Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Passion for Donating and Sharing That with Your Kids

Last night I was able to pass on and share an important virtue on to my boys – donating to charity. It has always been a constant in my life. I don’t think I can remember a time when I went more than a couple months without donating at least a couple bags of used clothes to Goodwill and I am proud of that.

After my mother passed away, I took great pride in donating the vast majority of her almost new clothes to an abused women’s shelter. She had recently purchased the new clothes in hopes of turning a new corner in her life that unfortunately she was never able to do. Giving those very clothes to women who needed them most made it much easier to let go of those clothes for me. I will never forget pulling away from the curb and watching the women beginning to look through the bags of clothes. It’s so important to me to share that spirit of giving with my children and I think I’ve finally done it!

We’ve replaced a couple TV’s in our house recently (moved to more energy efficient ones) and decided to do what we normally do – donate the old ones to Goodwill. But last night was different because we had to go later in the evening and weren’t able to go to the normal truck drop-off point we go to, we had to go to one of the stores (that also accepts donations after 5pm). This was the first time that my boys really made the connection as to what we were doing. I think it was because they saw the store and saw people immediately starting to look through the bags of toys and books we also brought for donation.

“Do you have to pay them to take the TV’s Mom?”

Nope.

“Do they give you money for the TV’s?”

Nope.

“Well, why do we take them there?”


I explained… “We do because there are other families who can’t go out and buy new TV’s like us. There are kids who don’t have all the toys and clothes like you guys. Both Dad and I feel it’s super important to share things we don’t need any more with people who can’t afford to buy things.”

And with that, my boys were quiet the rest of the way home lost in thought. I was proud as can be.


Are you passionate about volunteering or donating? How have you started to share that passion with your children?

2 comments:

JLC September 23, 2009 at 6:38 PM  

I do the same things with my children. Twice/year I have a donation day with my kids.(5&3) I go through their toys and put them all on the floor. Then I pull three toys from the pile. My two children will each pick a favorite toy and I put the third toy in the donation box. During this time, I explain to them how another child will be thrilled to play with that toy. They don't mind doing it, and I think my kids actually feel good after we drop the boxes off.

Paula September 24, 2009 at 7:09 AM  

That is a wonderful legacy you are passing to your sons. Like JLC, I had my kids go through their things and donate once per year. The are young adults now, but they still do it!

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