Helping Kids Do Good
I have a choice to help or to do nothing, I choose to help.
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) February 11, 2014
Start A Snowball is a new and novel non-profit that is announcing its official launch. Start A Snowball was founded to affect change in our world starting with children through creating a culture of service and a generation of givers. This will be accomplished through:
- Developing an online community in which stories of youth philanthropy can be shared in order to inspire others
- Offering ideas and inspiration for philanthropic activities for youth to undertake
- Creating a library of resources for parents and teachers to use as they teach children about giving and service
- Providing $100 grants as "seed money" to get kids started in their chosen projects
- Encouraging the continuation and growth of projects through the Snowball community
With a core purpose to inspire and fund kids to engage in their own community service and philanthropy efforts. By doing so children will understand the power that they hold to affect change in the world around them. This will lead to a lifelong interest in serving and begin to create a culture of service and a generation of givers.
In the spring of 2013 a first grader came to his parents and told him that he hadn’t been sleeping well. When he was asked why he told his parents that he was really worried about some of the kids at his school. The kids to whom he was referring were the children who received food each week from his school’s Backpack Buddies program. This program sends backpacks of food home each weekend with children who are identified as being “food disadvantaged.” This is supposed to feed them until they can get back to school to receive free breakfast and lunch. He said that spring break was coming up and he didn’t think 1 backpack of food would be enough to feed them over the extended break, and he wanted to do something about it. When his parents asked him what he wanted to do he put together a week long food drive that enlisted help from his favorite Mexican restaurant and local grocery store. He said, "I have a choice to help or to do nothing, I choose to help." By the end of the week, even though the 7 year-old didn’t seem surprised at all, his parents were astonished. His plan had raised 1400 pounds of food and $310 in cash for his schools program. Because of this extra backpacks were sent home in the weeks leading up to spring break so that none of the kids went hungry. In addition, students who previously couldn’t be accommodated were able to be added to the program.
The success of this project was not just measured in the benefit to the boy’s chosen charity. It inspired an entire community to become more involved in the issues around them. Because of what they witnessed could happen when a single child became determined to help and had the support necessary to make it a success, his parents decided that if kids choose to help the world around them they deserved the necessary support. In order to offer a place to inspire kids to take on their own projects as well as supply funding to help them get it off the ground in late 2013 they started Start A Snowball.
Start A Snowball is now accepting donations and grant applications from those interested in funking a kid's philanthropy project at http://www.startasnowball.com.