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Heart-y Gift Giving
Teaching Kids the True Meaning of the Giving Season
By Kendeyl Johansen
"We really appreciate receiving handmade baby quilts or even larger quilts for adult patients that have long hospital stays," she says.
If you're unsure about a project call your local hospital and discuss your idea with someone in the volunteer services department.
The need for charitable projects is endless. Talk with your family and find a cause that interests them. This November, Suzy Maloney of Raleigh, N.C. encouraged her sons, ages 5 and 11, to start a book collection for homeless kids. Maloney helped them make and distribute fliers asking for new children's books. The week before Christmas the family will deliver the books to a homeless shelter and ask that they be given to kids.
"My sons are not often exposed to the 'other side' of life and obviously at their young ages don't realize how truly fortunate they are," she says. "They feel really good about collecting the books."
The family plans to start a tradition of collecting and distributing books for kids.
"My boys love to read so they can't imagine children not having books," Maloney says.
As a family Christmas project, Wendy Walton of Portland, Ore. modified an Irish family tradition. Instead of buying clothes for the poor in the name of a dead friend or family member, she and her sister gave their kids money to buy a gift for a needy child. Their kids are also encouraged to clean their rooms and give outgrown toys and clothes to toy drives or church charities.
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