From the time they are born, our kids are learning everything from us. How to walk and talk. How to eat and choose healthy foods. How to feel empathy and show compassion for others.

Often times, it isn’t easy to find philanthropic agencies that will allow whole families (especially those with small children) to donate their time; so many in our community are geared for adult volunteers … children simply would not be a safe “fit” into their list of volunteers

Champions for Kids

Champions for Kids is an organization that works to give children in local communities the basic resources needed to thrive. And, it’s a charity that gives us simple ways to generate a “habit of giving” among American families …. regardless of age, Champion for Kids shows that helping others doesn’t have to come in large doses … the simplest of acts can make a huge difference.

It all started with a family who was asked to help a local homeless child — a kid living in an abandoned building. Champions for Kids formed, pledging to provide help for all children … to focus on solutions … and to mobilize millions of people into action. All of this because Champions for Kids wholeheartedly believes that children — ALL children — should have:

Someone who cares
A place to belong
Hope for tomorrow
Provisions for their journey

SIMPLE Giving

Did you know every year students in the United States miss more than 51 million hours of school due to dental-related illness? In fact, tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, and if left untreated, it can affect children’s ability to eat, speak, learn, and play.

SIMPLE Giving is a Champions for Kids program that makes it “simple” for you to help kids in your community. To help children stay healthy and avoid missed school days, Champions for Kids teamed up with Colgate for a SIMPLE Giving program to spread the importance of healthy oral care habits. Colgate donated $100,000 of oral care products to help children in need.
This SIMPLE Giving program collected donations of toothbrushes, toothpaste and hand soap at our local Walmart, and this past week, school district representatives were able to pick up the donations to benefit the local community. All of the donations went to children in the school district where the participating Walmart store is located.

While I live in a typical middle-class part of my little Texas town, there are many in this town who struggle … really, really struggle. Many homeless families live here and their children attend school with my own. Our church participates in an endeavor known as Family Promise, where they assist homeless single mothers with weekly lodging and meals. It’s humbling to see these women — all of whom have jobs are trying, desperately trying, to better the lives of their children — and to know they face fears I have never known and I hope my children never know.

It isn’t easy to take three Kidlets around town to assist those in our community who need help — they are too young for so many of the tasks that agencies want to pass on to volunteers.

This — THIS — is why programs like SIMPLE Giving excite me. It truly is an easy way to get your children involved in an endeavor that directly helps kids they may know… children who may sit next to them in class. It isn’t invasive of time … it’s non-threatening (for those who have such concerns) … it really is just “simple.”