Posts Tagged ‘Toys for Tots’

Young Volunteers Really Can Make an Impact this Holiday Season

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Today marks the beginning of generationOn’s annual Holiday Gift Campaign. The campaign runs from November 29 through December 13. The goal of this campaign is promote youth service while spreading holiday cheer to children in need. Every time a child or teen joins generationOn and makes a pledge of service, Hasbro will donate one toy to a child in need through the Toys for Tots holiday toy drive (up to 100,000 toys).

Youth service is important because young people really can make a difference in their community. Pledging service at a young age can instill a lifetime of service in an individual by providing a service-oriented mind at a young age. The holiday season is the perfect time to get kids involved because there a variety of youthful projects available and kids have more time to offer with their time away from school.

Looking for ways to turn these service pledges into action? Here is a list of youthful activities that can be applied to projects for many different ages.

  • Make artwork for a local senior center or retirement home—they will love the colorful wall decorations!
  • Organize a canned food drive at home, school, neighborhood, or place of worship. Donate your collected canned goods to a local food bank or shelter.
  • Donate unwanted stuffed animals to a local shelter— there are many children who would love to have an animal to snuggle with this holiday season!
  • Donate your family’s holiday party leftovers to a local shelter or soup kitchen
  • Gather your old clothes and shoes to donate to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, ReStore, or other donation center
  • Play board games at a senior center
  • Donate your old books to your local library— there are kids dying to read your books!
  • Donate your old backpack there is a child who would love to have a new friend to carry their school work in!
  • Share your lunch with a kid who needs it or a friend who forgot theirs
  • Read your favorite story to children at your local library
  • Is it your birthday? Give a gift to someone in need
  • Have a hot chocolate and cookie stand in your neighborhood and donate the money to your favorite cause
  • Hold a toy drive for kids in a shelter or hospital
  • Take a bag of dog or cat food to your local animal shelter
  • Save your old vegetable and fruit scraps to use as compost for your garden
  • Pick up trash in your local park or neighborhood
  • Grow a community garden
  • Start a recycling program in your community if there is not one already
  • Plant a tree
  • Ride your bike
  • Turn off your water while brushing your teeth to save money
  • Say “thank you” to your parents and teachers
  • Help someone out who may be carrying a heavy load
  • Eat lunch with a new kid at school
  • Share a story with an individual at a retirement center
  • Send “thank you” cards to your local veterans
  • Share a hug or a smile with someone who needs one

 

There are many ways that your child or teen can get involved this holiday season. For ideas such as these and more visit our friends at generationOn to get your project started. Take the pledge now through December 13 to help a child in need while beginning a lifetime of service.

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Change Notes: A Quick Note of Sharing and Celebration

Friday, December 17th, 2010

"Volunteer"

Friends,

As many of you know, each year L’Oreal recognizes 10 extraordinary women change agents, a program that Points of Light Institute has helped support for more than five years.

Last week I had the privilege of attending the L’Oreal Women of Worth event in New York City, where the awards were presented by such celebrities as singer Tricia Yearwood and actress Kerry Washington.

The evening was hugely inspiring, and the stories of these amazing women were a great reminder of what we are all capable of accomplishing in the world.  The honorees themselves were profoundly touched and transformed by their experiences, and several former winners returned to share how the recognition had helped them extend their work.

volunteer, volunteering, volunteerism, L'Oreal, women of worthI presented the award to a young women, Simone Bernstein, who at the age of 12 began to create an organization and Website to connect young people to volunteer work with nonprofits.  She has inspired 1,500 young people in St. Louis to being life-long journeys of service.  Other honorees started medical clinics, a project to support military service widows, and efforts to help young women escape prostitution and sex trafficing.  I encourage you all to access the Women of Worth Website to read their stories.

On another celebratory note, generationOn, our new youth-services division, exceeded its goal and in one week activated 117,104 service pledges from young people and, in turn, Hasbro donated 117,104 toys, worth $2.6 million, to the Toys for Tots Holiday Gift Campaign for needy children. Whole classes of schoolchildren pledged and joined generationOn, and in at least one case, a school of 1,500 students made service commitments. Entire fraternity chapters, Kids Care Clubs, families, and scout troops pledged.

This effort was a great example of mobilization and activation, whose legacy will be tens of thousands of the next generation introduced to the power of service and how they can transform the world.

These are just two examples of the great work that is happening across the organization during this Season of Giving. Let’s celebrate these gifts of inspiration and mobilization.
In service,

Michelle Nunn

CEO, Points of Light Institute, and Co-Founder, HandsOn Network

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