“I participated in this program on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.”
Giving back is important to me. About 9 months ago I started a non-profit so I could get my children and other local children and our community involved with helping others. Through this we have helped several other non-profits by hosting food and toy drives as well as serving dinner to a local homeless shelter. The St. Francis House in St. Augustine, Fl has been a focal point for us. We will be doing our second food drive for them next month. We will also be going down there next week to cook and serve dinner. Last month we established a library for their family center and we will continue to support them throughout the year.
The St. Francis house mission statement…
The Saint Francis House Mission is to engage the homeless in achieving stability, self-sufficiency, and a viable plan for their future by providing a safe, stable environment, access to essential services, supportive connections, and to advocate for changes that address the needs of the homeless population.
Want to help out locally? Check out Champions for Kids. I highly recommend getting your kids involved as well. I try to emphasise to my 13 year old that other children do not get all the food we do. Some do not have enough clothes or shoes or even a bed to sleep on. But talking about and showing him are two very different things. For my son he needed to see it first hand. After our first dinner at the homeless shelter, I think it kind of dawned on him. But we will still continue working with them and others.
Champions for Kids makes it simple to give children in local communities the resources they need to thrive. Helping others does not have to come in large doses. Champions for Kids seeks to ignite generational change by fostering a ‘habit of giving’ among youth and parents in America. The core values of Champions for Kids are simple, yet profound, and drive their efforts to “mobilize millions” to help children — All children should have: Someone who cares; a Place to belong; Hope for tomorrow and provisions for their journey. All children.
When school lets out for the summer, millions of children lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks they receive during the regular school year. You can help ensure kids have nutritious meals by hosting a Fiesta to Feed Families event! From June 1 to June 30, Champions for Kids is partnering with Jennie-O Turkey to encourage community projects across the country benefiting children in need of a nutritious meals this summer. Called SIMPLE Service Projects, the idea is to host or organize an event to collect non-perishable foods that you would then donate to a local organization that serves children in need, such as a food pantry, shelter or daycare center. A family-friendly taco party is a great way to get creative, mix up the dinner routine, and satisfy a crowd—even one that includes picky eaters! Why not also use this fun summer gathering as a way to help kids thrive? Champions for Kids shares 4 easy steps at http://championsforkids.org/simple/.
I challenge you to do this in your community. I did! I hosted a taco bar party and invited family and friends. Everyone brought a non perishable food item. We enjoyed our company and food, then the next day we delivered our food to our local homeless shelter, The St. Francis House. The St. Francis House serves meals to the homeless, they have a shelter for the homeless as well as a separate facility that house up to 5 families.
Accomplishments in 2013:
- 138,000 meals were served from our soup kitchen.
- 3,500 boxes of food were given to the working poor.
- Clothing and blankets were distributed to all in needOur Comfort Station (shower/toilet) is newly remodeled and available to all.
St. Francis House is the only full time emergency shelter between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. They currently have dormitory facilities to accommodate 16 men, and 8 women. St. Francis House currently has the capacity to house 5 families seeking emergency shelter. Their total bed capacity is now 38. Their soup kitchen serves thousands of hot meals each year. These free and nutritious meals are often the only meal of the day for the poor and homeless of the area. Daily meals are served seven days a week. They also food baskets to families and individuals On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
My family and community has been there to make and serve dinner as well as drop off food and clothing. We are scheduled to make and serve dinner again next week. I’ve sent out a sign up genius form and already have almost all of our food reserved for the dinner
A little bit about Jennie-O® brand Lean Ground Turkey – It’s all natural and gluten free. It’s 93% Lean 7% Fat. Would you like some coupons?Jennie-O offers coupons periodically on their website: https://www.jennieo.com/coupons/.
Do you volunteer in your community?
I just participated in one of these gatherings in the Dallas area put on by another blogger. We had a great time and it was great being able to help our in our local community by bringing canned goods for families who might be struggling.
That’s a great program! With Cub Scouts we collect food from the community for the local food pantry.
I collect for our local food pantry at my school. What an amazing program CFK is!
Great program and I love Jennie-)
Yes, my family loves to volunteer, it makes us feel good.
That is so wonderful of you to do something like this! I love giving back, too. 🙂
You are setting such a great example for your children. I do some work with my local food bank and outreach center throughout the year. Basically, whatever they need me to do.
You totally rock with all you’ve done. You’ve put so many hours and so much effort into your non-profit. I’m glad it’s really doing some good!
You have certainly done your part and kudos for a job well done! We always buy Jennie-O and have been substituting it for ground beef for years now. It is great to know they are working to give back to those in need.
What a great experience to share with your children. It’s so important to model service & giving back to the community.