Give the Gift of Hope by Donating to Your Child’s Favorite Charity

Finding the perfect gift during the holidays can be quite a task for a busy parent.  However, there is one kind of gift you can give to your child which will teach them about the value of charitable giving: making a donation to your child’s favorite charity in his or her name. 

This type of gift offers some considerable benefits to your child’s long-term emotional maturity.  When you let your child choose to give a gift to charity rather than receiving a gift for him or herself, you teach them the responsibility of helping those less fortunate than themselves, such as caring for homeless children or animals. The sense of pride that they have ‘helped’ others will stay with your child far longer than the biggest and best toy you could buy for them.

How do you give a gift to your child’s favorite charity?  Here are some easy steps to follow. Obviously, to give this type of gift, you need to find out what your child’s favorite charity might be – run down a list of national and local charities and see which one resonates most with your child.  Of course, he or she might already have a favorite to which they want to give a gift.  If they love animals, look up your local animal shelter and consider taking your child there so they can see how many animals need homes and how precious every donation is (just don’t let them come home with a new furry friend!)

Then, you need to determine what type of donation or gift to give.  Does the charity need goods and supplies?  Does the charity need funds?  Discuss this with your child, as well as the value of both types of gift giving.

Once you have decided on a charity and a gift type, let your child fill out the donation form if possible. Your child will learn a lot from the experience, and if you sign up to a charity which provides tangible evidence of your donation, such as progress updates from an adopted shelter animal or letters from a pen-friend in a famine-ridden country, then this gift will keep giving throughout the entire year.