Do You Have an Opportunity Jar?

Posted by on February 22, 2012

Do you ever look at your beautiful child and feel heartache for the babies in the world who are not well fed? The ones without access to clean drinking water? The children whose parents love them just as much as you love yours, but can’t provide the basic necessities simply because of where they were born?

You’re not wrong. On Earth today, in 2012, there are nearly 1 million children who are hungry. Last year over a million kids died in the first month of life, the vast majority of those children were born underweight due to mom’s poor nutrition during pregnancy.

Let’s stop the hurt! Instead of looking at our kids with a mixture of guilt and relief, let’s help our kids to help children in our own country and around the world.

Clean out a jar. You could put on a label, like “Sadie helps!” Put it on your baby’s dresser. Every time you make a purchase for your child, toss the change from that purchase (or the change in your pocket if you use a credit card) into the jar.  When the jar is full, donate the money to a group that improves nutrition for families.

Did you know that $6 is enough to get a child a balanced, nutritious meal every day for a month? Did you know that even a donation smaller than that will help organizations like Future Fortified get prenatal supplements to pregnant women and multinutrient supplements to growing kids? Did you know that even tiny donations from many sources encourage big philanthropists to invest in organizations that do good?

This is an opportunity to do good, and to teach your child to do good as she grows. If you have a child in elementary school, engage him in helping you pick an organization to send your donation. Have him make a card to send to the people who work there, thanking them for improving nutrition for children around the world. As your child comes up on a birthday, can you ask your family to give something for you to send to hungry kids?

This is an opportunity to magnify your child’s good fortune. Your child has parents who can feed her. Your child has parents who can shelter her.  And your child has parents who care not only about their own kids, but about all children growing in our world.

This little jar with change is an opportunity to live and model the concern you feel and the love you have. Let’s do it!

Dr. G (Deborah Gilboa, MD) is a board certified Family Physician and mom of four kids. Her website, www.AskDoctorG.com is a resource for parents to ask questions about child behavior and development. Dr. G encourages parents to raise kids they can respect and admire!