Have you thought of yourself as a hero? You should. Today’s kids have named family members, teachers, and mentors as their heroes over entertainers or politicians.
On January 18, you will have an opportunity to exemplify yourself as a hero by teaching your nieces and nephews how to give back through the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service.
Designated a national day of service in 1994, this day honors Dr. King’s legacy by turning community concerns into citizen action and community service. Fueled by President Obama’s National Call to Service, a record number of people turned out last year. In total more than 13,000 projects took place, more than doubling the 5,000 project record held the year before.
For some people, the commitment to the 2010 MLK Day of Service began to build momentum last summer. If you haven’t already signed up for duty, there may not be an organization that can easily support your helping hands.
Fear not, there’s always a plethora of do-good deeds you can do on your own or with your nieces and nephews. The following projects and ideas were offered by KooDooZ.com – a portal of engagement with the mission of helping KDZ (“kids”) and their families find their life balance of Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit through social good.
Heart: The Gift Of Giving
Homeless youth represent one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Hunger has an impact on children’s health and mental health. Access to school supplies is another issue. Consider the life of a child whose parents simply are unable to afford to buy him the items he wants, or desperately needs. Is there something within your home, or at a store which could be provided to a homeless child? Create a gift bag for homeless youth and bring the bag to local shelter.
Mind: I Have A Story
Local libraries offer a plethora of books about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and heroes like him. Have a conversation with your nieces and nephew about what they’ve done that they felt was important. Together, write your own “I have a story” journal entry, then read and share details about each other’s journey.
Body: Walk The Walk
Is there a senior citizen home, hospital, nursery school, or shelter in your neighborhood? Design your own crafty gift, select a book from which to read, deliver needed items or identify a skill you could teach. Walk to the location together (a mile or more, age dependent) and discuss the significance of your gift.
Spirit: Out Of The Box
For those of you who do not live close to your favorite kids, a combination of the three challenges above could be developed for long-distance service learning. Create a service care package with all the elements for kids to spend the day serving others. Gather all the supplies needed to make valentines cards for a local senior center. Make creative instructions, and mail your “Savvy Auntie Approved” community service in a box so they will have a fun activity. This can be done for virtually any time of craft, scavenger hunt, and so on.
Not every Savvy Auntie will have the opportunity to spend The MLK National Day of Service with their nieces and nephews. Not every woman who loves kids is an “aunt”, so we suggest the following activities for those without nieces and nephews that day.
Aunt For The Day
This national day of service, make your service being an “aunt” to others. Local shelters, orphanages, boys and girls clubs, and schools are always looking for responsible, creative, and loving adults to volunteer with kids. Make the way you serve being the aunt you love being, and give that energy and attention to a child that may not otherwise get it. Checking ahead with local organizations for availability and requirements is the best plan!
Get Back To History
Choose a local museum and make a mini fill in the blank sheet (scaled to age) for nieces and nephews to fill out during your trip to the museum. Museum websites will have information about exhibits and work currently on display, which can help shape a meaningful “hunt” for kids to participate in. Asking questions about who they were most inspired by, who they would consider a hero that they learned about, etc. will shape the way they process the information they take in during the day.
Many thanks to Lee Fox, founder and chief innovation officer of KooDooZ.com, for her ideas and thoughts. In addition to being mom to three kids (ages 10, 9, and 6), Lee is the fun and crazy aunt to nine nephews and four nieces. She lives in the hills of Malibu, California, and enjoys taking the young ones hiking to find fossils and hidden tree forts. On rainy days, she opens up National Geographic magazines to explore new concepts and builds replica structures from Styrofoam and cardboard.
Scott Henderson is principal of Rally The Cause Productions and is also "Uncle Scott" to eight nieces and nephews