Michele Burlot has worked in the field of humanitarian assistance for nearly fifteen years, in both the government and non-profit sectors. She has traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin American for her work and currently resides in Budapest, Hungary where she is completing a Master’s degree in Global Development and Social Justice. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to write to her at [email protected]
Michele visiting a Tibetan refugee settlement in India
Service Opportunities for Children – Introducing them to the World Beyond Wii
There are a lot of great ways to promote the value of service to our children, and it’s never too early to introduce them to this idea. Service can take the form of raising money for charity, promoting awareness of a worthy cause, volunteering in a soup kitchen, collecting items for those in need, participating in your church’s community outreach activities, the list goes on as far as your imagination and a little internet investigation carry you. Having worked for nonprofit organizations for 10 years and followed many other organizations through my own interest or that of friends and family, I have become aware of many such opportunities and wanted to take some time to share them with you.
Assemble School Kits
One of my previous employers is Lutheran World Relief, which provides humanitarian support to developing countries. Their programs are non-sectarian and non-proselytizing, and they have had a stellar reputation for delivering aid since their founding in 1945. Their website is flush with ideas for raising funds and awareness as well as fun engagement activities such as assembling school kits for children in need in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Check out how school kits can be assembled and donated, an engaging activity for children, who can simultaneously be educated on who the kits will go to and just how big a difference they make: http://lwr.org/site/c.dmJXKiOYJgI6G/b.7521997/k.98D3/School_Kits.htm
Poke around the website some more to find lots of cool ideas and resources. Fundraising ideas can be modified to fit your objectives and support your favorite cause.
Keep in mind that most major religious traditions have nonprofits that support worthy causes and couple this with educational resources for their followers; for example:
Catholic Relief Services: www.crs.org
United Methodist Committee on Relief: www.umcor.org
International Orthodox Christian Charities: www.iocc.org
American Friends Service Committee (Quaker): www.afsc.org
American Jewish World Service: www.ajws.org
I’ve listed some of the ones I am personally familiar with, but I am sure with a little research you can find one associated with your religious tradition, be it Islam or Baha’i. Check out any charities you are not familiar with to make sure they have a good reputation. A couple of places you can look are: Charity Navigator at www.charitynavigator.org and Better Business Bureau for Charities and Donors at http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/
Organize a SunDrive
PHOTO: Tanzanian child with sun damage due to albinism.
Source:http://www.nowpublic.com/world/red-cross-assists-albinos-are-hunted-body-parts
A relatively new non-profit that I have been following since it began is Asante Mariamu, which works with people with albinism in Africa, particularly Tanzania, and is named after an inspiring woman who was attacked because of her condition. The details of such violent attacks against people with albinism are not suitable for all ages, but the fact that they also succumb to skin cancer at staggering rates is something can be broached carefully with various age groups. Due to a lack of melanin, people with albinism are
virtually unprotected from the sun’s harmful rays. As you can imagine, those in Africa suffer greatly due to the sun’s strength in that area of the world. In addition, the incidence of albinism is far greater in East Africa than in other locations (it is where the genetic mutation originated), and people with albinism in Africa are among the most impoverished and vulnerable. Learn more about this issue at Asante Mariamu’s website www.asante-mariamu.org and learn how to organize a SunDrive below.
SunDrives are a great activity for middle-school aged child, Boy/Girl Scout troops, church groups, swim clubs, or other groups of people who would like to help. A SunDrive provides support to people with albinism in East Africa by collecting funds or collecting sun gear, including:
- New wide-brimmed hats (children’s/youth sizes are needed most)
- Lightweight long sleeve shirts
- Sunscreen (SPF 35 +)
- Sunglasses (can be used but must be clean and in good condition).
- Send your donations to UTSS, Mike’s Parcel Pickup, 183 W. Stutsman Street, Pembina, ND 58271-4100. Contact Asante Mariamu for more information on donations. (UTSS stands for Under the Same Sun, a Canadian-based nonprofit that coordinates delivery of the supplies to those in need through their programs and in coordination with their Tanzania office. It is also a great organization, and you can learn about their work at www.underthesamesun.com)
I maintain an informational website about violence against people with albinism in Tanzania, suitable only for older children, at www.micheleburlot.wordpress.com
Participate in a Walk-a-Thon
Walk-a-Thons are great activities for kids to really get involved with a charity. They can learn all about the cause; reach out to friends, families, and neighbors to request sponsorship; and experience the positive energy of engaging with a great many other supporters through the act of walking, which is also great exercise! Many organizations, especially the larger ones related to health and disease, hold Walk-a-Thons. A few of the ones I am familiar with are listed below. If a particular health-related challenge has affected a child’s family or friends, it makes the service experience even deeper and can be a way of coping with stress or loss related to the illness.
- Autism Speaks http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/site/c.igIRL6PIJrH/b.4356939/k.BF85/Home.htm
- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk http://www.lightthenight.org/
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk for a Cure http://www2.jdrf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_homepage
Write Letters or Cards
Children can write letters or cards to be included in care packages sent to troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan http://www.carepackageproject.com/letters.asp or get well cards http://www.operationpal.com/
These efforts are organized through MarineParents.com, and according to their website, “Marines are especially touched by homemade cards from children, or letters that let them know what's going on back home: what books, movies, and music are coming out, or what your day-to-day life is like.”
This can be done as a family activity, on an ongoing basis, as an afterschool activity, by gathering your kids’ friends or schoolmates at your home one Saturday afternoon and providing milk and cookies, the list goes on.
Introducing children to service – to thinking about and reaching out to others in need – is a great way to help them develop a sense of maturity and an awareness beyond the worlds of Wii and “we”. I’ve shared a sampling of ideas, but the possibilities truly are endless. There are so many people in the world in need of basic food and clothing items, successful research to treat or cure their illness, or even just a smile or kind word of encouragement, and there is really a lot that each and every one of us, children included, can do. In the words of author and anthropologist Margaret Meade, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
