MLK Day of Service | Do Something Today!
If you don't have a standing service project or volunteer opportunity already planned today, there are still ways to honor MLK's legacy with your family. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that love and kindness will always triumph and always bring light to others - practice kindness and generosity today in helping others and giving back:
1. Donate to a cause your family cares about: If your family has a local non-profit or national cause that is close to your hearts, make a donation and talk with your kids about why it's important to support things we care about. Or send the kids on a mission to find all the loose change in the house and car to start a "Make Change" piggy bank (decorate a shoe box or coffee can). Plan on continuing to fill your Make Change bank over the months to then make a big donation at the end of the year.
2. Help out a neighbor: Is there an elderly neighbor down the street whom your kids could help? How about a new mom? Join your kids in baking a special treat, shoveling snow, raking leaves, cooking a meal or even delivering flowers to a neighbor who could use a hand or a pick-me-up. Let the kids brainstorm more random acts of kindness and write them down for doing the rest of the year.
3. Collect and contribute: Scour the house for gently used clothes, coats, blankets, toys, and books. Neatly box and bag them up and take your whole family to a donation center or local charity story to donate them. House cleaned out? Head to the grocery store with a list of items your local food bank is asking for (canned meats and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, diapers, toiletries, etc) > shop with the kids and head straight to the food bank to donate the goods.
4. Write and Draw: Kindness in appreciation and saying thanks goes a long way. Whip out the construction paper, cards and markers and have the kids spend a couple hours writing thank you notes for local civil servants and non-profits; or have them draw pictures and cards for kids and elderly people in local hospitals and nursing homes.
5. Plan a service project: Perhaps the timing didn't work out for your family to serve together on MLK Day, but take the time today to plan a service project for the coming months. Whether it's an afternoon outing to volunteer at the food bank, connecting with a local no-kill animal shelter to schedule volunteer time, or simply planning your own neighborhood clean-up
