Find a need. Let your kids make a donation.

Make a donation of clothing, blankets, tarps, money, etc. to the homeless or needy people in your community.

Confession.  Even though I work with people in Nashville who have been or are experiencing homelessness, I have never (and probably never will) fully understand how I can help them. This led me to read the book Praying with our Feet by Lindsey Krinks, cofounder of Open Table Nashville, a “nationally acclaimed interfaith homeless outreach nonprofit.”   As I read this book, I was not only drawn in by her engaging writing, but genuinely blown away by the level of energy and dedication with which she served the neighbors we share.  I was moved to try to follow her example, and of course, pull my kids into some kind of compassionate effort.  

If you don’t already know this, kids have enormous hearts.  For my kids, unless it involves parting with even one of their 50 stuffed animals, they thrive on showing love to others.  I’ve noticed that if I am ever doing something nice for someone – whether it’s bringing a meal, or sending someone money, they will appear in front of me with a piece of candy to add to the meal, or their own money to put in the envelope.  So I knew my kids would be all over this endeavor to help our homeless neighbors.  I just didn’t know exactly how we could help.

But you know what’s funny about helping others?  It just so happens that whenever I make the decision to help, a need appears as if by magic. Seriously, it never fails.  As soon as I made the decision to do this, I saw a shared post by a friend of mine, who happens to volunteer with Open Table, written by Lindsey Krinks herself.  Open Table was calling for donations of tents, tarps and other outdoor supplies to help folks that were struggling after a recent storm had washed away one of the city’s homeless camps. 

So, I gathered the kids and explained the situation and the need.  They were instantly in. We simply followed the donations button from Open Table’s website to their Amazon wishlist, where helping was just a click away.  I simply *gave the kids a ballpark donation amount and let them pick the items to have shipped directly to Open Table. It was an extremely easy project, but one that I believe opened a tiny window of compassion in their hearts. 

* Or, let your kids donate use their own money.  This will increase their sense of ownership.