This year, we’ve come up with a “giving” idea we want to
share. This involves our four
great/grandchildren, ages 8 and 7 year old brothers, and 6 year old boy/girl
twins.
In addition to the regular Thanksgiving holiday hoopla, we’re
adding a new way for the children to think about the world around them, without
judging how they view it. We feel it is
important for children to be aware of the needs of others and begin to see how
they can help.
Each child will be given a personalized box with $25.00, made
up of $5.00 bills. They will become the
owners and bankers of their own “trust account”. Along with the box, they will be given a balance sheet type form
to fill out, and written material that explains the needs of many different groups
(charities).
Since they are all quite
computer savvy, they will be encouraged to look for charities that are of
interest to them. It will be their job
to decide: if they want to give some or all of their money to these or other
charities of their choice, or if they want to keep it to buy something for
themselves or save it for another occasion. The only requirement is that they
keep track of their expenditures on the enclosed form. They will also be told that this “trust
account” will be replenished every year at Thanksgiving. Their parents will have to help by sending the
actual contribution, as the kids don’t have checkbooks or credit cards, yet.
The most important part of this “giving” is: the parents are
asked in advance and approve of this, and that NO JUDGEMENT or SHAME be
attached if the child decides to keep the money for themselves. Although this idea implies giving to others,
sometimes the child can feel a "personal need”, and we should acknowledge and
accept it.
So, watch out: United Way, United Jewish Welfare, Catholic and
Christian Charities, ASPCA, ACLU, etc., etc., etc….we are building your future
donor and board member list.
