Charity begins at home is a phrase we hear often. The meaning of this saying is to start by helping those in need who are close to you first. What if it meant bringing up conscious and caring children by teaching them how to be involved in charity work from a young age.
Build a culture of empathy in our privilege youth so that we can get children more involved in charity, and they can do the same for their children.
Great ways to get children more involved in charity
Choose something children love
If a child has an affinity with animals and loves to be around them find a local charity that allows young ones to volunteer for a few hours on the weekend and play with the cats/dogs, feed them, pet them. This will teach the child responsibility as well as an understanding of charity and giving back.
This applies to all types of charity.
The effects of conscious living
Just by making young children aware of the knock-on effects of littering or being wasteful with food or excessive plastic use will slowly teach them to notice things around them.
This will lead to an interest in the betterment of their community and people and can grow into an interest in becoming part of a cleanup project or feeding scheme.
Get involved in charity-based events
These days, there are so many active events that are charity-based. Young children can take part in a charity run or cycle or even attend a quiz or outdoor event.
This allows children to see that helping can be fun and interactive. And the bonus is that children are being active/creative while giving back.
If we, as adults, take the time and effort to help children learn about charity work early on in life, we have done a great job.
At this time in South Africa, it is so important to have empathy and kindness to those in a worse off position than us so let’s create caring, kind children.
