Do what you can, with what you have, where you are

-Theodore Roosevelt

If the word Philanthropy connotes an act of giving reserved only for the wealthiest or most privileged families, think again!

To be a Philanthropist simply means to DO GOOD by sharing your talents, interests, and resources of time, money, or voice. Acts of giving will look different for every family, but any effort, big or small, which blooms with intention to directly or indirectly improve the human condition now or for future generations, that’s Philanthropy!

How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.

-Anne Frank

Ready to get started? Here are a few ways you can cultivate a philanthropic spirit in your home:

Practice: The best way to begin to establish a new routine is to practice the desired behavior or skill. Integrate a tradition of giving, and communicate and nurture in your family life a value that says giving back is an important and worthwhile responsibility. Let the seasonal changes inspire your opportunities to give back, but don’t save all your love for the Holiday.

Lead by example: Invite your kids to observe and participate in your grown-up acts of philanthropy, whatever they may look like. Demonstrate your personal commitment to the causes your family chooses to support and work alongside your kids to accomplish shared goals. By working together you’ll foster a deeper connection with each other and develop a greater sense of purpose and belonging within the context of your community.

Identify or create an opportunity: Consider the shared interests of your family members, your combined availability, and the amount of time or money that you feel you can give. Let your child decide how he or she wants to get involved. Think big! Think small! Think local! Think International!  The opportunities you choose should encourage a sense of awareness, appreciation, curiosity, and compassion for others. Above all else keep it fun and age appropriate.

Document and celebrate your efforts: Keep track of the work your family does, the causes you contribute to, the events you volunteer for, or the small acts of kindness that you offer to others. Maybe you’ll take photos or video clips, keep a family journal, or create a wall hanging or poster to display in a common area of your home. However you choose to document your adventures, regularly review and celebrate all the ways your family works together to make your world a better place to live.

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.

-Anthony Robbins

Now that you’ve considered your family’s capacity for giving back you are ready to choose an organization, cause, or activity to invest in!

• Check out the HandsOnNetwork to find a HandsOn Action Center near you and identify existing volunteer opportunities in your area. Richmond’s action center can be found here. Once you’ve typed in your zip code, you can refine your search by a number of variables including age of volunteer. Last I checked there were opportunities for kids as young as 1 year to participate in a range of activities from holiday food and clothing drives, meal delivery, adopting residents and families, the list goes on! There are so many ways to make a difference.

• Use an online database like Volunteer Match to find a worthy cause or to inspire a service project of your own.

• Consider the local organizations and nonprofits that you value in your community and contact them to learn more about ways your family can contribute to their cause. Visit GuideStar.org to learn more about an organization’s mission, legitimacy, impact, reputation, finances, programs, transparency, governance, and so much more. Search by name, keyword, or location to find organizations that specialize in the causes you care most about and to find those that serve your area.

Other Resources and Inspiration:

If you’re looking for simple, family friendly activities that you can carry out on your own, check out this eBook about Family Volunteering. It’s full of great ideas from A to Z.

Also visit GenerationOn for online resource guides that cover topics like how to engage your family in local volunteer opportunities, how to plan a community service project for your family, instructions for at-home family service projects and more!

And here are a few books to add to your library:

• How to be an EveryDay Philanthropist:330 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Home, Community, and World – at No Cost!
• Doing Good Together: 101 Easy, Meaningful Service Projects for Families, Schools, and Communities
• The Kids Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference
  

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
-Dr. Seuss

We’ve all heard way too much about bullying in the news. Young kids taking their own lives because of bullying is an almost unreal possibility to most of us. But it happens – and much too often.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 is Unity Day 2013

It’s a day when the National Bullying Prevent Center encourages people around the country to help end bullying. Showing our true colors will help others see how important it is to stand up and protect our children (and adults!) against bullies.

Here’s what you can do to show your support:

• Make orange your color of the day.
• Wear something orange to signify your unity against bullying – orange t-shirt, hat, jewelry, or anything!
• ‘Attend’ and ‘Share’ the Unity Day Facebook event with family, friends, teachers, and others.
• Encourage your friends to participate in Unity Day by posting about it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with #UnityDay2013.
• Post pictures of anyone wearing ORANGE to the UNITY DAY Facebook Event page.
• Post photos of you wearing orange on October 9th on Instagram with #UnityDay2013.
• Update your Facebook status to “UNITY DAY, October 9th — Join the movement to make it ORANGE and make it end! If you are being bullied, you are not alone. Unite and be a champion against bullying!”
• Sign “The End of Bullying Begins With You” Petition.
• Stop bullying before it starts! Incorporate learning in the classroom, featuring a toolkit and activities from “The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin” designed for early learners.

Let’s show bullies that we won’t put up with them – and help protect our children against them too. Stand up and stand out on Wednesday, October 9 and wear your ORANGE!

Theresa is a mother who knows all-too-well how serious food allergies can be. Her son is allergic to peanuts and although she takes every precaution possible to protect him, she also knows that danger lurks around the corner. She spent the night in shock after hearing about the recent death of a young child and explains that “her worst fear came true for this Richmond family.” She expresses her feelings here for us. She also includes an extensive listing of tips and resources to help us keep children safe, in her article “Food allergy parent’s nightmare became a reality!”

Ammaria Johnson, a seven year old first grader at Hopkins Elementary School in Chesterfield, VA, died while attending school.

Tears! Shock! Fear!

Tears...How could we not protect this child? We failed her! The system failed her!

Shock… The school supposedly did not follow Ammaria’s food allergy action plan.  And it was reported that when Ammaria’s mother attempted to leave an EpiPen with the school, they instructed her to keep it at home.

FEAR! I have a child who is allergic to peanuts and attends first grade at a local public elementary school. This could have been my son. We can’t let our guards down.  We are our children’s protectors!

My mother writes, “We pray that hearts will be lifted and that some ray of light or hope can eventually shine in this family’s life. While our hearts are heavy, our heads must stay cool while the story unravels and we get to the truth.   And at the same time, we must be vigilant, stay sharp and do whatever needs to be done to protect our children, grandchildren….our families.”  I could not have said it better.

It is suspected that a friend shared their treat with seven year old Ammaria Johnson, which may have contained peanuts.  I have read that Ammaria’s food allergy action plan was not followed and that there was NOT an EpiPen on hand at the school for her.  According to CBS 6 News when Ammaria’s mother, Laura Pendleton, attempted to leave an Epipen with the school’s clinical aide, she was told to keep it at home.

EpiPens - because every second counts!

Please keep in mind that the facts of Ammaria Johnson’s death are dependent on the accuracy of the media.  The cause of death has not been confirmed by the Medical Examiner and the school has not released information.  Lets work together as parents, schools, caretakers, and teachers to keep all children safe.

Additional information on food allergies can be found at Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network or Kids with Food Allergies. These are non-profit organizations with invaluable education, advice, and support.

EpiPen carriers can be found at Allergy Apparel.

Theresa Marie Green is the owner of Allergy Apparel, dedicated to protecting and educating children and adults about the dangers of food allergies, and offering apparel and other things to create a safer world for children.

Photos of Brittany and suspected kidnapper Jeffrey Scott Easley are seen here.

A few Facebook posts for this child led me to the Brittany Smith AMBER Alert Facebook page, and I was relieved to see that social media plays such a positive role in spreading the word in situations like a child abduction.

There were also notes of frustration from others relating to why the alert was just put out even though Brittany has been gone for four days.  This got me thinking: how do these alerts work, and what should we know about them as parents? There’s a great site on the U.S. Department of Justice regarding AMBER alerts.

Here are a few of the most key observations in my view:

1) AMBER Alerts are incredibly successful, with a 90% discovery rate.

2) AMBER alerts work by coordinating broadcasts in a given area and interrupting programming, creating a sense of urgency in spreading the message of child abduction.

3) There exists specific criteria for an Amber Alert to be placed, including imminent danger to the child who must be under 17 years of age.

4) There are ways to ensure that Amber Alerts are legitimate and not falsified.

5) There is an initiative for Wireless Amber Alerts to send notifications directly to cell phones.

Please share this information so that Brittany may be found safe and sound.

The Holiday Party will include:

Santa Claus, who will be available for photos you’ll be able to take home with you courtesy of Real Life Studios.
Parney the Elf and Nutzy will also be available for holiday photo opportunities.
Live holiday music
Hot chocolate and cookies
Crafts area where kids will be able to make a Candy Cane Reindeer.
Squirrels Nest Merchandise store will also be open throughout the event for holiday shopping.

The Diamond will also have Christmas tree lot at the ballpark. The Diamond Christmas Tree Lot will include hundreds of live Christmas trees, wreaths, garland, tree stands and more. The Diamond Christmas Tree Lot will be open throughout the holiday party and is located in the Flying Squirrels Birthday Zone at the ballpark. The lot will be open November 26th though December 24th, daily from 9 am to 8 pm.

So for a second year we walked together and raised $3,625 to become one of the top three teams to walk in this amazing 5-mile jaunt around the city of Richmond.

We are so thankful to our sponsors, Children R First Consulting and American Family Fitness, who provided awesome t-shirts for our dynamic team. Love for you to join us next year.

Thanks to , and our t-shirt sponsors!

Below is a letter from Jennifer:

Aden Kashinejad is 4 years old. He has blond hair, green eyes and the most beautiful smile you will ever see. He loves swinging and sliding, balloons, books and anything to do with water. Looking at Aden you would never know that he has a debilitating disorder known as Autism. Autism affects every aspect of Aden’s life…and the lives of everyone around him. Aden was diagnosed with Autism just before his 2nd birthday. As you can imagine, receiving a diagnosis such as Autism is devastating. We were heartbroken and terrified for what the future would hold for us and more importantly for Aden. Initially, the journey seemed long and extremely lonely. But, as Aden progressed and we became more informed, we realized that Autism did not define Aden and that by involving our family and friends in our journey, the load would become more bearable. Aden has come a very long way since being diagnosed with Autism. He is above where he should be academically and he is much more interested in engaging with others. But for all of his intelligence, Aden still has very limited speech, trouble interacting appropriately with others and has trouble processing the world around him. Autism is a complex brain disorder that often inhibits a person’s ability to communicate, respond to their surroundings or form relationships with others. Autism spectrum disorders affect people of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and occurs in as many as 1 in 150 births, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, aids and down syndrome combined. And the numbers are still rising!! Currently the cause for autism is unknown and there is no known cure.

Thank you in advance for your consideration, support and prayers. It means more to us than we could possibly express.
Jennifer, Doni, Aden and Kaleb Kashinejad

Charles needs a family that will nurture him but also provide him with consistent rules. A home where Charles will be encouraged and challenged to try new things is a place he could call home.

Meet Charles

Age: 14

Grade in school: 9th

Favorite TV show: “Sponge Bob,” “Cops”

Hobbies: Fixing things, reading, writing, helping people.

Charles is happiest when: He is singing.

Charles thinks school is: Fun.

When Charles grows up: He wants to be a cop.

Charles wants a family: “That is nice and will take good care of me.”

The Children’s Home Society of Virginia works to find Richmond kids like Charles a safe, loving home. Contact them at: www.chsva.org, 804.353-0191.