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Holiday Heart Prep… Raising Grateful Children by Focusing on Others During the Season

Give Meaningful Gifts this Holiday Season by Incorporating Acts of Service. 

I get really excited about using the time leading up to Christmas to teach my children the joy of giving. As a globetrotting family, we have visited many countries that are subsequently devastated by natural disasters. Our most recent experience was leaving on a cruise out of San Juan, a mere three weeks after the island was hit by Hurricane Maria. We packed our clothes for the trip in carry on suitcases and used our checked bags to bring much needed relief items. We have found that raising our children to appreciate their blessings by teaching to give rather than only receiving, is imperative to keeping them grounded.  This post is a list of simple ways to raise grateful children by incorporating Acts of Service your family holiday traditions.

Go ahead, read on, put on your happy faces, elf hats and sing Christmas carols while making a difference this Holiday Season.

1. International Rescue Committee. I love the many options available through this organization, such as “A Year of School” for girls or boys. 

2. Sponsor a child in Foster Care. Our family is hosting a stocking packing party for children about to age out of the foster system. 

- Here is a sample social media post: We are in need of donations and laborers to help fill Christmas Stockings for aged out or current foster youth. Christmas is a dismal time of year as it compounds the fact that they’re alone and have no functioning family to celebrate with. Receiving a fully loaded Christmas stocking is usually the only present they get at Christmas. Can you help us? Here are the items that we are in need. I’m looking at our calendar and will announce a date to put the stockings together. We will be able to personalize each stocking for these kids. I will identify a Sunday afternoon to do the actual packing and labeling. In the mean time, please PM to coordinate drop off or pick up of donations. http://www.ctfosteradopt.com/fosteradopt/cwp/view.asp…

-$10 fast food gift cards (Coffee shops, Subway, etc.) -$25 restaurant gift cards (Red Robin, Ihop, etc.) -Movie Tickets -warm fuzzy socks for young women -soft socks for young men -make up bags, mascara, eye shadow, eyebrow, lip gloss, etc -mini flashlights, guys mini cologne’s, wallets, nail clippers, etc -ear buds for men and women!!!! -Xmas candy- individually wrapped and candy canes -Men’s lotion, small cologne or body spray, shower gel, etc. -Women’s body wash, lotion, body spray, face masks -card games, hay sacks, wheelo’s, fidget spinners, yo-yo’s, trinkets, etc. -Gum, breath mints, chap stick for men and women.

You can also collect new pajamas and give them to children in foster care. In past years, our family has collected, wrapped and distributed new PJs for the Holidays to kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs.

3. Pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Collection week is the week of November 13th, so you still have plenty of time to pack your boxes and drop them off.

4. Collect new toys for a local charity. This year our family is collecting new toys to bless the families of Hartford City Mission. DONATE: We are looking for NEW, UNwrapped gifts (no toy guns or clothes please) appropriate for children in 1st – 8th grade in the price range of $5- $20.This Christmas season, help give the gift of dignity to Noah After School parents through the Noah Christmas Store. This is a special store where parents can buy new gifts for their children at tag sale prices. HCM uses the funds to subsidize the cost of sleepover camp in the summer.

5. Feed, clothe and spend time with the homeless. Our family has cleaned out our closets and donated gently used clothes and boots to those in need. In addition our kids made 60 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and distributed them as well as new socks to folks in need. Go through your closets (invite your family and friends to do the same) and collect gently used clothes and shoes for those experiencing homelessness. Every time that you feel cold while in the comfort of your home, think about the homeless. See information below regarding Street Church sponsored by Church Army and the many ways to serve those suffering this Christmas. Our family also serves dinner at a local food pantry as least once a month. This allows us to get to know and interact in a genuine way with those that we serve.

Check out Church Army USA’s for more information on service opportunities in the downtown Hartford area. 

- They are always in need of volunteers to help with their weekly soup, sock and prayer outreach to the homeless in Downtown Hartford Connecticut.

The Street Church provides free food and clothing, as well as prayer and pastoral counseling, for community members in downtown Hartford on Saturdays from 11:30 am-1:00 pm in front of City Hall, the last Friday of each month from 6:15-7:15 pm at Peter’s Retreat in Hartford and the last Sunday of the month from 11:00 am-12:30 pm at Manna’s Kitchen in Hartford. Church Army USA has also received training and supplies to offer a Beyond the Basics Community Resource Center through their The Street Church program. Community Resource Centers help programs connect people to local services and resources that match their specific needs.

These two nine year old boys spent 3 hours one afternoon sorting, labeling and organizing donations for folks in need at Officer Barrett’s office in City Hall Hartford. Check out this article and video about Officer Barrett and how he is going above and beyond the call of duty in order to help the disenfranchised. 

For more information on how you can help contact: Program Manager Deborah Barrows, DBarrows@cpa-ct.org.

Another organization which helps Officer Barrett gather goods for the homeless is Church Army, USA. You can reach out to Dorathy Smolkis at dorathysmolkis@churcharmy.org, if you want to help.

6. Put together and send much needed supplies to family’s in Puerto Rico still recovering from the hurricane devastation. Include a hand written note of encouragement. 

7. Pick up garbage in your community. If you live in CT or other cold weather areas, you can actually gift your children Garbage Grippers and schedule the actual clean up once the snow thaws. 

8. Write cards and bring cookies to police officers.

9. Collect new and used clothes and sports equipment and donate to a charity in need. We love supporting the efforts of Kids Alive International as we have two family friends that are missionaries in Haiti and DR. This is a sample social media post that we used to get support from our community. We were able to travel with 4 suitcases full of donations for Kids Alive Constanza, DR when we went there on a Family Mission Trip.  

 This is the Plaza (see picture below) at the Kid’s Alive site in Constanza. Donations of new and used clothing, shoes, medicine etc. are stored here until needed for the children. Right now, they are low on supplies, but that will change next week thanks to the donations by so many of you. I have been moved as I packed your children’s donated clothes. Clothes that to us are extras or from last year’s sports team, will be giving another chance at providing warmth and comfort to the children at The Ark. I am in the process of completing our packing. If you still have donations to get to me, feel free to PM, as whatever we can’t fit will be brought by a group traveling from my church in July. Thank you for taking time to clean out your kid’s closets and get the donations to me. We have 4 large suitcases of donations that we will be bringing on this trip alone. Many blessings.

10. Collect used and new board games and donate to a charity. We’ve given these in the past to our missionary friends in Constanza, Dominican Republic.

11. Collect over the counter medications to help children in orphanages and homeless shelters. 

This is my amazing friend Cassidy (missionary for Kids Alive - Haiti). Our family has had the privilege to serve on several mission trips with her. Over the years, we have maintained a connection while she is serving in Haiti, by not only praying for her but also supporting her ministry by collecting items of need. This year, our children collected over the counter medications and sent to Haiti. You can follow her on Facebook to learn more about their ongoing needs.

12. Collect names and addresses of single parents and/or widowers and have your kids make cards and including a gift card to a coffee shop or other small token of love and recognition.

13, Make cards and send care packages to military personnel serving abroad during the holiday season. Make this extra special by collecting the names from your family and friends and including notes of encouragement. 

14. Collect used bags and purses. Fill them with personal care items and donate them to a women’s shelter or hospital to be distributed to women following abuse and or leaving violent domestic situations. 

15. Volunteer at Hartford City Mission’s After-school Program. 

Our family hosted a dance party and made gingerbread houses with the kids. The kids in this program had never made gingerbread houses and while they were stumped at first, they really got into it and loved showing off their masterpieces.

16. Little Free Library. Go through your family’s bookshelves and donate used books to a Little Free Library near you. Check out this article about our sponsored Little Free Library in Hartford, CT. If you’re feeling up to it, build and sponsor your own Little Free Library and make it an ongoing literacy program. 

17. Volunteer to help at Hands On Hartford’s Christmas Holiday Meal 

DECEMBER 25TH, 2017 - 11:30 AM

Celebrate Christmas with a free and festive meal at Hands On Hartford’s Center for Community. Enjoy a delicious meal with all of the trimmings, dessert, coffee, activities, and gifts for kids! If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please contact Wanda Guzman at 860-706-1507 or wguzman@handsonhartford.org.

18. Write thank you cards to your legislators, elected officials, pastors or other public service individuals.

19. Buy new toys and drop them off to area hospitals where sick children will be spending the Holiday Season as patients. CCMC has guidelines on their website. 

20. Teaching our children to truly love giving is a value that needs to be modeled year to year and not a one off thing to be done and forgotten. I hope that this list inspires you to incorporate service into your family’s traditions. Our last recommendation is simple, yet easy to implement. Have your children write letters to their grandparents, thanking them for being in their lives and sharing their favorite memories of time spent together. 

We love hearing from readers. What are some things that your family does to prepare your heart’s for the Holiday Season? 

Check out our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide for creative gift giving options. Not your typical gift guide for families who already have way too much stuff. 

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PRAISE GOD FOR Servant leaders! #ValleyCommunityBaptistChurch serving at the #HartfordCityMission Ministry House! #UrbanMissions #afterschoolprogram #summercamp #intentionalChristianCommunity #GOD bless them and draw them closer to you!