Entries in the Category 'Giving'

What can we do for Haiti?

January 18th, 2010 / No Comments

Everyone is talking about Haiti.
Is it enough to just talk about Haiti?
My son reminded me yesterday that it’s possible to feel strong emotions about a devastating situation and that in itself somehow gives us the impression that we’ve done our part. Our mere sympathy for Haiti shows that we are compassionate people, and that appeases [...]

Money and Values

September 10th, 2009 / No Comments

My 20-year-old daughter earned a little money working as an intern for an engineering firm this summer. As she had to decide where to spend her hard-earned money, it was an exercise in clarifying her values while learning more about herself.
She had no qualms about spending a sizable amount of money taking her little sister [...]

Be a host for the Fresh Air fund

March 18th, 2009 / No Comments

Imagine a child living in the toughest neighborhoods of New York City. How can he have a chance to experience the beauty of nature, to go hiking, to get some Fresh Air?
Now he can, with THE FRESH AIR FUND!
The Fresh Air fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 [...]

Making the world a better place

February 26th, 2009 / No Comments

A year ago I wrote a post on 3 ways we can set an example to our children to make the world a better place.
Now more than ever, in our current state of the economy where people are distressed about one thing or another, it is important for everyone of us to do our part [...]

Teaching your children to budget for gifts

December 8th, 2008 / 1 Comment

How do you help your children budget for Christmas gifts for their friends?
What do you do when your children want to buy an expensive gift for a friend they don’t know that well?
Is it ok to say, “You can’t spend that much on someone you don’t know that well.”? Does it sound like I’m teaching [...]

Doing our part in alleviating poverty

November 11th, 2008 / No Comments

My recent participating in Blog Action Day made me realize that if we all do a little, we can accomplish a lot.
Poverty can be an overwhelming issue, but if we each do a little, we can indeed make a difference. One way to do so is to participate with The League.

And it’s a great way [...]

A little giving goes a long way

October 15th, 2008 / No Comments

Dr. James Dobson tells the story of going to the market, and standing in the checkout line behind an elderly woman. She was obviously not all there, and was fumbling around her purse for money to pay for the groceries. It was obvious to the checker and to Dr. Dobson that she had much more [...]

Blog Action Day – alleviating poverty

October 14th, 2008 / 5 Comments

The holiday season is coming up fast – that gift-giving season of Christmas.
Are the images of throngs of shoppers at the mall stressing you out already?
What if I told you there is a meaningful gift you can give, without fighting crowds at the mall?
What if I told you that this gift teaches values, is not [...]

What is a community service LEAGUE?

September 17th, 2008 / No Comments

Are your children involved in some sort of  sports league? Many of my friends have children in soccer leagues and basketball leagues.  Some are in tennis clubs, and swimming competitions.
But how about a community service LEAGUE where schools work on community projects and get recognized and connect with other schools?
Yes, there is such a [...]

Learning to give back

April 17th, 2008 / 3 Comments

A 20-something year old girl at church said something to me on Sunday that was incredibly mature.
“I decided to stay at this church because when I was growing up at this church, a lot of people here contributed to my growth. Now I want to give back and help other people grow at this church.”
I [...]

Tom Hsieh, an inspiration

March 2nd, 2008 / 3 Comments

How many Gen Xers do you know would choose to deny himself of a big house, nice car, vacations, choose to live on $38,000 and give away the rest of his $200k+ a year salary, choose to live in a lower economic neighborhood to share God’s love?
In our culture of excesses and accumulation of toys, [...]