Back to school shopping: Remember Operation Christmas Child and Christmas toy donations

Are you looking for a nifty charity to donate toys to this Christmas? Why not explore Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. This group collects Christmas shoeboxes filled with with gifts for needy kids around the world. To participate, get a shoebox and fill it with toys, school supplies, articles of clothing, personal care products, candy, books and other little gifts. Drop it off at one of the locations here or mail it in.

We've been doing this as a family since it started in 1993. We shop back to school sales for pencils, glue sticks, notebooks, markers, crayons, scissors, pens, activity booklets, coloring books and craft sets.  We fill our boxes with small backpacks, cuddle toys, hair accessories, toy cars, small brush and comb, wash cloth, energy bars, powdered vitamin drink, prayer cards, jewelry, sunglasses, socks and T-shirt. Shopping sales, especially back-to-school, I was able to get all these items for about $12-$15 per box. 2017 shoe boxes are due Nov. 13 to Nov. 20 and drop-off locations are listed on the website.

Don't forget to pick up extra school supplies at back to school sales to donate to those in need. 

Non-Profit Wish Lists for Year-Round Giving

Winter is particularly hard on the homeless and those in need. And 2014 was a terrible winter in Michigan. In Detroit, cold temperatures send many to shelters and missions. Agency resources get depleted more quickly during the holidays. Here are wish lists of needed items at Metro Detroit nonprofit organizations. In spring, many missions find themselves short of resources. Here's a list of shelter needs, to keep giving going year-round. Holiday Wish Lists for Detroit Nonprofits

Watch the Pennies, the Dollars Will Take Care of Themselves

My mother-in-law is a spouter of adages. I hate schmaltzy sayings. I wouldn't have gotten along with Ben Franklin. One MIL repeats ad nauseum is "take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." Then she proceeds to spend all the pennies and dollars and claim insolvency. But neither my annoyance nor her hypocrisy, negate the saying. And it's a good maxim for earning,saving, frugal spending and giving. Read on.     Online Writing Tips Mind the Pennies, the Dollars Take Care of Themselves

Lenten Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving Activities for Children

The Catholic Lenten season of Lent is fast approaching. In lent, we practice gospel virtues: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. We seek to draw near God, by imitating Christ's suffering. Those acts in turn help us grow stronger. Here are lenten sacrifice activities for children.  Lenten Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving Activities for Children

Volunteering is Just That, A Gift of Free Time and Service

Whenever there's a call for volunteers, my hand is usually the first up. Well, it used to be till I wised up. Don't get me wrong. Volunteer work is still important to me. I'm just choosier about what I agree to help with. It has to meet my criteria.

* Do they really need help? I volunteered to chaperon a dance after reading how desperate they were for help. Got there and just stood around. The organizer had gotten a better response than expected and didn't bother to tell anyone so they could decide if they really had time. Read on.   Volunteering is Just That

What to Give and Not Give to Food Banks

Do you donate to food banks? If so, what kind of things do you give? I have issues with some items our church food pantry requests: Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, boxed macaroni and cheese, boxed potatoes. I don't buy these products and I'm doing people a service not buying it for them.
This "food" isn't food at all. It's full of fat and sodium and just convenience junk. If food is going to homeless people, I see why packaged is essential. They have no place to cook. But presumably the recipients of our food pantry do, ergo the Hamburger Helper request. I know non-perishables work best but there are better packaged food options.  Do You Give to Food Pantries? What Food do You Donate?

Advent Calendar Service Project Craft

Many of us parents have found Christmas to be about receiving not giving with our children. It's not that kids are selfish, it's that marketing campaigns bombard them with products to want. Who can blame kids for wanting all that cool stuff? To say, 'you're selfish' to a child is to state an obvious, but not necessarily negative fact. Telling them not to desire is pointless.  It's part of how children learn to meet their own needs. We can give them opportunities to practice giving, sharing too though, especially at Advent. Here's an advent calendar craft with sharing opportunities.Advent Math, Writing Project Craft

Pack Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Now

I'm putting together my Operation Christmas Child shoebox for Samaritan's Purse. Since 1993, these gift boxes have been shipped around the world to kids in need. We've been participating for about that long. Here's how I'm saving $11 packing it in person. But packing a box online works great for homebound and elderly.Packing Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoe box

Time to Think Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child

Back to School sales are a great time to stock up on stocking stuffers for Christmas. They're great sources for cheap gifts for holiday toy donations. Looking for a good children's charity try Operation Christmas Child from Samaritans Purse. This group collects shoeboxes of Christmas presents for needy kids. To participate, fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, articles of clothing, personal care products, candy, books. The website lists suggestions and what to avoid (breakables, liquids, war toys). Print a shipping label from website and indicate age and gender the box is for. Include $7 donation for shipping (a pretty fair deal considering weight and goods shipped). Boxes are due Nov. 18-25 and drop-off locations listed on the website.  Best Childrens Charities for Holiday Toy Drives Operation Christmas Child

Diet Tip of the Day: Purge, Donate Fat Clothes

I've lost 80 pounds. I'm not trying to brag, but to share healthy, safe weight loss tips that work for me. So today's weight loss tip: purge the fat clothes. Get them out of your closet. I just did that for the second time. I'd done it a few months ago but missed weeding out the summer garments.

As you take them out, try the clothes on. Look at how they DON'T fit anymore. Notice how they sag. It's incredibly therapeutic to see how big your clothes have gotten, or should I say how tiny you have gotten. Take photos of you wearing outfits. I like to compare how I looked when I was fat and how the same outfit looks now. Diet Tip of the Day: Purge, Donate Fat Clothes

Lenten and Easter Almsgiving Activity

As Catholic homeschoolers education focused around the liturgical year in our family. Holy Week is the pinnacle of the church year. We practice lenten virtues of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in solidarity with our Lord and in preparation for our Easter celebration. In our homeschool career, we explored many avenues of sacrifice and service. One simple activity became very meaningful. We are fortunate to live near several mission-type sites which provide immediate care and help to those in need. Our church twins with a parish in Haiti. Many Staples outlets gather school supplies. Using these resources we made lenten care kits.Lenten and Easter Activity 

Catholic Relief Services Lenten Rice Bowl Activities

Catholic Relief Services is the single largest non-governmental relief agency in the world. Each year at Lent CRS initiates what is called 'Operation Rice Bowl'. Operation Rice Bowl is a program which focuses our attention on the cardinal aims of the Lenten season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The Rice Bowl project consists of a cardboard box which when assembled, looks very much like the take out boxes that rice comes in. The Rice Bowl is a box which families set up in their homes during Lent to collect loose change and offerings for the poor and hungry of the world. Operation Rice bowl also includes a Lenten prayer calendar with devotional activities, feast days and stations of the cross. Each calendar day has a prayer focus. Specific information about world poverty statistics and needs from around the world are listed also.  Lenten Rice Bowl Devotional and Lesson Planner

Wishlists for shelters, missions, food banks

Winter is particularly hard on the homeless and those in need. In Detroit, cold temperatures send many to shelters and missions. Agency resources get depleted more quickly during the holidays. Here are wish lists of needed items at Metro Detroit nonprofit organizations.  Read more

Suggested Donations for Thanksgiving Food Drives

It's time to start putting together Thanksgiving food baskets for those in need. With the sluggish economy the need will likely be even greater this years. Here's a list of the canned goods and food donations to give this holiday season. It might seem unnecessary to list suggested items for a food basket. But I've worked at food banks and missions. There are certain foodstuffs and personal items that are donated in abundance and rarely needed. There are also items it seems we always run out of. Note: send foods that can be eaten unheated. Choose cans with pull-off lids. Needy folks don't always have access to appliances or can openers. Best Foods Items to Donate to Thanksgiving Food Drives

2012 Back to School Giveaway Events, School Festivals in Detroit

Charity begins in our own neighborhoods. Several organizations in Detroit understand this. They're hosting back-to-school events that give back to the community. According to the Detroit News, shoppers will spend an average $688 per child on back-to-school purchases. Several organizations in Detroit are hosting back-to-school giveaway events to help defray expenses for parents. Here's a list of school supplies giveaways and back-to-school festivals in downtown Detroit. 2012 Back-to-School Giveaway Events, School Festivals in Detroit