Acts of Kindness by Real Families is a series of short interviews featuring stories about service to others. Whether big or small, planned out or spontaneous, hearing about any act of kindness can inspire us to give more to those around us. It’s fun to find new ways to show kindness in our communities, and I hope you will be inspired to get your kids involved in serving others through these creative ideas.
This week I am honoured to have Amanda from The Educators’ Spin On It sharing her family’s Gratitude Garage Sale.
What happened: We wanted our young children involved in the process of giving to others. There is a hunger problem that affects children in our community. We talked to the kids about ways we can help. They wanted to buy food, but had no money and thus the Gratitude Garage Sale was born. The kids cleaned their closets out from toys they no longer use and clothes they have outgrown. We invited our friends and neighbours to stop by over the course of a weekend, so that the kids would be able to take money from purchases and explain their cause. A “traditional” public garage sale may not have been as relaxed and easy for our young kids to manage. We then took all the money to the grocery store and they picked their favourite foods out to buy for other children and headed directly to our local food shelf to donate.
To read the full story, check out this.
How the experience affected your family: Having the kids participate in the whole cycle seemed to make it more meaningful and memorable. In fact, they have now held this tradition every November. As parents, we feel that these small donations will not END HUNGER, but teach empathy and compassion for others. Additionally, if everyone made small changes to help others, the totality of these small changes would lead to a great impact on our world.
Message to others: If you are new to service – start small. It may not seem like you are making a difference, but you are. If you are an accomplished service family – AWESOME! I am so glad that we are on a team working together to make the world a better place. Keep up the good work! Encourage others to join in and be a voice for service.
Thank you Amanda for sharing your story!
To find more ideas about serving with kids, click here.
Amanda Boyarshinov is a M. Ed. teacher and one of the bloggers behind the parenting and education site: The Educators’ Spin On It. She shares her teaching knowledge with parents everywhere through her creative, inventive writing including her latest e-book, STEAM, STEM Enrichment Activities for Preschoolers E-Book. Stay in touch with Amanda on Twitter and Instagram.
If you are interested in contributing to the Acts of Service by Real Families series here at Moments A Day, please send an email describing your story to chelsea@momentsaday.com and I will be in touch soon. ~Chelsea
[…] Gather it and any other unused items and hold a “Gratitude Garage Sale.” You can learn more about that here. […]