Posts filed under ‘Volunteer’
Chipper Tips: ‘Tis the Season of Giving
“Your children need your presence more than your presents.” - Jesse Jackson
Instead of having your kids obsess over what they want for Christmas, try something a little different this Holiday Season: Give gifts to those in need! Teach your kids to be generous and compassionate at an early age by taking them to a local food drive, have them help you giveaway or buy warm clothes for those who have nothing, or donate some old toys! If you want your kids to care about others, you need to show them how to do it. You’re their most influential teacher in life!
Have a Chipper Christmas of Giving!
As the wonderful quote above implies, spend more time connecting and having fun with your kids this Christmas season than shopping for gifts. Have the family make gifts for each other this year or have a set amount to spend (lowers money/buying stress!). Try making Recycle Christmas Ornaments together for your tree. Or just play a favorite board game. Time spent with loved ones is more valuable than any material object you could buy!
Another way to give back this Christmas would be to bake and deliver cookies to people who have to work on Christmas Eve–at the airport, in hospitals, the fire station, even stores. Check ahead of time, since places these days have certain protocol about accepting gifts. But doing this as a family would brand your children’s memory with the importance of loving on others, even in small ways. (It’s the little things that count the most!)
Let’s Go Chipper is giving back by donating our Get Ready To Fly Activity Kit (HALF OFF this Holiday Season) and our Helping Hands Book, plus a few other Chipper goodies, to several schools on the East Coast that were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Sandy. We are also donating all our proceeds from our Helping Hands book this past month to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
All proceeds from our Helping Hands book will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Click here to purchase!
Shape what Christmas means to your child(ren) this year and they will hold it with them when they have children of their own! Have a Chipper Holiday Season!
Chipper Tips: Donate and Give Thanks!
Donating food and goods to the needy is a great way to teach your child to give!
November is the month of giving! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now’s the time to clear our those cabinets and closets. There are many, many people in need of food and warm clothes this Holiday Season. We can all make a difference by giving away and donating to our local food drive! Find a food bank near you or donate to Feeding America online!
Feeding The Turkey!
Teach your child(ren) to be generous and giving by setting an example! Take them to your local Turkey Donation Station and make generosity fun! Having them put cans of food or extra warm clothes in the donation bins themselves is empowering and creates healthy habits! Actions speak louder than words–don’t just talk about it, DO IT!
Donation Turkey in Corte Madera Town Square, CA
Giant turkey’s are a great attraction to bring in donations and also make it fun for the kids! Don’t have a donation station in your neighborhood? Start one! Or, learn how to create your own VIRTUAL food drive!
Donate or host your own Toys for Tots Drive so those in need can get a Christmas Day present too!
Get Ready to Fly with Chipper’s Airplane Activity Kit this 25% OFF Holiday Season–perfect for a kids travel gift or your next family trip!
Let’s Go Chipper is not only donating food locally, we are donating our Get Ready to Fly Activity Kit to kids in need this Holiday season! Get your own Chipper Airplane Activity Kit for more than %25 OFF this Holiday Season!
All proceeds from our Helping Hands book will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Click here to purchase with 25% OFF!
In addition, all our November proceeds from our Helping Hands book, which teaches kids how to help out around the house and community, will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Lend a Helping Hand this month and give back to those in need!
Let’s Go Chipper this Thanksgiving: Lend a Helping Hand to those in need!
November is the month of giving and thanks. Chipper wants to teach our little ones compassion and generosity and the best way to inspire is by setting an example! That’s why Chipper is reaching out and making requests for any schools or kids in need. Chipper is putting his holiday list together for gift donations so contact us soon!
We are also donating all our November proceeds from our book, Helping Hands, to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. The Red Cross and other disaster relief groups have been working hard, day and night, to support communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy and make sure they have food and water. Help Chipper help others in need by purchasing your copy today and spreading the word!
All proceeds from our Helping Hands book will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund! Click here to purchase!
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, making a Helping Hands tree craft is a great activity to teach your little ones to lend a Helping Hand! Just print out some of Chipper’s Little Helping Hands coloring sheets (just save the image below, then print!) Use recycled paper when possible and talk about ways we can help the planet!
Begin making your tree by taping or gluing strips of brown construction paper or recycled paper bags to a recycled cardboard tree trunk. All you need is some tape or glue and a pair of scissors! We made the Helping Hand Tree shown below for a community Chipper Camp-out at the Sequoya Country Club, CA in under 10 minutes! See a video of the event here.
Then have your kids write something they have done to help out family, community or the environment on their hand. Then color and cut out. Use the hands as leaves for your tree!
Now place your tree somewhere in your home or classroom to admire. Add more hands with every new way they help out! Make a fun game out of it and challenge your kids to fill up your tree by Thanksgiving! Then they can share all they’ve done to help with friends and family and discuss other ways to help out!
Let’s Go Chipper and Lend a Helping Hand this Holiday Season!
Chipper Tips: Community Helpers of Labor Day Weekend
As most of us know, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It’s a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday tributes the working class contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day.Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. Military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland reconciled with Reyes, leader of the labor movement. Fearing further conflict, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday; Cleveland signed it into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Learn more about Labor Day’s origins here.
Helping hands made by Girl Scouts at their 100th Year Anniversary. How have you helped out today?
This holiday is usually celebrated with summer activities – swimming, camping, picnics, etc., and is the unofficial end of summer in the Northern part of the U.S. Most schools usually start sometime during the week after Labor Day. Elementary teachers use this holiday to introduce the concept of Community Helpers to small children. In an ideal society – everyone plays a role, or works a job that supports the community.
Chipper teaches kids all about helping out each other, family, and their communities in his latest book, Helping Hands. By positively reinforcing the good that comes when we all work together, children will be ready to lend their hands and hearts around the home, school, and community. Try out our Helping Hands craft! Print out the helping hand coloring page and have your child color it and write a few things they have done to help out around the house or for the environment. Then hang up on fridge with a magnet (check out our cool home-made mini-magnet craft!) so your kids can be proud of their accomplishments and encouraged to do more!
Have a Chipper Labor Day weekend and help your community in anyway you can! Find a place to volunteer your time and give back to your community here.
Chipper Tips: Little Helping Hands
“Giving is the secret of abundance.” — Sivananda
All of us want our children to grow up to be responsible and generous. Giving them the opportunities to help out around the house with chores or simple tasks, such as cooking dinner or folding laundry, plants these seeds of independence and reliability. Making opportunities for your kids to play and interact with their peers and siblings help them learn to communicate and hone their interpersonal skills for years to come, important skills for whatever they do in life.
Helping Hands is a fun book for your little ones to learn more ways to help out! Click here to purchase.
Let’s Go Chipper is an Eco-educational series of apps, books, and community programs that encourage your little one’s to get outside and play, learning about the environment and growing in nature! Our newest book, “Helping Hands,” is a great way to inspire your little one’s to help out their family, friends, and community! A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book support programs that benefit the positive physical and emotional well being of underserved children. To learn more, please visit www.letsgochipper.com. Bellow are 5 ways to encourage habits of kindness and service in your children on a daily basis.
Chipper for Parks Badge! Click here to purchase and start helping our parks!
1. Make service to others a family affair
You hear it time and again: Parents are the most influential role models and the best teachers for children. Children watch what adults do. Preaching to them to volunteer/feed others/help out at the local food pantry will likely fall on deaf ears if they don’t see the moms and dads doing it, too. Get involved in a local community service project at your local park! There are tons of opportunities and if you share your park service story with us on our Facebook page here, we will send you a FREE Chipper for Parks badge! Or purchase your own badge here and we will donate a portion of the proceeds in YOUR name to a park of YOUR choice!
2. Talk about it
Emphasize that not everyone has hot meals to eat and lots of clothes to wear. Children don’t typically recognize this, and it’s up to parents to teach them. Let them know about the project, and how they can offer a helping hand to those in need. Have them go through their clothes that no longer fit them and take a little trip together to drop off old clothes and toys at your nearest Good Will.
3. Involve children in a regular or semi-regular basis
When participating in community volunteer work, find something that can be done at least a few times each year. This doesn’t mean you have to fill backpacks with school supplies at the local community center or serve meals at the local food pantry every week. A consistent volunteer activity will stick in a child’s mind if they participate once a month, or even once every few months.
Compassionate Kids, an organization that encourages volunteerism by children, has this advice when considering how often to participate:
“It’s important to consider the basic logistics of any volunteer opportunity. If the opportunity is close by, a commitment to help out on a weekly basis may be fine. If it’s farther away, you may need to commit to helping on a monthly basis instead.”
4. Make sure your child can be actively involved in the service or project
Don’t expect to take children — especially young ones — to an activity where they have to sit and watch. They won’t want to keep going, and it entirely misses the point of including them in the first place. Compassionate Kids also advises parents to consider both their abilities and their children’s abilities when deciding on the kinds of community projects to participate in. Don’t overwhelm you or your kids–helping out should be a fun learning experience.
This mom has two little helpers! How do your kids help you out around the house?
5. Use everyday opportunities to teach kindness
Teach children that some of the best ways to volunteer and help others is to simply do it as opportunities are available. In other words, kindness to others doesn’t have to be a structured event or community-planned charity work. The whole family can get involved in:
- Giving water to and offering help to a family whose car is broken-down on the road.
- Donating money, clothing, or toys to a family in need of assistance.
- Preparing and taking meals to those who have recently lost loved ones, had babies, or have family members in the hospital.
If showing kindness to others is a part of their upbringing, it’s easier for children to make it a consistent habit in adulthood. Make it the norm, not the exception, for you and your family. Get Chipper and get helping today!
Here are more community service ideas for children and resources for parents:
- Raising Children Who Care: Volunteering Ideas for Kids by Silvana Clark
- Community Service: A Family’s Guide to Getting Involved by KidsHealth.org
Chipper Tips: Spending Time with your Elders
Sometimes Grandparents or older adults might feel daunted about spending time with energy-packed little one’s. Our elders avoid younger generation’s more than ever before, and vice versa, which is detrimental to both age groups. But intergenerational activities are actually good for you, according to the Health Aging Partnership, a coalition of 40 Puget Sound area not-for-profit organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of older adults. And it can be easy and fun!
Interactions with young people allow older adults to relate to another generation, learn about new technology and trends and serve as good role models for children growing into tomorrow’s adults. The excitement of seeing the world through younger eyes can get older adults ‘up and doing,’ reducing depression, relieving boredom and improving health.
Youngsters benefit too! In situations where adult attention may be lacking, the attention and example provided by a senior mentor can be invaluable, HAP notes. Even teens who have difficulty relating to their immediate families may respond well to a caring older adult and see them as a confidant.
The Healthy Aging Partnership offers these suggestions for grandparents and others who want to play a bigger role in young lives:
- Be yourself. Youngsters will benefit from and enjoy having someone who listens and gives them their undivided attention. All too often parents don’t have enough time to spend with their children and that’s where you can help. Be a mentor and a friend.
- Arts and crafts, such as making a scrapbook, create great memories and allow you and a child to learn something new together and have fun!
- Youngsters love to help in the kitchen. The hands-on cooking exercise can be as simple as baking a box cake, with a little measuring and mixing.
- Gardening is another kid favorite. Dig in the dirt. Plant. Water. Sow fast-sprouting bean, pumpkin or sunflower seeds that grow with every visit. Time outside is healthy in itself for the mind, body, and spirit.
- Go to the library. Computers and video games may be the new thing, but you can never go wrong with a great story. Teach them about something you love. If you’re excited about it, they will be too.
- If you don’t have grandchildren of your own, volunteer to share an interest or skill with a local youth organization. The American Red Cross, Intergenerational Innovations and Big Brothers, Big Sisters, just to name a few, can help connect older adults with young people in their community. Here’s another resource to help kids: http://changingkids.com/
For more information on intergenerational activities or other issues related to life as an older adult, call 1-888-4ELDERS (1-888-435-3377) or visit www.4elders.org. The free and confidential resource line offers a wealth of information and assistance to seniors and their caregivers!
Chipper and his friends help educate the younger generations not only to be environmental stewards for the future, but also to help older generation with their hands in many ways in our latest book, Helping Hands. By positively reinforcing the good that comes when we all work together, children will be ready to lend their hands and hearts around the home, school, and community. Get Chipper today with your elders!
Chipper for Parks: Volunteer at Crissy Feilds!
Are you Chipper for Parks? Do you want to give back to the community and nature? Come join Chipper and friends every Saturday until March 16th, 2013 at the Presidio Shoreline to help keep Crissy Fields stay clean of trash and invasive weeds. Volunteering is a way to help support your community and to teach your kids how to help out. It’s also a beautiful way to spend a summer day and connect with the family!
Marsh Center
Volunteers are also needed to help keep these public areas maintained as popular destinations for both local and worldwide visitors to use and enjoy. Projects include winter beach clean-ups, weeding, vegetation pruning, sand removal, and trail maintenance. Project locations are at Crissy Field and along the coastal regions of the Presidio, including East Beach, Crissy Airfield, Crissy Promenade, Baker Beach, and China Beach. Walk in volunteers are welcome or register here. Groups of 5 or more volunteers must register in advance and a special project can be arranged just for you!
- Volunteers ages 10 and up are welcome. With young volunteers, adult chaperones are required.
- No experience necessary. Training and tools will be provided. Ability to do manual physical labor, lift and move objects, repeatedly kneel and bend at the waist, and learn to use a variety of hand tools. Fulfills community service requirements.
- Bring the appropriate waiver forms (go to link at bottom).
- Please wear clothes that can get dirty, long pants, close-toed shoes, layers for changing weather, and rain gear if necessary. Also, bring a personal water bottle and sunscreen.
Can’t make it out on Saturdays? Give back in another way by purchasing a Chipper for Parks badge. A portion of what you pay goes to a park of your choice in your name! Also, check out our book “Let’s Stroll with Crissy Fields” to learn more about the beautiful diversity in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Meet Elroy, the Great Egret and take his tour learning about the history of Crissy Field, plants and animals, and the tides and marshes!
Schedule
Meeting Location varies. We will meet on site for the workday.
Call (415) 447-9376 to hear the updated schedule.
Location: Crissy Field
Time: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Fee Information: Free
Contact Name: Laura Elze
Contact Email: Laura_Elze@nps.gov
Contact Phone Number: (415) 447-9743
For additional info, click here.
