Christmas WS's!In our children’s book authors’ series, Renee Heiss tells us about her books that focus on teaching kids about charitable giving. For many of us charitable giving is something we feel strongly about - at K5 Learning we do too and have affiliated ourselves with Kiva. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to bring your kids into charitable initiatives, look up Renee’s books.
By Renee Heiss
When my children were growing up, we found many different ways to make a difference in other people’s lives. We volunteered at a nursing home, helped with the fundraisers at church, and had a charity coin can in our kitchen.
CareBags4Kids
Recently, I found the good work of a young girl who helps children around the world. Her name is Annie Wignall, and as a middle school student, started her own nonprofit foundation called Care Bags 4 Kids (www.carebags4kids.org). Through her efforts, needy children around the world receive a handmade bag of toys and necessary items with a poem letting them know that somebody cares.
Teaching Philanthropy through Fiction
That’s the focus of my picture book, Somebody Cares!. In the story, a girl plans a unique birthday party. She’s tired of the same old balloons and games. She wants to help someone while she celebrates her birthday. Through this colorful book, young children can see how to plan their own special birthday party. An autographed copy is available at www.reneeheiss.com/somebodycares/html. There you’ll also find directions on how to make your own care bags.
Real Children Doing Real Charitable Projects
If you are looking for additional ways to help children become young philanthropists, consider my other book entitled, Helping Kids Help: Organizing Successful Charitable Projects. In that book, you’ll find projects for classrooms, youth groups, and individuals. I show real children doing real projects that make a real difference in the lives of others. Find out how to have a successful fundraiser to support your charity, too. An autographed copy is available at www.reneeheiss.com/hkh.html.
Renee is a wife, mother of three, grandmother of five, and retired teacher. In 2004, she published Feng Shui for the Classroom: 101 Easy-to-Use Ideas. Three years later, she could see the value of helping kids learn how to become junior philanthropists, so she published Helping Kids Help: Organizing Successful Charitable Projects. In 2010, Somebody Cares! came out to showcase my favorite charity, Care Bags for Kids.
If you are an author and would like to write about your books for children - be they fiction or non-fiction - on the K5 Learning Blog, please contact asa (at) k5learning (dot) com.
