One of our core principles when building GIFT HERO was to incorporate a way for our customers to give back. Lisa and I feel so strongly about helping those less fortunate than we are and teaching our children the importance of giving back.

There was a wonderful article in the New York Times Business section this past Sunday on teaching children how to give back (Raising Children Who Care in Times That Need It, July 3rd). What I found most compelling about the article was its message that giving doesn’t have to mean money or having a birthday party where your child forgoes gifts and instead asks his friends to donate to a charity (which is quite en vogue these days). Giving back can and should be as much about action, small gestures and volunteering as it is about giving away money or things.

I have tried to expose Benjamin to activities that involve helping or doing for others. We did a walk in memory of our cousin Zachary to help raise awareness and money for St Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside Queens, we helped make bracelets for children in Israel, and he made cards for soldiers and drew fabulous pictures of Star Wars characters. We had fun doing these activities together and I hope he is absorbing the message of doing for others and making a difference in the world around him.

You can also include giving back in your child’s birthday celebration. A great activity for young children at a party is to make cards for children in a hospital. Older kids can clean up a park and then have a picnic or help at a soup kitchen or visit children in the hospital. The possibilities are endless and the lessons are priceless!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 5:27 pm by Stefanie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.