How do we help children understand the importance of helping others? I’ve heard different strategies: requiring kids to donate part of their allowance; involving them in decisions around charitable contributions; participating in a fundraiser or volunteering as a family.
A few years ago, Kids VT came up with another way. We made organizing support for a local nonprofit part of the Good Citizen Challenge, our youth civics project. This summer, many young Vermonters stepped up to create their own fundraisers. You can read about some of them in the Challenge roundup.
My favorite entry this year came from 9-year-old Aaliyah Grace Brown of Ferrisburgh, who wrote: “I chose to raise money for the Ferrisburgh Recreation Committee because they make fun stuff happen for everyone in our town, like ice skating, pickleball and playing outside!”
Aaliyah asked people to donate bottles and cans and had adults post her request on social media and Front Porch Forum. Her family helped collect the returnables, worth 5 cents each. Some people donated to the cause, too.
All told, Aaliyah raised $314 for the town rec committee. “It made me really happy to help, and I hope they can use it to make more fun things for our community,” she said. I love the photo of Aaliyah, standing in front of the bags of bottles and cans she collected with her arms raised in triumph. It embodies what it feels like to know you made a difference.
In this “Giving Back” issue, which lands a couple weeks before the traditional giving season begins, you’ll find many ways to connect with that feeling, from the online fundraising platform made by local college students to the Penguin Plunge for Special Olympics and a concert that supports young musicians from the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association in “Save the Dates” to the 15 organizations highlighted in “Lend a Hand” to Elisa Järnefelt’s comic about rescuing animals.
Money isn’t the only thing we have to give, as Evvi Tower-Price’s poem, “Kindness, Accidentally,” reminds us. Just being present for someone and letting them know they’re not alone can be a powerful act. The poem also concludes the latest anthology from the nonprofit Young Writers Project. They accept donations, too.
See you next year!
This article appears in Kids VT Winter 2025.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!