How to Help Others in Need

Have you looked at Heifer International? They're a well-respected charity that provides support in impoverished areas of the world. You can buy a family a farm animal that will help them provide for themselves.

http://www.heifer.org/#

go to angelfoodministries. You can donate a box of food to a military family or a child in need. they have just for me boxes for kids who might not have an afterschool snack. $30 buys a box of food. the price varies depending on what you buy. or you could buy a family a box and donate it in person. especially a single mom or someone on disability. or an elderly person. good luck and have fun.

Contact a local church and speak with the priest or pastor...they are in the situation to know families that could use help.

Most churches have a food pantry. You could start by contacting some local churches. If there is a shelter nearby, you could contact them and ask about their needs. Also, it's getting that time of year that people need their lawns mowed and flower beds weeded, cars washed, etc. Perhaps you can locate an elderly person in your neighborhood and offer to clean their yard, house, or car. Helping others in need doesn't necessarily require money, you can use acts of service. Your oldest child will probably benefit more from doing "work" rather than helping you pick out food and dropping it off at a food bank. She will be directly involved in the giving and sacrifice of time and energy. Hope this helps.

You could "adopt" a child in a country in need. My mother has two "adopted" children and in addition to the monthly amount she pays, she also sends all these sweet things to her like colors and paper and clothes that fit her villages style of dress. They send her the sweetest notes and drawings. . .If you are interested in the organization DM me and I'll get the info from her to pass on.
It is a reputable, Christian-based organization (that may or may not appeal to you)!
In our home we deliver meals on wheels and my sons help me in summer and when off school, we also volunteer through MOW with their weekend programs to clean up yards, etc.
The boys are really compassionate and helpful!!

most local churches have or support food pantries. That's a good starting point.

Your local school should also know of families in need. Due to privacy laws, they will not be able to give names...but are able to be the go-btwn.

Get your 11yo in Scouts....they do service projects all the time! Contact your local Red Cross, Goodwill, etc. They should all have resources to be able to help you locate an organization needing help. Peace...

How to help a poor person or family?

If you are a bargain shopper, teach the poor how to recognize a bargain, how to read the ads to find the best deals, how to make meals from scratch to save money. Example: Rice a Roni has 7 oz or less of rice in it. Rice is less than 50 cents per pound. Add vegetables and a can of soup or bullion or chicken broth for flavor and save money.

Teach the poor to plant vegetables they can use. Beans, tomatoes, swiss chard, spinach, peas, lettuce grow well in containers.

The problem I have found is the poor say they only want Del Monte foods (put any brand there) so they won't use a differen't cheaper brand. That's one of the reasons they are poor. Or they say they won't eat chicken leg 1/4's. They buy boneless-skinless chicken breasts instead. (IMHO anyone that complains of not enough money in the family budget is usually spending TWICE as much as they need to on groceries.)

There is an old english saying . . . "A wife can throw more out the kitchen window with a tablespoon than a man can bring in the front door with a wheelbarrow." Meaning . . . a wife can waste more money in the kitchen than a man can earn.

Or they invest money foolishly . . . generally, banks pay 1% or less (mostly less) for money deposited with them in any kind of account (CD, or savings, or checking). Really safe stocks pay much more. McDonalds stock pays 3%. A T & T pays 5.5%. Utilities like PG&E pays 4+%. I have my money invested at 14%.

Education and thrifty habits are the way to get out of poverty.

Teach the poor, if they are willing the learn and change their bad habits, and some day they won't be poor.

Good luck to you and yours.

When you go to the REI website http://www.rei.com/volunteer, there is listing of volunteer opportunities. You can find volunteer opportunities by zip code.

Good for you! have many conversations about how not everyone lives or has the things you do, given the age differences it's likely your two eldest will be the most responsive. When my daughter was 18 months, we took her on a beach clean up day. At 2 she went with us to plant trees. Now she helps recycle, save water, not buy in excess packaging (for the environment) and as she is able to understand will learn about carbon footprints. At her school they put together care/hygiene kits for children in a local shelter, made art and teacher auctioned in silent auction they raised $250 for the shelter; they then invited the children from the shelter for a pizza party. After the Japan tsunami, they held a bake sale (they baked with teacher assistance) and raised $510 and presented the money to the local red cross for Japan victims, they were so happy to receive a certificate of appreciation in return. Our US Postal carriers collected food for the local food pantry and she went through our food pantry filled up the bag and put it next to our mailbox all by herself. I am so proud of her, my son is still young, but will also be included real soon. Again good for you and have fun.

I would personally call a local children's shelter and ask what needs they have. When I was in high school, I did this. And it turned out that they needed winter clothing. So, I got together some friends and reached out to my high school and asked for clothing donations. I went to a "poor" high school, but even so, we were able to collect a TON of clothing for the children's shelter. It didn't cost me anything but a little bit of my time. The shelter was so grateful for my help.

I personally think that we all need to help out the children who have no control over where life has lead them. Let's look to those kids in our back yard who need the help.

I grew up in horrible circumstances and would have loved it had someone reached out to help me when I was young. There were many times that I didn't have clothing and had to borrow from friends. I can promise you, it is awful to have to borrow clothing, just to be able to go to school. It wasn't until high school that my circumstances changed and I was able to live with a nice family who could provide for me.

My children are babies - but, when they get older, it will be my priority to teach them that other children don't have it as good as they have it. And that you must help other children that are in need.

I actually work with children's projects internationally, and I could connect you with some great resources! PM me to learn more. Otherwise, here are some very good, reputable, responsible organizations:

Children's Christian Concern Society (provides schooling, meals, and clothing for children; 100% of the donations are used for the kids because they have fundraisers specifically for administration costs)
Compassion International (support a child internationally)
Samaritan's Purse (I think this is the one you were thinking about... It's Billy Graham's family's charity... very reputable, great ideas for Christmas or any time)

How about donating food to your local backpack program or food pantry?

There is an christian organization where we fill shoeboxes at Christmas and ship to children of a different country that do not have money for gifts. During the rest of the year they have donations for items in each country. This is a wonderful organization.

Operation Christmas Child
Here is the website:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org

Heifer International is the organization that gives animals to families in order for them to use the product from the animal to make money for their family, i.e. you can buy a goat for a family so that they can use and sell the milk or honey bees so that they can use and sell the honey. It is a wonderful organization and the children can really get into it because the animals are farm animals and the website is top notch.

I highly recommend Compassion International. This past Christmas my 5 yr old and I got online and bought a chicken for a family for $16. I'm not sure if this is available all year round but you can check. Also, you can sponsor a child for about $30 a month and this provides food and education and I think even a minor amount of health care. The best part with kids is that you can write back and forth to the child and it is super inspiring when you hear what a difference you are making in their life and the lives of their whole family. You could choose an 11 year old and your 11 year old could be their pen pal. It's really awesome :)

You might start with someone on your own street. Are there any elderly neighbors around that would love a basket of goodies left on their porch anonymously? Giving without the recipient knowing it was you is a very rewarding thing.... kudo's to your compassion, and teaching it to your children.

There are so many things happening in the US right now ie.floods,tornadoes things like that--check with the Red Cross and see what can be done to help with things like that. Go on the internet and google food pantrys or Feeding America for closest place to help. They not only take donations of food but you an aso donate time to pack the food to give out. Check out missions that help the homeless or abused womens shelters for clothing donations for mother and kids. There are so many ways to help so please do not limit yourself

The Ronald McDonald House is one of our favorite charities! There is one in Greenville, SC. We stayed at the one in Kansas City twice while my son needed heart surgery. It was a lifesaver--a home away from home! We donate several times a year. You can probably go to their website to find out exactly what they need (our house has a Top 10 wish list). Things that are ALWAYS appreciated are: toilet paper, cleaning supplies, paper towels, trash bags, tissues, snack items, and travel sized items (toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc) . Your family can also sign up to serve a meal in the house. My son was in the hospital for 30 days--we got so tired of hospital food and really appreciated when a team, church group, family, or company would bring in dinner for the night.

Most families that stay there are under a lot of stress because of a sick child and/or medical bills. Sometimes, their stay can be quite lengthy. Other times, a child is rushed to the children's hospital from hours away and the parents have to leave on a moment's notice. The house asks the families for a $10/night donation, IF they can afford it. Many families don't pay anything.

Hi A.,

I love 8kidsdad response - and the stock tips!! And I feel what he is saying - long term solutions. It takes 3 generations to break the poverty cycle.

Year round volunteer options abound - your local non-profit agencies would be the best place to start to begin identifying them. Red Cross, United Way, Hands On, Habitat for Humanity - to name a few.

Places to contact:
Senior citizen centers, retirement and nursing homes, and hospitals
Your children's schools
Churches
Parks and Recreation department for you city

While I support globalization - I tend to keep my community donations local. My son and I have long been participating in beach clean ups, Kaboom builds, blood drives, homeless shelters, holiday meals, food drives, and more. At 15 he knows what it means to give back to community and understands the larger view of breaking the poverty cycle.

I don't send money to organizations that promise to "feed a child" in another country - most of their donations go to overhead and administration and very little of it provides direct support. Always check out an organization's giving history before donating money to them. A basic web search can provide valuable information. Also, www.Guidestar.com provides tons of info on non profit organizations. If you want to help those out of the country - check with your local churches - many have service youth trips to help build homes, provide medical services, etc. Or pick a legit, large organization like Doctors Without Borders.

I could go on, LOL

Bottom line - you need to some leg work to find opportunities that work for your family.

God Bless

On a local level:
*Call a local church or a doctor's office to see where your local food bank is. That is a great way to donate to the community!
*Call your local school and ask what kids need. Our church donated a huge amount of socks and underwear because the elementary school secretary said that many kids come to school or summer programs without underwear because they just don't have any. I know that school is not in session now in many parts of the country, but most have summer programs.
*Donate your time at a soup kitchen
*Donate clothes and shoes to a battered women's shelter

On an internation level:
*You can sponser a child on a monthly basis through Compassion International.
* Purchase a cow, chickens, or a goat for a family.
* Samaritan's Purse has a catalogue that has a similar thing to what you were asking about. You can donate toward digging wells, sending kids to school, paying for medical care, mosquito nets (for malaria stricken regions), etc.

Good for you for wanting to give and for teaching your children to have a generous spirit!

You have so many ideas to think about to give back. Since summer is starting and school supplies will be on everyone's mind soon you could also consider those items. Meaning this: see if any local churches collect school supplies while you get yours buy a few extra times for kids at shelters or in foster care. Also Children's Services many times needs items as children are taken out of a bad situation and the foster family taking them in don't have items for them. You could shop consignment and get a few items to take to Childrens Services for situations like that and a case worker can have some items on hand. Or have school items ready in a book bag and deliver it to Childrens Services for them to give to a child in need in foster care.

I like "helping in my own backyard" first, versus trying to save the world.

I have always taught my kids that there are people in our neighborhood who need help, they just don't know it.

Here are some ideas -

Ask your kids' school where they "donate" - Our school offers discounted lunch programs and does hat and scarf drives.

Ask your church/a local church - what can do to help. They often have food pantries, weekly dinners and tons of volunteering opportunities.

Contact your city/town/village hall. They can usually direct you to reputable groups that service your community. Some sort food items for food pantries, others do "meals on wheels", and others create gardens and food drop offs for fresh vegetables.

Start teaching your children that SOME kids don't get new hats, gloves, boots, bikes, etc. when they want or need them. Take them to the local Goodwill store and explain that they accept donated items and resell them to help people in need.

Then get your kids to collect old/unused items and make a donation. Then go shopping in the store. That IS helping!

Plus consider growing veggies in your garden. See if your kids can help you plant, water and harvest them. Not only does this include them but then you can drop of "extras" to the food pantry/collection in your area so other's can benefit from your FREE food.

I think these ideas help young kids who are just learning the concept appreciate that they helped someone who goes to their school, who they pass in a grocery store, etc.

My kids are younger than yours. But quarterly we do a "clean out" of toys and their rooms. Some items go into the basement, and some go to Goodwill. (We do the same with clothing when we "rotate" for the seasons.)

They understand that some of their "not favorite toys" may make another child very happy. Not only do they feel good then giving their toys away. But we shop at the Goodwill store and I let them get some "new" books or a small toy as another reward and way to help.

think locally, soup kitchens, battered womens shelters etc.
K. h.