Poverty, homelessness, and hunger have always tugged at my heartstrings, especially when children are involved. There are more than 16 million children in America that are living in poverty. Not only this amount of children that live in poverty is staggering, but it’s sad to say that child poverty is continuously on the rise. Our children are our future. The least thing we can do for them is helping them reach their full potential. Break the cycle of poverty by giving back. That’s why my heart jumps in joy and happiness because there are many ways I can help make a difference in their lives.
Donate/Volunteer at Food Banks Throughout the Year
Children need the proper nutrition to excel socially and academically. A balanced and nutritious diet enables a child to reach their full potentiality as it’s crucial for physical growth and brain development. Many don’t realize the fact that hunger isn’t a seasonal issue. That’s why we shouldn’t just donate or volunteer our time during the holidays. Many food banks start experiencing a decline in food donations during the first quarter. They often refer it as a “spring hunger gap” when their food supply is at its lowest level. The hunger crisis is at its historic high and is sadly and continuously on the rise. We can spark change in this epidemic by breaking the cycle of the hunger crisis by giving back throughout the year, whether it’s via donations or volunteering.
Offer Free Tutoring
One of the underlying causes of poverty is the lack of education. Tutoring a child can help pave the way to success for them down the road.
Start a Children’s Book Club
One of the ways that your child can get involved is starting a children’s book club. Statistics indicate that 1 in 4 children in America grows up without learning how to read. They’re 4x likelier to drop out of high school if they don’t read proficiently by the third grade. This can result in a host of issues as they reach adulthood, including poverty and crime. 70% of the inmates in America are unable to read past a fourth-grade level. Starting a children’s book club can help foster the love of reading, improve literacy statistics, prevent dropouts, and create a more promising future.
Break the Cycle with Social Media
The digital age that we live in has made it easier than ever to help break the cycle of poverty. The power of social media has given us an unprecedented opportunity to create change and influence others worldwide.
Band Together
I love when companies like Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company are striving to make a difference in the world! Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company will be donating $2 million that will support three of the most important causes: hunger, health, and home. Organizations such as Feeding America, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Food Banks Canada, or Habitat for Humanity will be supported via their Jewelers Mutual “Band Together” campaign.
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company will be unable to do this unless we band together since they need our help in deciding which organization should be awarded $1 million. We can do this by voting for the cause of our choice between now and July 31th, 2016, at 11 PM CT. $700,000 will be awarded to the runner-up and the third-place winner will receive $300,000.
In addition, they’ll be hosting a weekly giveaway. Each week, one person will receive a set of three stacking bands (a $450 value) from STACKED New York. It’s recommended to vote daily to increase your chances, especially since each vote is counted as an entry!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
These are great tips, and this is a great company! I’m always a big fan of corporations that give back to communities. We need more of that.
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These are great ways to help make a difference in our own communities. It really just takes a little time and effort to help sometimes it’s not always about money. I love that this drives that point home.
So many wonderful ways and ideas to make a difference. And I just love the quote by Walt Disney!
What a great way to be able to pay it forward. I love to see companies support and raise money for charities like this.
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These are definitely great ways to help our communities. I love that quote too! 🙂 Wise man he was.
We donate to our local food bank every month. It is important to give back to the community. I volunteer to help out when I can.
I think these are all wonderful ideas. I try to help out when I can. I always donate food to local food banks too.
What a great list for areas your children can make a difference in their community. My daughter is going to be doing peer tutoring this year at her school.
I donate whenever I possibly can and love these other ideas. Paying it forward is something I always try to do.
These are definitely some great ways to build a brighter future for our children. I love the idea of starting a children’s book club!
We volunteer at our food pantry a few times a year. They appreciate the help and my kids learn a valuable lesson.
This is such a great cause! I love to see big companies giving back like this. Great photos of you too!
Love when companies give back. The stacking bands look beautiful. I hope I win and help in giving back too.
Fantastic post. I hadn’t heard of Jewelers Insurance before. I loved all your ideas. When I was an elementary principal I had a kids book club. We met at lunch and had a fantastic time talking about books!
It is truly a shame that so many children grow up in poverty. I’m glad to see Jewelers Insurance is doing their part to help out.
I love this post!! And we try to donate to food banks at least twice a year–around Easter and also Thanksgiving. I should really try to do it more though!
I love the idea of starting a childrens book club. My son would absolutely go crazy for that idea since he’s such an avid reader!
Feeding the hungry is such an important roll in each and every community. This week, I’m participating in a few programs that give back. Love the stacking band idea—it’s for such a great cause!
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Thank you so very much for this post. I have worked my entire adult life in various community services to better the lives of children. Children fall through the cracks in many community projects.
As a mom to 2 little kids, I can so relate! I worry about the communities they live in and the future of their world!
I have helped run three separate ministries with my family since I was very young. It makes a huge difference in the community when you just do one thing.
That sounds like a great cause and this is a good list of ideas to help people get started. I’ve never heard of this company but I love when companies give back.
I’ve teamed up with my son’s preschool and help give back to children with disabilities. It’s so important to give back to your community.
Lovely ideas to make the difference! We all need to do our part for a better world. Thanks for this lovely post.
I am continuously baffled by the poverty and hunger statistics in the U.S. – it’s surprising. I donate to food banks and participate in food drives whenever I can.
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What a lovely thing for a big company to do, and what a great way to get involved and do something positive within the community!
What an awesome campaign! I love when companies decide to give back to causes that can actually make a difference.
Ooooooo what great ways to help out in our communities!!!! Corporations that give back are always a favorite with me 🙂
These are really great tips. I love when businesses give back to the community. I personally think it should be a requirement that businesses all do some sort of philanthropic work.