All year long as a family we try to do our best to give back. Through donations, food drives, diaper drives and coat drives we do our best to help in the community. We are blessed with everything we have and always want to be sure are sharing our blessings. Since my husband and I have been married, long before we had kids, we make sure each Christmas to purchase some toys to give to Tots for Toys and SleepTrain for Foster Kids. A few years when we can we also donate to Coats for Kids. One year we participated in Operation Christmas Child where we were able to pack shoe boxes with small toys to have sent children all over the world. It makes us feel so good as a family to be able to give not just a toy but the happiness a kid feels to be included in the joy of receiving a gift from someone who cares. We never get to meet the kids that we donate the items for but we know in our hearts it must make them smile so big. The last two Christmases with our son we have taken him to donate toys and coats. We know as parents it can be tough sometimes to have the extra money for toys and kids grow so fast needing a new coat each winter. My son was only a month old the first time we donated but I still took him bundled up in his stroller to drop off toys. The second year he met some Star Wars Storm Troopers when we dropped off toys and a coat. It was nice of the company to provide the entertainment.
One of the things that drives us to donate is that my husband's family had a tough time during the holidays when he was a kid and his mom would have to get his toys from donation places. She was so grateful for the programs that would help her to get toys from Santa to give to him. She would wait in long lines in the cold just to make sure her son felt the joy of getting a holiday gift. So many families have lost jobs or reduced incomes making it tough to have extra money for toys. We try our best all year long if we spot a great price on a toy or coat to buy it and set aside. Even gifts given to our own son we donate as well. He has many toys and being able to share them with other kids is great. I look forward to when he is old enough to really understand the joy of giving toys to other kids so they can all have fun. Each year we like to try to find new organizations to give to so we can share our experience about different charities with family and friends.
This year we have the opportunity to support a great organization Champions for Kids. We are going to shop at our local Walmart to purchase a stocking and stuff it with great Disney themed holiday gifts. I think this is a great idea and am happy to be apart of it. I know my son loves to shop with me so I will take him with me so he can see we buy toys for other kids too. I plan on donating our Disney stocking to child at a local Home Start program that helps homeless families transition to permanent affordable housing.
To help celebrate the Champions for Kids Disney Stocking project there will be a twitter party on December 15, 2011 at 9pm EST (6 pm PST if your on the West Coast like me!) You can follow the party by using the hashtag #DisneyCFK . You can follow Champion for Kids on twitter @championsforkids and be a fan on Facebook.
You can be apart of the Champions for Kids Disney Stocking Stuffer Project by signing up on the Champions for Kids December Simple Service project page.
*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.
All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #DisneyCFK
2 comments
The Home Start program sounds like a wonderful place to donate your stocking!
I love that you take you and your family give all year round. It is important that we don't forget people are in need even when the holidays are over.
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