Make a Difference to a Child, Starting with Yourself

July is National Make a Difference to Children month. I love the fact that someone... or, I should say, many people, realize the value in making a “difference” to the extent that it has became a nationally recognized pursuit.

Public speaker and chief advocate of the cause, Kim Ratz suggests specific ways to make that difference:

1. Pick one or more events or activities to do with a child that will make some kind of positive difference or impact on that child. (See 100+ Ways to Make a Difference to Children.)

2. Support an organization that serves children. It could be your local community education or schools, YMCA, Boy or Girl Scouts, place of worship, park and recreation or any other organization that serves kids. Your support might be as a volunteer, or a financial donor. They're all nonprofits, and in today's economy they need your support!

3. Tell your policy makers to support initiatives that are good for kids. Summer is generally a more relaxed time to communicate with them. Share your own story about Making a Difference to Children ... and WHY it's important to support programs for children.

Future Generations Deserve “Old-Fashioned Opportunities”

That last tip begs the question, “Why is it important to support programs for children?” Perhaps the clichés have it right: “Our children are the future” and “Kids are people too.” It doesn’t require a great deal of imagination or a specific political leaning to understand that the youth of today will shape our tomorrow. So, how best to experience making a lasting and healthy difference to children than to just give it a try?

One way to find inspiration is to think back on your own childhood. Let’s face it, we’ve all had one, in one form or another. When you were young who inspired you? What activities caught your interest and expanded your mind and propelled you on your path to who you are now?

Indulge Your “Inner Child”

Mastin Kipp, founder of the popular The Daily Love blog, asks, “What is a child like? A child is new, untainted and curious. A child knows nothing of failure, of heartbreak, of death or other people's opinions. A child lives curiously in the present.”

By adopting an ingenuous childlike attitude, you can set a powerful and enduring example for the young people with whom you come in contact. And there is an awfully good chance that you will find yourself dropping the burden of preoccupation with failure, heartbreak, death and other people’s opinions. So indulge your inner child, and enjoy the wisdom and purity that are innately yours.

Warmly,

Lilo