Every parent I talk to undeniably wants the same thing for their kids: to be good, caring people.

The conversation is usually followed by these sentiments: I’m so busy with work/play/shuttling kids around and although giving back is important to me, how do I pass that along to my kids without feeling like I’m forcing it on them? How do I make them really understand how lucky they are and actually make them WANT to give? And maybe even make it something they’re pushing ME to do, so we all make it a priority as a family?

This was the same problem Marin mom Kala Shah conveyed to me when we met four years ago at a LinkedIn mixer. Over lunch, we discussed how to make it easy for kids (and parents) to take action and voila — Go Inspire Go’s Community Heroes club was born. Since then, we’ve created an inspiring, innovative and fun program that entertains, educates and empowers kids to care, share and to discover and use their superhero power(s) to help others. And it’s working!

When you put storytelling, fun and conversation into the mix, lots of folks feel like they have permission to let go and join the fun. The proof is in the action.

We’re now in four Marin schools and are working to create an open framework toolkit to bring this impactful program to a wider audience.

The hundreds of Community Heroes kids who have participated in the club inspired Kala and other parents to create an annual supersized event in 2014 called the “Day of Giving.” I wish I could bottle up the fun, magic and buzz from our 3rd annual Day of Giving this past weekend, which was the biggest to date.

Even though I am a professional communicator, it’s hard for me to convey in words the fun, magic and joy we witnessed, so we’ll show you in pictures… and a video (stay tuned):

My eyes welled up, chills ran up my spine and my smile stretched wide as I witnessed 250 kids and parents partake in nine service projects over four hours on the morning of Sunday, March 6. After an energizing Zumba session led by instructor Rachel Hubbard, Kala and I kicked off the event with a quick superhero powwow that outlined the day’s super service-oriented activities:

• Assembling more than 150 care kits for Center for Domestic Peace, Homeward Bound of Marin, San Rafael Downtown Streets Team
• Creating 92 superhero capes for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals of San Francisco and Oakland
• Preparing gourmet meals with cupcakes and cards for nine families at Homeward Bound of Marin’s Family Emergency Shelter
• Stocking five classrooms with school supplies, games and keychains for foster kid students at Timothy Murphy School for Boys
• Building four ocean cleanup boxes with All One Ocean
• Crafting 100 tissue flowers and delivering them to seniors at AlmaVia retirement home, who were also interviewed by students about their lives
• Making 20 good luck gnomes for Lake County fire victim families
• Restoring 1/4 acres of wetland at McInnis Park by removing invasive, non-native plants, in cooperation with Marin County Parks — muddy and physical work!
• Raising awareness about endangered animals through a Vallecito-student inspired art show that also brought in close to $80 to benefit WildCare
• Sharing stories at our Go Inspire Go Inspiration Station and learning about Canal Alliance‘s “My Immigration Story” project

One of my favorite quotes is from the late Maya Angelou: “When you learn, teach. When you get give.” I want to take it a step further and say, “When you give, you get so much more.”

A huge unexpected thing I witnessed was how much the parents needed this.

I was surprised to see some parents came to volunteer without their children.

Another parent pulled me aside and told me, “Our kids need this program so much. I don’t know how to get my son to care about something other than himself. He’s always on the computer.” The parent also admitted while he was grateful for his current life/situation, there were times when he was in the shoes of the folks our kids served during the Day of Giving.

“Sometimes me and my family were a paycheck away from being homeless,” he explained, teary-eyed. “There’s been times when the fridge was empty and I didn’t know how I was going to get food for my family.”

This fun project/program continues to be food for the soul for me, Kala and the community that finds the heroes within themselves to give back.

Perhaps we should call next year’s event the “Day of Getting”?

Action Items
1. Like our Facebook page and follow us @GoInspireGo
2. Check out our Day of Giving photo album and if you were there, post your own pics by tagging #ComHeroes #DayofGiving
3. If you believe in our mission, please consider donating. We are volunteer-run and have a dream to expand our work. Check out our website to learn more about what we do. Every dollar counts — thank you!

What can you do?

Onward and upward,
Toan

The post A Monumental ‘Day of Giving’ Brings Out Superheroes of All Ages appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

This past Sunday, more than 250 kids and their parents took the Marin area by storm, giving back to their community. Four schools, participants of the Go Inspire Go Community Heroes program, embarked on the second annual Day of Giving, with 12 unique service projects including:

-Cooking an elegant meal and preparing shelter kits for Homeward Bound of Marin
-Gardening at the Canal Community Garden in San Rafael
-Cleaning up with the Downtown Streets Team San Rafael
-Weeding and trash pick-up at Marin Civic Center
-Planting 150 plants and clearing non-native plants at Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Open Space Preserve
-Making superhero capes and blankets to benefit patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Rooms that Rock 4 Chemo
-Multiple bake sales to help pay for expenses

That’s an incredible amount of good to come from one morning! The joy and excitement was palpable before and after the event. People were glowing… and happy! Why? I truly believe there’s a hunger in this community to try and keep grounded amid our picture-perfect scenery and weather, our gadget obsessions and the super-charged environment fueling the latest tech boom. Disparities are widening and the growing masses of homeless are being shuffled around. You see them out and about more — as local parks shut their gates, and as it gets even tougher to find affordable housing with rents and home prices through the roof. All these Community Heroes CHOSE to spend their Sunday getting their hands and hearts busy to help others. Our secret sauce? We make it FUN and aim to INSPIRE with our videos and our ENTHUSIASM, which I’ve been told is rather contagious.

Top heartwarming quotes from kids who took part in the Day of Giving:
-“The people we cleaned the streets with don’t look homeless. They’re just like us.”
-“I can’t wait to see the smiles on the faces of the people we cooked for!”
-“The Day of Giving was the best day of my life.”

Whoa, how’s that for compassion in action. Magic indeed!

The ask….

As Sun Valley School’s program has been going strong, word has got out and we’ve recruited three new local schools to join us this year: Kent Middle School, Dixie Elementary and Mary Silveira Elementary. More are lining up — and at this point, we need your help. Despite what it may seem from all we’ve accomplished, this program is 100% volunteer-run. Aside from a few grants, including a coveted LinkedIn Innovation Grant, we’ve come to the point where to keep this program growing and sustainable, we need to secure funding. This requires support for a full-time coordinator and Go Inspire Go infrastructure to create videos to grow the curriculum, operate our website and help run an organization.

The Community Heroes program has been teaching kids about compassion and action for close to three years, and we’ve been proving that what we’re doing WORKS! We’ve been getting kids and adults EXCITED and ENGAGED and have gone out there and done A LOT — collection drives, fundraisers and service projects to support local charities. The most exciting aspect of our impact is how kids have felt empowered by the program; they understand how they have the power to make a difference. Who knows how these young philanthropists and social activists will exercise their powers throughout their lives?

I believe there’s no greater gift we can give our kids than to grow their sense of compassion and responsibility to help make the world a better place. Don’t you agree?

Three ways you can help:

1. If you think this program is valuable, and can support us with a contribution, please donate here. Funds would help develop a toolkit, expand to new schools, train facilitators and coordinate among partners and the non-profit network.
2. If monetary contributions are a stretch, we could always use more volunteers and connections to those who might be willing to help. Just drop us a line with your ideas!
3. Spread the word about Go Inspire Go’s mission — to inspire people to find their power to help others! Please forward and share this blog. Use #ComHeroes and tag us @goinspirego. You can also email Kala Shah.

Kala Shah is Go Inspire Go’s Chief Innovation Officer and Program Director of Community Heroes, a service-learning program that is now in four Marin County schools.

The post A Day of Giving — And the Magic of Collective Giving appeared first on Go Inspire Go.