Can you teach philanthropy to kids? This summer, I tested the idea with my young girls by holding a lemonade stand to raise money for the local animal shelter. The problem? We live in the woods, so challenges abound.
Here’s how we tackled the problem, big and small, that raised money against the odds for the Cherryland Humane Society.
🟢 Start Early
Children can be generous at a young age, even as toddlers. I have oh so many studies to prove that.
🤔 Involve Them in Decisionmaking
Let them choose causes to support. Once our girls knew that helping animals (real ones, not stuffies) was involved, it turbocharged their efforts to do the lemonade stand immediately. Which leads me to….
🎨 Make it Fun
These girls love their art (all day, every day, anyway), so crafting their OWN lemonade stand was a clutch move.
✅ Plan For Success, Anticipate Failure
We live deep in the woods, and foot traffic is rare. So, while the above points made the girls clamor to make their stand ASAP, we set expectations that even a few hikers donating a buck or two would be successful. More importantly, we PLANNED > We hosted the Lemonade Stand on a sunny Sunday when hikers abound. Texts were sent (by me, not them -- What are you, crazy?) to neighbors and daytrippers who hike our trails.
🗻 Lead By Example
Granted, I work in philanthropy, yet that is not enough. I cannot inspire anyone by saying, “Hey, look at me write this donor letter” while sitting at my laptop, nor can I expect people to support the causes I prefer.
But I can try new things in new ways.
I’ve never hosted a lemonade stand or visited a humane shelter.
So, by igniting the idea and offering advice along the way, perhaps in the end, THEY were leading ME.
Which is the ultimate end goal of philanthropy, right? Some start, some lead, some follow, yet all gain something of value.
#Philanthropy #FamilyValues #MakeAStand
