The materialism of the holidays can get me down. I could rail about the tyranny of Christmas music hitting the grocery store before Thanksgiving. I could curse the extra traffic. And don’t get me started about the stream of Amazon packages at my door each evening.
Having no interest in playing the part of old Ebenezer Scrooge though, I have a more productive solution in mind. I am carving out a little space in the hustle and bustle for my family to focus on charity over the upcoming school break and it is already lifting my spirits.
My wife and I, as has become a tradition, are allowing our daughters to control a portion of our charitable giving. I recently sent our girls this email:
I know you guys are busy with exams. As soon as that is over, I would love it if you could help Mom and Dad with our 2016 charitable giving.
We are putting each of you in charge of $500 to be given to the charity (or charities) of your choice. We just need to do it before the end of the year.
Love,
Dad
Their reaction was enthusiastic. They are jazzed about the magnitude of the money that they are directing. Each year we have ramped it up. Last year, they were at $200 each. But their thought processes were so thorough last year, that I am comfortable increasing their responsibility.
Last year, my younger daughter directed her giving to charities focused on animal welfare. We discussed why Mom and Dad don’t favor those charities. But we were very comfortable with her reasoning and selection. My older daughter recalled giving to Haiti after the earthquake there and wondered how the island was faring. Not well as it turned out. So, she wanted to give more to the Red Cross, as well as to Shoes That Grow.
Another thing I did was to encourage guests at our holiday party to donate to Shoes that Grow, a charity that I support, in lieu of bringing a bottle of wine or a host present. Maybe $200 will go to charity. Maybe it will be more. It is just a better use of the resource.
(Oh yeah, the other thing I did was write this blog about being charitable.)
I will continue to be on the lookout for other opportunities to give and encourage giving. It brings meaning to a season whose hustle and bustle, for me, can be overbearing.
For those of you who have read my prior post on the allowance jars, once your child’s Save Jar is full, your kid knows how to save. And once they know how to save, you can refer to my post about online banking for kids, where allowance goes from the jars to online. And once you move away from the jars, this is how you keep them engaged in charitable giving.
Happy Holidays!
