MNSights - Spring 2012 - (Page 14)

;L;HO:7OF>?B7DJ>HEFO Pint-Sized Philanthropy Creative ways for kids to give. By Kari Ruth Illustration by Bruce Morser n honor of my niece’s birthday one year, I made a donation to Cheerful Givers, which helps families in need celebrate a child’s birthday. I’m pretty sure she remembers that birthday well. It was the one when her aunt and uncle didn’t get her anything but a card with a message about how some other kid got a really awesome present. Good intentions: 1. Creating a 6-year-old philanthropist: 0. Luckily for kids everywhere, there are people way smarter than I am who have great ideas for how to make kid-sized philanthropy a part of special occasions and our everyday lives. If you’re looking for a gift idea, Karito Kids (karitokids.com) is a savvy doll series and interactive website. Think of it as American Girl with a do-good twist. The dolls are cute and cool and come with an array of accessories, but purchases and online activities focus on a charitable end goal: teaching kids about other cultures and serious global issues such as hunger, health, housing and education. Shopping and playing games help you rack up points that can be used as a donation to a global charity. For inspiration, Doing Good Together (doinggoodtogether. org) is chock-full of ideas and resources for family philanthropy of all ages. For example, if your family enjoys crafts, make a blanket and donate it through a program like Project Linus to give comfort to a child in need. Another creative yet less skilled activity involves making a “friendship box” for children in a family shelter. Decorate a shoebox and ﬁll it with fun items like small puzzle books, stickers and such. Work with your local shelter to ﬁnd out how many boxes it needs. Doing Good Together also offers its award-winning Family Service Night manual, designed to help you create family service projects in your community. Sign up on its website to have great ideas delivered to your inbox and to be notiﬁed of family volunteer opportunities in the Twin Cities. For the independent teen in your life, visit generationOn (generationon.org) and download a step-by-step guide to choosing and managing a service project. Another great idea is Allowance for Good (allowanceforgood.org), where teens can sign up to pledge a portion of their allowance to a charitable project. It’s a great introduction to budgeting one’s philanthropy. Are your kids or grandkids music maniacs? Pick up some new tunes and support Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota with the great album “MN Music 4 MN Kids.” Available at Creative Kidstuff, Amazon and iTunes, it features local crooners such as Mason Jennings, Mayda and my fave, Dessa. Preview the tunes at childrensmn.org/music. ? THINKING OUTSIDE THE GIF T BOX As Mother’s Day and Father’s Day roll around, it might be time to rethink the usual gifts. (Does Dad really need another tie?) This year, consider a gift that keeps giving: a GiveMN “giving card.” The organization that created Give to the Max Day (and has helped raise $48.7 million for local causes in less than three years) makes it as easy as shopping on Amazon: Just go to givemn.org, choose the gift card denomination, then print or e-mail the card to the recipient, who gets to choose a favorite charity to receive the donation. 14 S PRIN G I 2 012 MN SIGHTS http://www.karitokids.com http://doinggoodtogether.org http://doinggoodtogether.org http://www.generationon.org http://www.allowanceforgood.org http://www.givemn.org http://www.childrensmn.org/music

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MNSights - Spring 2012

MNSights - Spring 2012
Contents
Helping Local Veterans
Who Inspires Us: John and Nancy Lindahl
How to Boost Minnesota’s Workforce
Fun Ways for Kids to Give

MNSights - Spring 2012