Give Back as a Family for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for all the good things we have in life including friends and family. However, we don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving Day to give thanks.  Here are a few things that you can do with your kids to give back as a family for Thanksgiving or even before.

• Collect food or money for the food bank – Last year, my daughter set up a go-fund me page to raise money to buy food for the food bank. It was pretty simple and a lot of people responded. She raised double her goal of $500. She gave updates and said thank you when she got a donation. She also did the shopping and took the money to the food bank herself.
• Bring Thanksgiving to others – If your kids go shopping kids go shopping with you, they can keep track of how much money you need to spend to earn a free turkey. They can also hose a thanksgiving food drive or volunteer to serve Thanksgiving dinner to others. This year my daughter and I are participating in serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless. It was her idea
• Donate toys – Kids can go through their toys and pick out some toys to donate to those that are less fortunate. I have done this with my daughter. I make sure that the toys she donates are ones that other kids will want to play with, so no beat-up, ratty or stained ones.
• Volunteer at a Nursing Home – Residents of a nursing home always love to see kids. They can sing, dance, play games and just bring cheer in general.
• Join a fundraiser for a cause – Have kids pick a local fundraiser to raise money for. It can be for a charity or for an individual. Have the child be responsible for contacting people to make donations and have them make a small donation themselves if they are old enough.

Challenge your kids to come up with a way to give back to others and demonstrate thanks for all that they have. Share below what they have come up with.