My Kids Are Champions For Kids

I hate to admit that there was a time in my life that I was too consumed with our lives and/or oblivious to the fact that there are homeless kids right here in America.  Don't get me wrong, I see poverty daily in my own neighborhood but kids living on the streets or in cars?  I was blind to it.  I never thought that this could happen here but sadly, it does.  I subscribe to the theory my parents raised me on - if you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food in your tummy you are more than good.  I hate that some kids don't have simple necessities or access to things like... water.  Food is a luxury to some, not the newest tech gadgets, toys or pricey shoes.  We don't have a lot of money but my kids are champions for kids - they enjoy giving and that makes them my superheroes.  It's important to teach our children that giving makes you feel good.  Each one, teach one!    

Ask yourself and be honest, are you doing enough for your community?  Spin Into Action with Spinbrush!

Here are some SIMPLE Service Project tips from Champions for Kids! 

GATHER your community to collect fun toys and colorful children’s items (like books, games, blankets, and toothbrushes)!

COUNT the number of items you collected and take photos!

DONATE the items to a local hospital, shelter, or foster care agency in your community to give kids hope, comfort and fun in challenging situations.

DOUBLE your impact by reporting your project at championsforkids.org/share during the month of July 2013. Let us know how many people were involved and how many items you collected, and Spinbrush® will make a matching donation of up to 1,000 Tooth Tunes™ toothbrushes (total) through Champions for Kids to help children in need!

I enlisted the help of my 7 year old Duke and we went shopping at Walmart to stock up on Spinbrush!  For each one you buy, Spinbrush will make a matching donation!  We bought crayons, coloring books, games, toys and puzzles!  Duke was so excited to deliver them to our local charity, Mary's Kitchen in Orange, CA because he knows that it is helping kids just like him!  Mary's Kitchen provides breakfast, hot lunch and a sack meal to the homeless of Orange County from Monday-Saturday.  Showers are also available Monday-Saturday.  We chose Mary's Kitchen because we have been helping our local homeless for the past couple years and continue to support our community.

Duke enjoys being a Champion for Kids because he loves being a kid that helps other kids!

Random Acts of Kindness.

My husband Chris is an amazing gentleman. We're teaching our sons to be the same.

I love when he stops to hold open the door for strangers, when he says, "Thank you" to someone holding open the door for us, when someone needs help grabbing something off a shelf and he asks if they need help... Most importantly, I'm proud of how he has stepped up to caring for 2 of our local Homeless men, Rudy & John.

Around the holidays - after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, I came up with the idea to make "Care Packages" for our local Homeless. There were a few we've seen around the neighborhood just doing their thing, never begging for money, never holding up signs. I mentioned on Facebook my idea and my coworker/friend Maria said she would like to donate too. So one afternoon we hit Dollar Tree and stocked up on supplies. I packaged up huge recycling Ikea bags and we left them in the truck to hand out whenever we saw them.

John was the first one Chris made contact with, he introduced himself, shook his hand and asked if he'd be interested in a care package - John said yes and since then, Chris has bought him a hot breakfast and stopped to give him $10 on another day.

Rudy is the 2nd one we watch over. Chris gave Rudy a care package too and since then, every can and bottle we've saved - we give the bag to Rudy to recycle. Rudy smiles so big when Chris pulls up.

We tried to give care packages to a Homeless lady we always see by the mall but she wasn't interested. It didn't discourage us though.

A couple months ago one of my friends on Facebook asked for crayons, coloring books, stuffed animals, socks, toothbrushes and toothpaste because she was going to visit India and wanted to give them to local kids. She returned this month and we got this picture. How precious!!!

You can see the rest of Sumantha's breathtaking photos here.

A lot of times we get lost in our own lives that we forget to do for others. Giving does so much for your soul, try it sometime!

If you want to create your own care packages for your local homeless...

Here's what we picked up at Dollar Tree to make 4 care packages - We spent about $20:

• (2) 3 packs of Toothbrushes with Travel Holders
• (4) Tubs of Baby Wipes
• (4) Mini Deodorants
• One package of cough drops
• One package of mints
• One box of bandages
• (4) Packages of Rain Ponchos
• One 4 pack of Gum
• One 6 pack of Shavers

Thank You Maria for donating:

• Tube socks
• (4) Bottles of Mouth Wash
• (4) Packages of Crackers and assorted snacks