Charitable Children {& Enter Our Raffle!}

Last November I wrote a blog post about the bags of food that our kids made for the homeless and the incredible experience it was for us all. (If you missed it last year, you can read it: Little Hands, Large Hearts) This small project had such a profound impact on our family and I wanted to find a way to make giving a more regular part of our children’s lives. I was so excited to learn that one of my childhood friends had created a way to do just that!

Jolee started an organization called Fun Future For All in the process of educating her own daughter about philanthropy. Fun Future For All “is a not for profit organization whose efforts bring children to a greater understanding of those in need while promoting fiscal and social responsibility.” First, it is a craft project for children to assemble and decorate. Then, once the bank is assembled, it has three separate sections for three separate savings: The first for “fun”, the second for their “future”, and the third is for charity—“for all”.  Doing this project as a family allowed us to have a dialogue about each of these areas of savings and to learn what was important for our kids within them all. (You can see a picture of their bank and drawings of what they are saving for.)

For almost a year, our kids have been putting money into their Fun Future For All bank. They earn money for doing small chores around the house and for pitching in and helping out.  On holidays, some of our family members have contributed to their bank as well.

We will be raffling off a Fun Future For All bank on November 1^st, , so you and your children can start your very own bank.  If you would like to enter the drawing, our Boulder clients can fill out a raffle slip the next time you come into the office.  Alternately, you can email our office manager Gretchen at frontdesk@mindfulpediatrics.com  with your name, phone number, and email address and she will enter you into the drawing.

We will also be keeping our kids own Fun Future For All bank at the office for the next several weeks.  Our kids have chosen to use their “For All” money to make food bags for the homeless again this Fall. If you would like to contribute to their charity project they would love that—and they are prepared to make twice as many bags as they did last year 🙂

One of the things that struck our kids the most last year was the poor state of dental health amongst homeless people.  As we talked to the kids about what they wanted to include in the bags this year, toothbrushes and toothpaste was on top of their list. Our good friend Dr. Adam Saeks at Niwot Dental generously stepped forward to donate both, and we are so grateful for that contribution! If you have a business that has something that would be an appropriate donation for the homeless, we would be grateful to include it as well.

Our personal family goal is to distribute 75+ bags of food and goodies to the homeless this fall—and hopefully to inspire some of you to involve your kids in giving of their time and resources as well!

“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” – Maya Angelou