Resources

The emotional, cognitive, academic and even physiological benefits of giving are profound and well documented. We are here to provide kids and families with the practical tools and opportunities to experience the giver's "high."   The following is a sample of our resources.  Look for our coming guides to giving and volunteering as a family.  

Books

Price, Susan Crites. The Giving Family: Raising Our Children to Help Others. The Council on Foundations: Washington, DC, 2001. (Parents)

Joline Godfrey. Raising Financially Fit Kids, Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, 2003. Designed for adults concerned about raising kids 5 to 18, this gem centers around a “developmental map” covering 10 specific money skills each child can (and should) master by the age of 18 to become a financially secure adult able to contribute to their own well being and that of their community.

Eileen and Jon Gallo. Silver Spoon Kids: How Successful Parents Raise Responsible Children, McGraw-Hill: New York, 2002. Relevant not only to the superrich but also to the millions of families whose children are exposed to material abundance. Practical tips, instructive real-life stories and anecdotes, and highly effective advice, Silver Spoon Kids addresses the how and the equally important why of instilling in your family a healthy relationship with money in your family.

Williams, Roy & Preisser, Vic. Philanthropy Heirs & Values: How Successful Families are Using Philanthropy to Prepare their Heirs for Post-Transition Responsibilities.

Kidder, Dr. Rushworth Good Kids, Tough Choices: How Parents Can Help Their Children Do the Right Thing. Ifyou want the ultimate guide to nurturing what matters most in your kids' lives - character, integrity and the ability to make tough decisions -- RUN, do not walk, to get this book. This gem avoids righteousness to provide rock solid advice based on sound research. Perhaps more importantly it is practical -- backed up with loads of real experiences from parents and kids facing the toughest situations. Frankly, as a parent, it was worth the cost simply for the five tests of whether a decision is right or wrong. But it goes much farther, to get right at the heart of the tougher issues that come up when decisions we make create tensions between individual and community, truth versus loyalty, justice versus mercy and what is best in the short-term versus long-term. Best of all the author provides specifics about talking with (not at) our kids and what we can say and do to build up their "ethical fitness" at each developmental stage from 4 to 24.

Salwen, Kevin & Hannah. The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back. A father and daughter tell the remarkable story of a family who set out to make a small difference in the world and ended up transforming themselves.

Rogers, Fred. The Giving Box: Create a Tradition of Giving with your Children. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2000. A book and actual box set, to help children begin to save money for good causes. The accompanying book teaches children lessons in generosity through heartwarming fictional stories set in countries around the world. For parents, Rogers offers wise suggestions and practical guidelines to help teach children the moral lesson of compassion for others, and the value of charitable donation.

Lewis, Barbara. The Kid's Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems you Choose - and Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Pub. 1998. Grade 4-8-A Students want to better their world, but may be overwhelmed when they begin their campaigns. With this simple-to-follow guide, young people, teachers, and parents can plan their course of social action and expect to see results. Earlier entries have been updated to see what has been accomplished by motivated students since the first edition was published. Projects range from instigating cleanup of toxic waste to youth-rights campaigns.

Lewis, Barbara. The Teen Guide to Global Action: How to Connect with Others (Near & Far) to Create Social Change. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Pub. 2007. Kids can’t wait to become adults to change the world and are acting now to fight hunger and poverty, promote health and human rights, save the environment, and work for peace. Their stories prove that young people can make a difference on a global scale. This book includes real-life stories to inspire young readers, plus a rich and varied menu of opportunities for service, fast facts, hands-on activities, user-friendly tools, and up-to-date resources kids can use to put their own volunteer spirit into practice. It also spotlights young people from the past whose efforts led to significant positive change.

Halpin, Mikki. It's Your World--If You Don't Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers Simon Pulse Pub, 2004. Gr. 7-12. The issues are of crucial interest, encompassing everything from the environment, war, civil liberties, and racism to gay rights, birth control, and women's rights. Each chapter includes how to get involved at home, at school, and in the community, and in compelling sidebars, individual teens speak out about their activism and, sometimes, about the harassment they experienced because of it. The discussions end with an annotated list of Web sites, books, and movies while the book concludes with a seven-page resource list for general activism.

McMillon, Bill. Volunteer Vacations: Short Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others, Chicago Press Review, Chicago, 1999. Lists over 2,000 projects worldwide that depend on volunteers. Comprehensive information includes project summaries, contact information, prices, dates and locations of projects, and information about how to apply. Many but not all projects listed are appropriate for families.

Web Resources

DONATING DOMESTICALLY

The Acme Sharing Company www.acmesharing.com
THE ACME SHARING COMPANY is a place where parents can find activities for spending family time with meaning. Exposing your children to cause-based adventures is a wonderful way to make giving a part of their lives now and for the future. Subscribe to their e-mail updates on the site.

TisBest www.tisbest.com
A TisBest Charity Gift Card allows the recipient to support a nonprofit cause he or she feels strongly about. TisBest Philanthropy was founded in 2007 in Seattle, Washington and has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities since.

JustGive www.justgive.org
Dedicated to creating comprehensive tools and services to make charitable giving a part of everyday life, JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase charitable giving by connecting people with the charities and causes they care most about.

YouthGive www.youthgive.org
Website launched January 2006 allows children and their families to open youth giving “accounts” and offers a catalogue of giving opportunities to help develop philanthropic impulse. YG also offers global travel philanthropy adventures for families.

DONATING GLOBALLY

Global Fund for Children www.globalfundforchildren.org
GFC is a grant-making organization designed specifically to target and strengthen small grassroots organizations that improve education for children who would otherwise be left behind. These organizations help to build the foundations of civil society by shaping local, regional, national, and even international policy and practices.

New Global Citizens www.newglobalcitizens.org
NGC is built on the concept that the world lies in the hands of the young people who will inherit it and in order to create sustainable change an entire generation must be engaged to take action towards solving the world’s greatest challenges. To this end, NGC educates, equips, and mobilizes young people to help solve the greatest challenges faced by communities around the world. NGC has dual impact, transforming the lives of young people that engage in their program as they learn how to give back and make a difference while also providing transformative community change.

Global Giving www.globalgiving.com
GlobalGiving enables individuals and companies to find and support high-impact, grassroots social and economic development projects around the world. Donors have direct communication with the extraordinary social entrepreneurs who run these projects and can receive frequent reports straight from the field.

World Repair Kids www.worldrepairkids.org
World Repair Kids unleashes the superhero in every kid—the protectors, the fixers, the champions of good. Their mission is to spark a by-kids-for-kids movement by providing the inspiration and tools for social change, including connections to some of the most amazing non-profit organizations around the world.

WEB GAMES

Play the Planet Green Game to find out how to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the impact of global warming. www.planetgreengame.com

Help the UN Food Program deliver rice by playing Free Rice. This synonym quiz game is wickedly addicting and for every correct answer a virtual rice bowl fills a little more. Soon you will have several full bowls of rice that the UN with funding from sponsors will then deliver to refugees and other food poor populations. www.freerice.org