social good Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Mom's Guide To Travel

Oct 11 2012

Trick or Treat With a Purpose Thanks to UNICEF

When my youngest son got sick with cancer, my oldest was quick to say that he wanted to do something for him to raise money for his care and the other children on the Pediatric Oncology floor. His idea for the summer was to start a lemonade stand and sell different flavors of frozen lemonade. I loved his idea and was so proud that he took a moment to not only think about his little brother but to also think about the other kids he saw. He is a natural helper so the UNICEF Trick or Treat program is right up his alley.

Our household isn’t really sold on Halloween. It’s an annual debate between my husband and I about how much we should let the kids do and as much as we’re not into the “celebration” of the trivialities of the day, we recognize how much joy it brings our kids to dress up. Shoot, my oldest doesn’t wait to dress up for Halloween. I get my money’s worth for his costumes – he dons a mask and cape monthly.

The UNICEF Trick or Treat program is a happy medium. He can dress up in his costume of choice and raise money for peers in developing countries. The program has been running for 62 years and “has helped motivate kids to become active global citizens while teaching the fundamental value of helping others.” What a productive way to trick or treat and an easy way to show kids how they can raise money for others. I have a great idea to help my son be successful in this fundraising activity: work through our church and recruit some other kids to help in the efforts. We might even get that frozen lemonade stand up and running as well.

If you’d like to motivate your child as well and get them trick or treating with UNICEF, click here to see how your family can participate. Hopefully, this will squash the debate in our house about Halloween and change it into a meaningful giving-holiday instead of a cavity-filled receiving one.

Oct 06 2012

Fall Family Day Trip on the Chesapeake with Local Non-Profit

As the Fall ushers in and the days get shorter, figuring out what to do for family travel tends to be fairly easy around my house. We usually take a family day trip. At least, that’s what we’ve done in the past. We’d pack our bags for the day (or the night) and hit the road, choosing the most scenic routes and the least bit of congestion – some place where we can see the changing leaves. This year we changed it up – we took it to the water instead of the road. Our first Fall family day trip was last Sunday on the Chesapeake Bay with a local non-profit, Captains Caring and Sharing, an organization that provides boating opportunities for youth with serious illnesses and disabilities.

Thanks to co-founders Bob and Cheryl Krajcsik and a compassionate boat owner-volunteer, our family had the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon at sea after a long physically and emotionally taxing week in the hospital.

The outing was unbelievably therapeutic for my four year old. The weather was perfect and I’m not sure we could have asked for a better day on the Chesapeake.

We spent a few hours on what I believe was a 50-foot power boat. The owner, Rich, and his two children were accommodating and wonderful hosts. Both of our eight year old sons got along well, playing Legos in the galley while his ten year old daughter kept my youngest and I company on the bridge. After a week of not eating or talking, within fifteen minutes of being on the boat, my four year old smiled and opened his mouth, letting air in and joy out. Hooray! It could have been raining hail for all that mattered – my son’s happiness and recovery were what made my day.

Our afternoon started out leaving from a marina in Pasadena, MD. We cruised through the Chesapeake Bay past landmarks such as a cement plant, the old abandoned Fort Howard, under the Francis Scott Key Bridge and in viewing distance of Baltimore’s Harbor, where we spotted the Bethlehem Steel plant, Fort Mc Henry, a Carnival cruise ship in port, and the USNS Comfort.

After our excursion, we were greeted back at the yacht club with a hearty picnic, games for the kids, pumpkin painting, and goodie bags for the boys. Our gracious host thanked us for letting him take us out for a break and we thanked him for giving it to us. I’m not sure if I could have thanked him or the organizations’ founders enough for the part they played in bringing a smile not only to my sons’ faces but to the faces of other children who were there for a relaxing day trip. They truly cared and shared.

Oct 01 2012

OXFAM GROW Campaign: Helping End Global Hunger

Traveling with my family is a privilege – one that I don’t take lightly. As my boys get older, I’m focused on providing balance in their life, teaching them that part of our duty as Christians and world citizens is to help others. We receive and we give. In my opinion, one of the easiest things I can give is information – especially about global inequities like hunger. OXFAM has had feeding the planet and ending poverty on their agenda for decades. The Oxfam Grow campaign is designed to spread the word about how we as everyday citizens can do small things to make big changes.

GROW is a global campaign to build a better food system: one that sustainably feeds a growing population and empowers poor people to earn a living, feed their families and thrive. The great thing about OXFAM’s efforts is that you don’t need a public policy degree to get involved. There are 5 easy ways for you and I to join OXFAM to help end hunger:

The GROW method is about reducing waste, so that we’re making the most of the precious resources that go into making food. I can think of 2 easy ways that my family can do this: –> A.) Use filtered water instead of buying bottled water B.) Cut down on paper products (plates, napkins, utensils, cups, etc.) What 2 ways can you think of?
Buying products and brands that ensure small scale food producers in developing countries get a fair deal. –> You’ll see key words like “fair trade” or “sustainability” on labels – common on several products in Whole Foods stores.
Cooking smart, to cut down on wasted water and energy. –> I’m thinking crock pot and one-dish meals. What are some great family-friendly one-dish meals you can think of?
Buying food that’s in season, cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. –> Don’t know what’s in season? Check out a local farmers market. Make a family day tripout of it. What you see there is pretty much what’s in season locally. This also gives you an opportunity to buy fruits and vegetable that are local and not from a farm that’s 300 or even 3000 miles away. I recently bought my first herb garden in a pot to start my own bit of farming. We’ll see how it goes.
My herb garden
Eating less meat and dairy to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and water use. –> Okay, okay meat lovers out there. No one’s saying go vegetarian but starting off with one meal a day (say breakfast) or even one meal a week where you skip meat and dairy can not only help with cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions and water use, but it may also help save you some extra calories. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. Can you think of what you’d eat? For breakfast, I’m thinking a nice bowl of fresh in-season fruit and some gluten free granola. Yum!

As you can see, joining OXFAM’s GROW campaign doesn’t take much on our parts. Here are more details about the method:

Don’t over think it. We tend to sell ourselves short for how we can make a difference in real ways. Think you can integrate these action steps in your household? I do.

This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Women Online/The Mission List to raise awareness about Oxfam America’s GROW Method. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.

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