‘Tis the season to give! Many of our families enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving last week and we want to continue to encourage the giving spirit. Giving to others or the local community is a simple way to help make the world a better place. It’s an effective way to demonstrate love, kindness, and compassion, and it often encourages everyone to feel a strong sense of gratitude.
Giving is an important life skill that parents can help their children start to learn at a young age until they are young adults. There are countless ways that children can give back to their community and develop a strong sense of gratitude.
To celebrate the giving season, we’ve compiled five effective ways that scholars can give back to their local community:
Free Musical or Theatrical Performances
Scholars with musical or theatrical talents can use their skills to give back! Scholars who can play an instrument, sing, dance or act can use their skills to perform at local community centers, assisted living homes, homeless shelters and much more. Parents can support their children by helping them schedule and arrange a voluntary performance for their community. A live performance is sure to bring a smile to those in the community who may need it most. Plus, this type of performing experience could help talented scholars start their journey to a professional career in entertainment. Live performances are an interactive, engaging and low-cost way for scholars to give back to their community.
Donate
Donating is one of the classic ways to give and it’s often associated with donating funds. However, scholars can give back to their community by donating other types of goods. For example, parents can help their children gather toys, books, and clothes that they no longer use to give to other children. Or, they could collect and donate canned foods, personal care items, and other non-perishable supplies to help families in need. Donating doesn’t have to mean a financial donation. Parents can help children give back to their community by donating a wide variety of supplies.
Art Projects
Some parents may find that their child is artistically gifted. Scholars who enjoy creating art projects can use their talents to create thoughtful gifts as a way of giving back to others. Scholars can create paintings, sketches, sculptures and more to give to children who are sick in hospitals, active or retired military, policeman and fireman, or to elderly people living in assisted living homes. Families with older scholars may want to challenge them to create art that could be auctioned off at a local charitable event. Art projects are a simple, fun, low-cost way that scholars can give back to people within their community.
Fundraisers
Of course, scholars can always choose to give financial donations by organizing fundraisers. Families can work together to organize fundraisers and generate financial donations for the charity of their choice. Families with younger scholars may want to help them open a lemonade stand that will donate all proceeds to a specific charity. Or, scholars can choose to collect donations and participate in charitable walks or relays. Older scholars may want to prepare treats for a bake sale or organize a car wash to raise funds for a charity of their choice. Fundraisers may require a bit more supervision from parents, but they are certainly effective ways to give back to local charities.
Recycling
Scholars can choose to give back to the environment, too! Parents can help their scholars collect and deposit recyclable items. It’s no secret that recycling helps save and protect our environment. It helps eliminate litter from local parks, beaches, and neighborhoods and it helps reduce waste in landfills and in the ocean. Families can talk about the different types of items that can be recycled and what they are used to create. Scholars can start by collecting recyclable items at their own home. Then, parents can help them deposit the items at a local recycling center. Once scholars feel more comfortable with the recycling process they can consider expanding by collecting recyclable materials from their friends and neighbors. Recycling is a great way for scholars who are passionate about the environment to give back this month and all year long!
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Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a WASC-accredited virtual charter school that serves families throughout California. Interested in learning more about CCS’ flexible academic programs? Visit our website, or contact our enrollment team at enrollment@compasscharters.org or (877) 506-8631.