Caring & Crafty

photo: hellolapomme cc

Making homemade valentines for parents, teachers and other dear ones is a tried-and-true tradition for kids everywhere, but what about those who don't have a closetful of craft supplies on hand, or even the basics like colored paper and glue? GenerationOn, dedicated to igniting the power of kids to make a make their mark on the world, has a fun, relatively simple answer: Kids with the supplies on hand can make valentine card kits for their peers in need, then deliver on or before Feb. 14 (with prior approval first, of course) to a local high-needs school, family shelter, or other youth-/family-serving organization. It's a fun project for a few friends (or a class, Scout troop, etc.) to tackle together, as the kits can be made "assembly line" style. Mom or dad, just add snacks -- and a ride to the recipient site. Then enjoy the feeling of having shared a little crafty love this Valentine's Day.

Holiday Plans

photo: US Embassy Sweden, cc

With frost on the proverbial pumpkin not far away, it's a good time to think about ways children and teens can embrace the upcoming season of gratitude & giving. Three easy ways to put a kids-helping-kids spin on this time of year:

• Take your child(ren) shopping for a child in need, then to drop the gift at a collection site for Toys for Tots, a church's or other organization's wish tree, etc. Even more meaningful if kids contribute toward the gift from their allowance or savings and (if instructed to do so by the collection site) help wrap the gift. 
• If your family does its charitable giving around the holidays, have your child(ren) select a children's charity to donate to this year.
• Have your child(ren) pick out a family holiday card this year that features art by kids to benefit kids. Check out the annual Kids Helping Kids holiday card line from MAC Cosmetics, with art done by and for HIV/AIDS affected kids. Featuring art done by and for young cancer patients, this line of holiday cards from the M.D. Anderson Center Children's Art Project helps fund college scholarships to prepare for life after cancer. And don't miss our family shop's offerings, KKG winter holiday (stamps too!) featuring kids' art & benefitting Save the Children.

Meowy Christmas

Just in time for holiday card mailings -- this Christmas cat stamp from our family store's winter holiday collection.

The brother & sister kittens we adopted over the summer -- bringing the grand total to 3, including an ever-sleepy senior cat  -- inspired our 15-year-old artist in residence.

As always, half the design proceeds go to Save the Children.

Rise and Shine

photo: The Delicious Life via photopin cc

On November 15, Stamford, Conn., kids will roll up sleeves for their annual Thanksgiving Bread Drive to benefit peers in need. Using kitchen facilities donated annually by an area school or store, kids come together to bake loaves of yummy nut-free pumpkin bread, then sell them for $10 each as holiday treats. Their 2011 sale raised more than $2,000 to redo a youth-designed playground at a local shelter. Wonder where the dough (sorry, couldn't resist) will go this year?

Candy is Dandy?

photo: jamalfanaian via photopin cc

Not necessarily, for the estimated 2.2 million school-age food allergy sufferers nationwide, who may find decoding ingredient labels scarier than ghosts & goblins this Halloween. Kids in this position, or caring peers who empathize with them, can build awareness by trick-or-treating for charity in support of the the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Another way to help? Have kids pick allergen free candy for your family to give out this year.

Divine Valentine



heart art by my niece :)



Can you believe it? We're little more than a month away from the Day of Love. And what better day for kids to show compassion for their less fortunate peers?

As always, Save the Children valentines are a class act, with art by illustrators Mo Willems, Kevin Henkes, Ian Falconer, Leuyen Pham, and (my personal fave of this year's designs) Brian Selznick. When they choose these valentines, kids help low-income U.S. peers break the cycle of poverty through Save the Children's work in education, health & resilience. Each box of 30 limited-edition cards sells for $25, which is tax deductible minus the $6 fair-market value of the set.

Also benefitting Save the Children are KKG personalized valentine stickers for candy, including boy valentine stickers with UFO, rocket & sports themes; girl valentine stickers with ladybugs, rainbows & flowers; and gender-neutral valentine stickers with little red guitars. Because love (of course) rocks.

Holiday Giving

image: afrobella.com

An easy way to get kids in the habit of giving back and reinforce the meaning of Christmas is to have them help pick charities for family donations. For multi-kid households, the process is simpler if you give them a few good options & ask them to vote on their favorites.

This year, why not put a kid-created charity on the list? Here are five good options, with the types of donations they accept:

Sheltering Books (books, money)
From Ewe to You (handknit items, knitting supplies, money)
Second-Chance Toys (toys)
Tennessee H.U.G.S. (shoes)
Little Red Wagon Foundation (money)

As impressive as it is when kids & teens start their own charities, contributions really keep those charities alive, so participating in family giving is every bit as meaningful as starting something new. Happy holidays, and happy giving!

And Speaking of Christmas Cards...

Need some kids-helping-kids Christmas card stamps for your MAC kids-helping-kids holiday cards? Sports fans will enjoy our latest efforts, benefitting Save the Children & featuring (like the MAC products) kids' artwork. Try this football stamp for your holiday mailing:

Or how about our new baseball stamp?

Not your style? Check out these other kids-helping-kids Christmas card stamps, with snowflakes, snowmen, mittens & other classic holiday themes.

MAC is Back

Grab 'em before they sell out: MAC Cosmetics' Kids Helping Kids holiday cards and gift tags feature art by HIV-affected kids, with proceeds helping peers through the MAC AIDS Fund. In keeping with this year's "Ice Parade" theme, the adorable cards offer plenty of shimmer & shine to light up your holidays.

Trick or Treat!

My first intro to Trick or Treat for UNICEF, born way back in 1950 when American kids wanted to help overseas peers with the after-effects of WWII, was a Judy Blume book. I can't even remember which one -- possibly Are You There God? It's Me Margaret -- but I do remember thinking wow, what a great idea.

Three generations of U.S. trick-or-treaters for UNICEF have raised a staggering $164 million to date. Where does the money go? UNICEF -- the United Nations Children's Fund -- provides clean water and sanitation, vaccinations, medical care for AIDS-affected children, education programs, and more. 

It's not too late to get involved this year. Kids can order a collection kit, plan a costume party for this terrific cause, or even "trick-or-treat online" for UNICEF. Need inspiration? Check out these kid heroes and kids who've been helped.

Moore is More

Gotta love Julianne Moore. Not only did she co-lead the year's most enjoyable (imho) film (The Kids Are All Right), but she founded & continues to support a Valentine card contest for Save the Children that helps kid artists help their low-income peers in Appalachia. Children from across the U.S. drew valentines this year and voted on their favorites. A donation of $25 buys a box of 24 cards featuring 5 winning designs. All proceeds go to Save the Children. Interested? Order cards by Feb. 8 for Valentine's Day delivery!

S.W.A.K.

Late on the holiday cards this year? Me too. It's not too late, though, and this year, why not play around with postage and help kids help kids? Half the design proceeds from these custom Christmas / holiday stamps, featuring kids' artwork, go to Save the Children. 

     

And don't forget holiday thank-you cards...

Toy Drive!

image: Disney/Pixar

The folks at teen-founded Second Chance Toys have been busy since I posted about them back in April-- securing 501(c)(3) status, passing the 50,000 mark in rescued-toy donations, and expanding into new geographical areas. You and your kids can help by bringing previously owned plastic toys (clean & in good condition, please) to a dropoff location this month or next. Want to spread this kid-friendly, eco-friendly effort to your community? Hit the ground running with the organization's starter kit. Woody & Buzz would be proud.

Heart and Sole

If anyone deserves a shoe sponsorship deal, it's Zach Bonner. The suburban Tampa 12-year-old has logged more miles on foot than a marathon champ and is now in the middle of a March Across America (13 million steps, he says, from Tampa to Los Angeles)--all to raise awareness and money for homeless kids.

When Hurricane Charlie hit Tampa in '04, Zach was only 7. But he took the initiative to wheel a red wagon door-to-door in his neighborhood (spared by the storm) to collect supplies for those hardest hit. He ended up with enough drinking water to fill 27 pickups, and inspiration to match.

With his mom's help, Zach set up the Little Red Wagon Foundation and began assembling backpacks for homeless kids, filled with supplies such as food, socks, and sewing kits. He's rallied teens to build awareness about their homeless peers by sleeping in cardboard boxes. He's donated supplies to underfunded schools. And he's taken 4 very long fundraising walks with his mom and big sister: Tampa to Tallahassee; Tallahassee to Atlanta; Atlanta to Washington, D.C. (this time carrying 1,000 letters about homeless children for President Obama); and the current March Across America, peppered with "projects along the route to help homeless kids."

Zach does all the legwork (figurative as well as literal!) for his foundation, says mom, from making calls and writing letters to organizing holiday parties for struggling families. Video clips reveal a poised, softly articulate but utterly "natural" seeeming youth who just happens to have found his calling early. "It's been my wish for a long time," he told Good Morning America after the second walk. "No more homeless kids, or kids who don't have the same opportunities as any other kid."

Want to join Zach for a bit of his walk, or just check on his progress? Visit the Zach Tracker or follow him on Twitter. I normally don't think 12-year-olds need to be tweeting, but this isn't a normal 12-year-old situation :-)

(photo: Time for Kids)