-water-and-stir” generation – we look for what is quick, easy, and simplifies our lives. 

There’s nothing wrong with this label as long as we don’t short-cut the important stuff.  One item that fell in my “important stuff” category was raising caring kids.  As a mom who spent 20 years working in the philanthropy field, I soon discovered that my fellow busy parents would value help teaching their kids about giving back in a way that fits into their hectic lives.

So, when convenience is king, it makes sense to join the kingdom. Go the value-added yet convenient route!  Create for your kids what I call “giving experiences.”  A giving experience is any teachable, memorable, and enjoyable moment that reinforces the value of giving back to you and your kids.  You can read a book about giving back, have a conversation, plan a simple service project together, buy a gift that benefits a cause, and so much more. This is important with research showing that when we engage our young kids in community service, they have greater pride, self-esteem, and are more likely to continue volunteering as adults. Here is a small sampling of add-water-and- stir ideas that you can do with your kids to make giving back easy and fun! 

Buy your next birthday present…from Ten Thousand Villages.  Your purchase helps thousands of artisans in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East who use the income for food, shelter, and medical supplies.

Brighten someone’s day…by sending them a free e-card with an uplifting message from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

Have a movie night…that features an inspiring film that shows the power of giving back such as Akeelah and the Bee, Rudy, Dreamer, The Miracle Worker, Charlotte’s Web, and countless others.

Try out some of these ideas, and develop your own add-water-and-stir recipe for charitable giving.  And send us your ideas.  We’ll share them with our readers! 

© YesKidzCan!, 2010

What if you and your kids could raise money for your favorite charities or schools by searching the Internet?  Thanks to GoodSearch, you can do just that.  GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to causes and schools selected by its users.  You use GoodSearch the way you would use any other search engine.  It’s powered by YaHoo!, so you get effective search results.  The funds GoodSearch donates to organizations come from its advertisers – consumers and beneficiaries do not spend a penny.

So consider using GoodSearch as your main search engine, and let your friends and co-workers know about it, too.  We all have a cause we care about but sometimes we don’t have the time or the money to support these efforts as much as we’d like.  GoodSearch is a simple way to raise money for worthwhile issues by doing something we do every day – search the Internet!

Visit their website to learn more about how you can donate to a specific cause, support your child’s school, provide disaster relief, and more!

 © YesKidzCan, 2010

 When it comes to giving back, I love innovative, break-through thinking!  (As long as all the ethical boxes are checked off, of course!)  I call this pushing-the-envelope philanthropy.  So, I was very excited when I came across www.youthgive.org.  Youth Give (in their own words) “was created to help educate and enable children youth and families to easily donate to charities they care about in a safe and secure manner.”  Music to my ears! 

 They offer something so downright different.  It’s called a “Giving Account.” This idea is Youth Give’s way for kids and families to make philanthropy an ongoing part of their life.  A Giving Account can be opened for a newborn, a toddler, teen, or college student.  It is a personal philanthropic account used to make donations to individual charities. It’s like having your own personal foundation. You or anyone you invite can add money to the account which is held for future giving.  The account owners can donate online to a cause of their choosing from a menu of vetted organizations.      

 Here is another envelope-pushing piece.  Youth Give has busted through the age barrier and the minimum contribution requirement for these kinds of “Donor Advised Funds!”  Kids of any age can have their own personal foundation and can contribute as little as one dollar to get it started.  And, every penny goes to the selected charity. The only limitation right now is that Youth Give’s menu of charitable recipients is focused on two pilot communities.  However, they are working to expand the list nationally and globally.   

 So I’m giving Youth Give a standing ovation for breaking through traditional ways of thinking and creating a vehicle for our kids to set their own course as budding philanthropists. Bravo! 

 ©YesKidzCan!, 2010

 Has your kid ever asked to give you a makeover on a rainy afternoon?  Mine has.  For someone who was called Mary Tyler Moore growing up, the “goth” look truly didn’t cut it on me.  So now when my daughter approaches me with mascara wand in hand, redirection is key!  “Instead of giving mom a makeover,” I say, “why don’t we give the planet a makeover?”

My daughter doesn’t quite know what to make of this gibberish, so she plays along for a moment longer.   I start a conversation (cleverly, I think) about the importance of saving the rainforests.  She seems to understand more about the effects of deforestation than I do.  I don’t care!  The redirection is working!

“Mom, what do you mean by ‘a planet makeover?’” she asks me.  I have her now!  So, I tell her how a company that sells make-up and other beauty products wants to plant one million trees in South America’s Atlantic Rainforest, and we can help.  For just $1.00 (contributed through Avon’s initiative, Hello Green Tomorrow; www.hellogreentomorrow.com) a new tree gets planted.  Hence, Planet Makeover!  We bought “our tree.”  It was a good afternoon.

To be honest, I haven’t avoided future touch-ups and hair-dos at the hands of my daughter.   While my roots may never be the same from the back teasing, the roots we planted that day (both philosophical and actual) were worth it.  And, I didn’t need to leave a tip!

©YesKidzCan!, 2010.