Random Acts of Kindness

Living on a budget is a great opportunity to teach your children valuable life lessons, such as saving and giving. Not only can you give money, but you can also give your time and energy. Teach your kids to have courage and be kind. When they help other people, they can see different perspectives. Even though you may not be wealthy, you are rich in the blessings of your children.

Set an example for your kids and volunteer your time for a worthy cause. Find something that your kids can do with you. While beefing up their resume with needed experience and job skills, they will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for helping someone in need. Acts of random kindness repay you with warm fuzzies, contentment and joy like nothing else you can ever imagine or buy.

Excuses

There are always excuses. “I don’t have time.” “I’m just one person; how can I make a difference?” “I don’t know what I could do.” Just like the slave who helped the lion, you don’t need money, skills, or a great amount of time to help someone in need. Just like anything else in life, you can start out small and work your way up.

Home

It’s always best to start them young. Have your toddler help you sort the laundry into colors. Have your preschooler help you put the clean dishes away. As they get older, keep adding to the list of chores. Have your kindergartener take out the trash to the curb. Have your pre-teen wash dishes and dust the furniture. Have your tween vacuum the carpet and sweep the floors. Have your teenager clean the bathrooms. It’s never too late to start, no matter how old you are.

Neighborhood

Smile and wave to your neighbors. Just a small gesture can brighten someone’s day. If you see graffiti, grab a paintbrush and cover it with some white paint. The best way to help someone is to do it without being asked and surprising them with a job well done.

School

Ask your teacher at school if he or she needs any help with anything, such as erasing the board or picking up papers.

Church

Your local church needs your help wherever you can give it. You can help in the nursery watching the babies, empty the trash cans, pass out bulletins, or vacuum the carpet.

Community

Who do you want to help? Do some research to see what is needed in your local area. Are people out of work and looking for a job? Do they need help with the basic needs of life like food and clothing?

You can help feed the hungry at your local food pantry. When food is donated to the organization, they need volunteers to unload boxes from the truck, stock the food on shelves, and prepare meals for people.

You can help sort baby clothes at your local crisis pregnancy center. When clothes and baby items are donated to the organization, they need volunteers to sort through the items by gender, age, size, and season. The clothes need to be cleaned, steamed, tagged, and displayed for the parents to find what they need for their children. The baby items need to be sorted and distributed in layettes that are given to new mothers to help them take care of their newborn baby.

The World

Collect some inexpensive items to fill a shoebox to give to a needy child somewhere across the world. If your family does this throughout the year, it is not such a big expense to fill a shoebox all at once, but it is a huge blessing for a child who would not otherwise receive a gift for Christmas. Watch the following video for more information about Operation Christmas Child:

Who knows? Maybe one day you will be in a crisis and need someone to help you, like the story of the lion and the mouse.

God will provide what you need.

If you can give money to the needy, there are many worthy organizations to give to. It is possible to give even if you don’t have any money. We can do it, so can you.

What are some other suggestions of ways to help others in need?