Summer is almost done! School clothes and supplies are on sale. Amidst the plans for one last trip to visit grandparents, a Saturday at the theme park down the road or a day at the water park, work in a little time for one more generosity event.

Generosity Time Rewards

When a family joins together in a shared experience, everyone benefits. Research tells us children at least ten years and older benefit from philanthropy time, building self-confidence and learning about issues they care about.

The bonus from giving together is a shared experience that seeds and produces life-long generosity.

Seven Tips to Grow the Philanthropy Spirit this Summer.

• Look for vacation experiences that include time for your children to do for others. If you’ve already had the experience, plan a memory evening and celebrate what they learned. Start planning next year’s generosity vacation.
• Do a weekend or weeklong generosity trip where the entire family gives back; for instance, help a family member paint their home or make needed repairs. Plan time to celebrate the event and start planning to repeat it next year.
• Check with your church for an older member who could use help with a minor repair or clean-up project around their home.
• Let your children bring a friend to share the experience, and then include the friends in the celebration event.
• Give older children a small budget and let them plan a summer generosity project to give back.
• If it’s time to clean closets, garages and sheds, include children in the cleaning process and then take them along to help donate useable items.
• Give children a screen challenge to identify a group or organization to give to before the end of summer. Then, include them in a discussion about how much and make the delivery in person if it’s local.   

Your generosity event plans should change each year as your children grow and mature in their generosity journey.

Grandparents, you can do the same thing when your grandchildren spend time with you. Children make a habit of watching all the adults in their lives, so don’t miss the chance to be on the generosity train with them.

One More Tip

Experiences stick when you make time for discussion. The right words are less important than what happens when a child has a chance to talk about how they feel. Maya Angelou says it this way, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Philanthropy Worth Doing is Worth Learning to Do with Family!  

That’s my revision of the almost 250-year-old famous quote, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.”

Parenting is seldom easy but often joy-filled. Your work here is navigating a philanthropy experience with children of varying ages while beaming with pride from the joy of watching children grow and learn their way into generosity toward others.

Actions build memories that stick and generosity that grows for generations. So, what else can you do before summer ends to grow generosity?

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