Celebrate Giving’s First Event!

August 2022 | by Molly Martin

With just a few days left in the summer, I walked through the aisles of Target with my two kids.  All I heard from my 3 and 5-year-old was “I need this, I want that” as we shopped for back to school. I left those aisles feeling like the jam-packed cart was full of things we were lucky enough to be able to buy but certainly didn’t need.  How could my kids want so much but really need nothing? I knew then it was my job to teach them that it is our responsibility to help others who are not in the same position.

We called all of our friends in the neighborhood, moms who I have heard also want to teach their children how to take care of their community and we planned a party, a packing party! Within a week we received donations from family and friends, backpacks, folders, markers, glue sticks, and everything that is typically on a back to school list.  We set up an assembly line and got to work! We explained to our children that we were packing 100 backpacks for children around town that we wanted to make feel special on their first day of school. At the end of the assembly line each child colored a note that said “This bag was packed by…” Within an hour, 100 kids had new bags packed and ready for the start of school.  Equally as important, our children learned how great it feels to make other people feel good.