Help One Child Succeed in School

Disclosure: This opportunity to give back to my community was made possible by our sponsors Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Almonds and Fiji Water. 

As part of our third annual Giving Back Packs Campaign I am fortunate enough to participate along with fellow bloggers to donate a back pack full of schools supplies to help one child in need. Why school suppplies? Why do we organize this project? Read more about our project here —–> Giving Back Packs

I decided that not only was this a great way for me to give back but also an opportunity to teach my children about others who have less than we do and how important it is to share our blessing to help one child get the essential tools they need to succeed in school.

So I explained how we asked our sponsors to help us and with our $25 gift card from the folks at Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Almonds and Fiji Water we headed to the store to buy school supplies. I turned this into a math refresher and had my son to keep track of how much we were spending by adding up the cost of the items they picked out.

Our sponsors donated a back pack, a box of Wonderful Almonds, a box of Wonderful Pistachios, two bottles of water, and a $25 gift card to be used to purchase school supplies. We took advantage of a buy one get half off sale at our local store to buy as many school supplies as possible with our $25.

I was thrilled that our sponsors also wanted to send us some of their products to include in the back packs. They generously embraced our project and have overwhelmed me with their support. Full bellies also help children succeed in school. Wonderful Pistachios are the perfect snack for kids heading back to school. They are both nutritious and delicious. Even better they are fun to eat, I know my own children LOVE cracking open pistachios. Wonderful Pistachios come in a variety of flavors including Roasted & Salted, Sweet Chili and Salt & Pepper. Both Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Almonds come in handy tubes that are easy to pack in lunchboxes and also great for after school snacks. Staying hydrated is also so very important for our kids as they exercise their bodies and minds everyday. Fiji Water comes in a convenient 330mL which is a perfect size for lunch boxes and taking to school sports events.

I am so inspired by the generosity of our sponsors and the impact that I believe our project will have as so many bloggers participate to help one child in their communities. If each of us jest help one child think of the impact that it will have. If many people each throw just one small pebble in the same pond a huge ripple is created and that ripple reaches farther than we can imagine. I am donating our back pack to an incredible ministry called Hands Up Ministries. In a nutshell Hands Up Ministries is all about giving a hand up not a hand out. They preserve the dignity of the folks they serve and teach them how to help themselves by not giving anything away for free but by charging minimally (very minimally for the products they provide). The folks they serve take ownership and and pride in being able to get what they need for themselves. The ministry also focuses on the very true concept that every human being deserves to be loved. The most important thing they give is hugs (no charge for those) and love and acceptance. They acknowledge and openly share with all they serve that we are all more alike then we are different and that none is less deserving of love than any one of us. I hope you will go read about this ministry and if moved to do so will help them continue to serve the Highland Parks Community in Richmond VA. What this ministry needs the most is monetary donations so they can continue to buy homes, fix them up, then rent them to folks who are homeless. The rent is low and an amount that the family can afford. This follows the principal that people need a hand up not a hand out.

Will you join us in our mission to help children succeed in school by providing them with the tools they need? Will you help one child? We would love to hear about it! Let’s share so we can hopefully inspire others to give a helping hand up to others!