Family Service

So I am a huge classic movie fan. I love them all from Lost Angel to The African Queen to Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. I love the escapism that classic movies provide. It's a world far far away. But the reality is that we live in a world that needs as much help as we are able to contribute. As a mother, I want my children to be able to contribute and give to the community from an early age.

I learned once that Joan Crawford, a classic actress, made her children reluctantly donate their favorite Christmas presents each year to needy families. Although an admirable act of charity, the method may have been a bit muddled. I wanted to be more clear, and less cruel, when modeling service for my children. A birthday recently came upon our family and my husband and I decided that it was the right age for our child to begin a service project independent from our family service projects. So when the invitations went out, we asked each guest to contribute a non-perishable food item to the party celebrations. We collected the food and donated it to the U.S. Postal Service Harvest Food Drive, a food donation program for those in need in our community. Our child was involved in all the different parts of this project and really felt like they were helping others.

The great part about this service project was that it has greater meaning then just donating to a local program. The birthday party was a "Pasta Party." It was based on one of our favorite children's story that tells of a girl and her mother of whom are poor and hungry, till they are given a magic pasta pot. The young girl and her mother, so over joyed by their good fortune, hold an annual pasta party for their community in thanksgiving. So as the guests arrived we had them pile their items in the biggest pasta pot that we could find, putting a visual to the story for our family. And the best part was that it was all our child's idea. I love it when it all works out that way.

Even if you and your family already complete many service projects here are a few more ideas. Check out Make a Difference in 15 Minutes http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteenminutes.htm. I love this site and I know you will too. What do you and your family do as service projects? Share.