“I participate in this program on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.”
#SIMPLEGiving
For those of you who follow me on Facebook or read this blog, you know that a week or so ago, a woman randomly paid for my girls and I dinner and left the most amazing note. Since then, the girls and I have been trying to find a way to pay it forward. To give back in some way that is meaningful. I remembered that Champions for Kids – and amazing organization that helps raise items and money for kids who have less than us – has Simple Service Projects which allow the girls and I to help in a really great way!
My youngest is winding up her preschool years and after 5 years of paying for kids to go to preschool, I am finally done. So we want this month to be memorable for her. I talked to her about donating breakfast items to kids who need them and she suggested the kids in her class could help! So I talked to the teacher and the breakfast foods Simple Service Project was underway!
Why breakfast items? 9.8 million kids – more than ever before – get free or reduced price school breakfast on an average day, but 10.6 million eligible kids go without! Hunger has a huge effect on how a child performs at school. In fact, 9 out of 10 teachers say having a healthy breakfast is a key to academic achievement.
From April 15 through May 15, 2014, Champions for Kids is partnering with Kellogg Company and Diamond Foods to encourage community projects across the country benefiting children in need. Called SIMPLE Service Projects, the idea is to host or organize an event to collect breakfast foods that you would then donate to a local organization that serves children in need, such as a food pantry, shelter or daycare center. It takes only 4 easy steps or less!
This was so easy! I told the teacher and the director to be ready for some donations and sent an email to all of the mother’s in the class asking that they not only help their kids help, but take this time to teach kids can be as rewarding and fulfilling as receiving. The moms responded and kids brought in almost 10 boxes of cereal!!
Ten boxes may not SEEM like a lot, but that is 10 more they did not have to feed kids before!
Once we got the boxes, it was time to donate! This is my kids favorite part! To help drive home to the how awesome giving is, I often have them explain why and how and then video them at the drop off point. This time we went to the food pantry at a local church!
Check out the video below!
I can not tell you how PROUD I am of my girls, how humbled I am to be able to pay it forward and how big our grins were after we donated to the cause! I can’t wait to go back and report to the Champions for Kids website how we did this!
Simple Service Projects are an amazing way to easily get your kids involved in giving back! Check them all out on the Champions for Kids website and, when you do one, come back and tell me all about it!
Thanks for giving me another opportunity to have my daughter “be a helper” as she calls it. She has gone with me to deliver food and necessities to people in need, we’ve donated clothing, we’ve made cookies for my friend’s firehouse, and her school offers many opportunities for the kids to help too, such as donating old books during the book fair. We recently found Feed My Starving Children (operating in IL, MN, and AZ) that packages freeze-dried food for meal packs that are sent to children around the world. She loved it so much, she asked if she could have her birthday party there. lol Will definitely be checking out Champions for Kids for more ideas!
Oh that is so awesome!!! I have done a lot of simple service projects with my kids and they absolutely love it!!