5 Ways to Teach Kids to be a Cheerful Giver!

There are two kinds of kids. Kids who will gladly give you their very last fruit snack…and then there are those who would rather poke their eye out than to give up that last fruit snack!

I was taught early that giving is kind, and that there are kids who are wayyyy less fortunate than I. I never really saw kids in need firsthand, as a child myself…but as an adult, I see it all the time and it’s heart breaking.

We live in a very small and rural area. Our school districts are rather small, and so they depend on grants and donations a lot in order to keep the schools up to date with computers, etc. I wanted to share a few ways that we like to give back to our community and schools, and how YOU can too! Let’s start early and with our own – to teach kids to be a cheerful giver! It’s one of the MOST important lessons they’ll ever learn in their little lives.

 

1. Fill a Bag/Box

Most schools have food drives that they work on weekly. Our school actually fills bags up to pass out to kids on Fridays so that they can have food over the weekend, if they’re in need. Sign your kids up to help in filling bags/boxes if these programs are available, and remind them to be a “cheerful” giver!

 

2. Pack Extra in Their Lunchbag

Maybe the kid that sits next to YOUR kid at the lunch table is hungry and looking for seconds. Sometimes, kids just know that other kids need more but are afraid to ask. Ask your kid if their lunch table neighbor seems hungrier than the other kids! Pack an extra banana, juice pouch, muffin, etc. and let your child be a cheerful giver a couple of times a week to their hungry friend at school.

 

3. Canned Food Drives

Yep! Watch for those fliers to arrive in your kids’ backpacks. Those cans of food that will either expire or never get eaten at your house (you know what I’m talkin’ about!) can do a world of good for someone else. You pack a bag/box of canned goods from your cabinet, and then let your child pack one too! Remind them to be cheerful!

 

4. Clothing Drive

When the clothing drive comes around, let your kids go through their closet and pick out things that they haven’t worn in awhile. Give them a certain number of items to pull from their closets to give away at the school clothing drive. Or have them use from their allowance (cheerfully) to buy hat/gloves to donate. Using their own money, gives them the sense of accomplishment in learning to be a cheerful giver.

 

 

5. Box Tops for Education

We’ve collected Box Tops for YEARS! Even before my son went to school. Did you realize that you can earn money from General Mills® through Box Tops and that for EVERY Box Top collected, $0.10 goes to buy items for your school? They add up quickly and can be used for anything the school needs. Computers, printers, anything!

Give your kids the job of cutting and collecting Box Tops to donate to their school. Fill them in on what Box Tops are and how they can benefit their very own classroom!!! Keep a tally of how much money you’ve collected each week or month! When they see that money add up, they’ll get VERY excited!

 

 

One of kiddos favorite breakfast cereals in Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Since we go through so much of it, it just makes sense to go for the family size PLUS cha-chingggggg, on those Bonus Box Tops!

 

 

We always shop at Walmart – it’s our home away from home. We tend to always buy things that we know we can get Box Tops on. Especially when we find BONUS Box Tops!!! Always keep your eye out for those! Box Tops for Education has contributed over $525 million to participating schools since the launch of the program in 1996. Visit Box Tops to see all the participating items you can buy to help donate to your kids’ school!

Always remind them that what they’re doing is really helping others who need these things, be it clothes, food, money, or time. Giving with a cheerful heart is so much more rewarding to us and the people we give to!

How do you teach your kids to be a cheerful giver?

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills®. The opinions and text are all mine.