Thursday, May 5, 2011
Charity and Children
The key to teaching generosity is for parents to be a positive model of generosity. Demonstrate generosity in all areas of your life. Then help your children catch the habit.
“Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” Edmund Burke
1. Give to your church.
Provide money to young children to give through their Sunday School class or during worship services. But first explain to them why they should give.
“We are the Bibles the world is reading; We are the creeds the world is needing; We are the sermons the world is heeding.” Billy Graham
2. Donate clothes and toys.
Take your children on a survey of their clothing and toys. Select items to give to their church clothing ministry, the Salvation Army or other charity providing to the needy. Allow them to select which clothes or toys they wish to donate. The value of this activity is diminished greatly if you go through their closets for them without their presence. For maximum benefit, get your children involved in choosing the appropriate items.
3. Help a neighbor.
Regularly engage in a service-oriented project. Rake the leaves of an elderly couple. Send “care package” to someone in your community in military service. Bake cookies or bread for a neighbor who has been hospitalized or lost a loved one.
Regularly engage in a service-oriented project. Rake the leaves of an elderly couple. Send “care package” to someone in your community in military service. Bake cookies or bread for a neighbor who has been hospitalized or lost a loved one.
4. Give blood.
Take your children with you so they see you as a model for giving. Talk to them about why you choose to donate blood and what you hope it will accomplish to do so.
Take your children with you so they see you as a model for giving. Talk to them about why you choose to donate blood and what you hope it will accomplish to do so.
5. Make birthdays charitable.
Set up birthday parties as a time for giving to others. Help your child find a cause and encourage children to ask those attending the party to bring a gift for children in need.
Set up birthday parties as a time for giving to others. Help your child find a cause and encourage children to ask those attending the party to bring a gift for children in need.
"The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things." Plato
6. Deliver nutrition.
Build food baskets around the holidays and give them to a needy family suggested by your church. Involve your children in selecting canned goods, fruit, and other treats to include. Decorate the gift package and deliver it together, as a family.
Build food baskets around the holidays and give them to a needy family suggested by your church. Involve your children in selecting canned goods, fruit, and other treats to include. Decorate the gift package and deliver it together, as a family.
7. Change for a difference.
Create a charity jar to be used by the family when allowances are distributed. Invite children to share some of their allowance with others through donating to the jar. As the jar fills, decide as a family where to contribute the contents. Read about various charities on the Internet and share this information with your children to help them make an informed decision.
Create a charity jar to be used by the family when allowances are distributed. Invite children to share some of their allowance with others through donating to the jar. As the jar fills, decide as a family where to contribute the contents. Read about various charities on the Internet and share this information with your children to help them make an informed decision.
8. Help elders.
Do things for the elderly that they have trouble doing for themselves. Pick up sticks in your neighbor's yard after a big windstorm. Mow the grass for Grandma. Wash Grandpa's car. Clean their windows in the spring. Help them plant flowers.
Do things for the elderly that they have trouble doing for themselves. Pick up sticks in your neighbor's yard after a big windstorm. Mow the grass for Grandma. Wash Grandpa's car. Clean their windows in the spring. Help them plant flowers.
9. Have a yard or garage sale.
Engage your child in the process including selecting toys, books, clothing and other items for the sale. With your child decide what percentage of the money received will go to meeting the needs of others and what cause. A lemonade stand or selling baked good during the sale is a good way to engage children directly in the project.
10. Water for workers.
During hot weather buy some bottle water. With your child place the water in a cooler. Then go for a drive around the community looking for construction workers or others exposed to the heat of summer and offer them a drink.
Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." John F. Kennedy
Scamming During Disaster
Regrettably there are many scams that take place in the midst of disasters that generous people are seeking to help. Here are some precautions to consider.
- Normally, give to charities that you are familiar with and you have supported in the past.
- Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
- Get a receipt, whenever possible, with the name of the charity on it.
- When receiving online requests, only open email attachments from trusted senders.
- Make sure the organization is legitimate. Go directly to the organization’s website and not an alleged link to the site.
- Be very cautious of individuals claiming to collect funds for the needs of a specific family or individual including those claiming to have established special bank accounts.
- Ask what percentage of the gifts will go to the intended purpose.
- Be very cautious of those soliciting money in person, by phone or in emails that allege that they represent fire fighters, law enforcement or other first responders. Many scams exist.
- Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions; this could lead to identity theft.
- Avoid cash donations. Whenever possible, pay with a check or credit card directly to the charity.
- When providing gifts-in-kind of clothing, relief items and other tangible property, make sure that those receiving the items represent a legitimate organization. Some will collect items that are not being provided to the intended users.
- Legitimate nonprofit organizations can found at www.guidestar.org
- For more information on scams can be found at www.LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com.
If you believe you have been a victim of a charity related scheme, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud by telephone at (866) 720-5721, or by fax at (225) 334-4707, or by e-mail at disaster@leo.gov.1
You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov.
You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Protecting Children of the Storm
Protecting Children in the Aftermath of Disaster
The historic tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011 has not only changed the physical landscape of the Alabama but the landscape of families as well. Parents and others charged with safeguarding children must understand that while the very young can be quite resilient they must be protected after disasters as well. And there are special threats that need consideration.
We are seeing a great outpouring of compassion and generosity all over the region. Neighbors, churches and local charities were the first on the scene to offer a helping hand. With each passing day more help arrives to the stricken areas. Situations like these bring out the best in people. But there are a small percentage of people who will attempt to cause additional harm by preying on our children.
From my decades of experience as a law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, foster parent and serving with Alabama’s most diverse and comprehensive, faith-based child and family service agency www.alabamachild.org I can assure you that those who would prey on our children are often the least suspected and often include those well known to the victims and their families.
Ironically, last weekend I was scheduled to conduct training for hundreds of church leaders providing weekday care for children in schools, day cares and other weekday activities. I will share with you a brief glimpse of what I would have shared with childcare providers.
Sexual Predators
As with all states, there are thousands of convicted sex offenders in Alabama. While some have been discovered, many live and work among us undetected. Sexual predators will often attempt “infiltrate” churches, charities, schools and other organizations serving children. Here's just a few ways to help protect "Children of the Storm."
- If you know a family staying in a disaster shelters insure that they are vigilant in knowing where there children are at all time. Shelters provided by the American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/ and the Salvation Army www.salvationarmyusa.org/ are among those who know the risk related to children and seek to provide adequate security and safeguards.
- Churches are second only to the public school system in the number of children served weekly. Yet, churches are vulnerable because they are a community of trust. Child predators sometimes seek affiliation with churches to access children. Ask the church providing disaster services for children whether or not they follow Child Protection First or similar policies. A sample of this policy can be found at http://www.alsbom.org/clientimages/36469/sbom_offices/leadercare_church_administration/protectingchildrenandyouthfromsexualmisconductinyourchurchcorrect.pdf
- When seeking childcare verify that all employees and volunteers with unaccompanied access to children have undergone a background screening. A sex offender central registry check is available at no cost through your county child protection agency. In Alabama, contact the county DHR Office. You can find the location at www.dhr.alabama.gov
- Insure that the child care facility has a child identification procedure that will prohibit unauthorized people from "checking out" children without proper authorization.
- If you suspect anyone of preying on children, abusing or attempting to abuse a child in anyway contact local law enforcement or your child protection agency. In Alabama a list of the county offices can be found at to http://dhr.alabama.gov/
- If you know of children whose parent(s) is/are hospitalized or were killed in this disaster and are not in the care of a legal guardian contact your county child protection agency.
- To learn who the registered sex offenders are in your community each state maintaining a database with public access. In Alabama the registry is found at http://dps.alabama.gov/Community/
For more information on protecting children in life’s storms please feel free to contact me.
In a future post I plan to share about the emotional health of children following disasters.
Blessings,
Bob
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