Getting children interested in giving seems to foster an interest in helping that continues throughout a lifetime. Including children in parent's charitable interests highlights parental values, informs ideas about social responsibility and explains why it's important to help others.
It also allows a family to come together and focus on a shared goal. Both the process and the goal remain a sustainable and viable activity as children become adults and begin the process with their children.
Pandas International presents a number of exciting possibilities for parents and children to have a common vision of what it's like to share the planet with other species and how that relationship is essential for our world to survive.
Preserving an endangered species can also bring a number of other topics into the mix: the importance of sustainable habitats; the concepts of interdependence, the web of life,
carrying capacity, and ecological balance; what responsibility do individuals, states, countries and governments have to wildlife preservation; and understanding the triple bottom line of sustainable development and progress as the blueprint for our future.
Specifically, Pandas International offers opportunities for giving that range from panda adoptions to providing formula for cubs to helping replant bamboo to having birthday parties centered on raising money for pandas to a program for schools to help the Giant Panda, Pennies4Pandas.
Information about these alternatives is available on the website or by calling (303) 933-2365 or emailing info@pandasinternational.org
Check Out Charity Checks
Here's a great way to teach kids the value of giving, either individually, or, as part of an exciting classroom project to support the black and white bears. For the older set, office mates and colleagues can also be involved in giving, and in this case, giving to the endangered Giant Panda. Check out Charity Checks. They make it easy and fun. www.charitychecks.us/ .
