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

Free Printable Valentines for Kids

Kids love to exchange valentines on Valentine's Day. Valentines are going up in price just like everything else. How about a green, creative, money saving option? Free printable valentines for school exchanges? Here are many to choose from.  Free Valentines

Shopping, Money Saving Tips for Welfare Recipients

"Octomom" Nadya Suleman, the single mom of 14 (including octuplets) is back on welfare again, says TMZ. Suleman is an extreme example of negative welfare stereotype. But her unhealthy financial choices highlight key issues that we can all learn from. Here are money tips for parents on welfare, culled from five months when we received food stamps and Medicaid.   Money Tips for Welfare Recipient Parents

Minimalist Lifestyle is Healthy for Kids, Parents

My out-of-the house son and I were recently discussing the minimalist lifestyle. We noticed how many people claim to be minimalists but in fact aren't. Case in point: money. It's easy to talk about living simply, but much harder to do it. And now that our son is paying his own way, he realizes why dad and I were so frugal when he was growing up. He sees first-hand how expensive things are and how easy it is get deep in debt. Avoiding debt is one reason parents should live simply. Here are others.  Living minimally is good for families

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

Holiday Wish Lists for Detroit Nonprofits

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. If you're looking to donate in your area, use these guidelines for giving. Each charity will have its own list of needs, but these are good basic recommendations.  Read more

Advent Almsgiving, Service Project for all Ideologies

If we're not careful Christmas ends up being more about receiving than giving, with adults as much as kids. It's not that kids are so selfish, it's that marketing campaigns target children and bombard them with images of thousands of 'must-have' toys, gadgets and goodies. Who can blame kids for wanting all that cool stuff? To say a child is selfish is to state an obvious, but not necessarily negative, fact of childhood. Being self-centered is how they learn to care for and protect themselves. But excessive selfishness is taught, not inherent. So do how do we teach empathy? By telling kids not to want things? Nope--shaming is unhealthy. It's also counterproductive. Better to teach positive, proactive sharing and caring.  Here's a printable advent almsgiving activity. And you don't have to be Catholic or Christian to observe advent virtues. I have friends in every faith group and ideology--Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Buddhist, Wiccan, Bahai, Sikh, Hindu, animist--all practice similar acts of mercy and charity. This can activity can be used with children, no matter what their family creed. Advent Giving

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

Free Stone Soup Lesson Plans to Teach Sharing

When I was in kindergarten we did a classroom Thanksgiving activity that has stuck with me all my life. We made Friendship Soup, also called 'Stone Soup' (taken from the old legend retold by Marcia Brown). Perfect for schools, scout troops, church groups, day care and homeschool, making Friendship Soup or Stone Soup shows what wonderful things can happen when people share. Here are Stone Soup lesson plans to build community, develop awareness and teach social responsiveness. Friendship Soup and 'Stone Soup' Classroom Lesson Plan Activities for Thanksgiving 

Student volunteer service credit opportunities: Tips for parents

Volunteering is a buzzword in educational circles. To raise student awareness, groups like United Way coordinate student volunteer programs. Many schools require kids to perform a set number of community service credits to graduate. Elementary and middle schools are getting in on the act, too. If your student needs earn community service credits here are some suggestions.  Student volunteer service credit opportunities: Tips for parents