Make a Difference: Bags of Joy

Hi there, I am Mari Hernandez-Tuten and I’m over at Inspired by Family Magazine. It’s so exciting to be here on the Quirky Momma team! I am also looking forward to getting to know you all, so stop by below and leave a comment. One of the things we have been focusing on this summer is empowering our kids with opportunities for them to realize that they can make a difference in their community, school, camp, church and neighborhood.

Make A Difference

I love to see the twinkle in my boys’ eyes when they hand a lunch to a kid in need. Our family started the Operation Brown Bag project, which we do in our community for street kids. Friends, family and churches decorate the lunch bags and we fill them up with a lunch and go out as a family to give to those in need. The idea, Bags of Joy, was inspired from our Operation Brown Bag project. It’s a bit different though, as these bags are designed to be given to people in our community who are not necessarily needy/poverty stricken, but may enjoy some appreciation, acknowledgement and love.   It’s really simple! Here is another simple idea to get your “Summer of Spreading Joy” rolling it’s an Random Act of Kindness Coin Jar. As we get to know each other, you will realize that “simple projects and recipes” is how I roll. Enjoy the free printables, Spreading Joy Tags below!

Bags of Joy!

You will need: Lunch bags, treats and tags (right click on the tag images above and copy and paste into your document to print)! Now make a list with your kids of the people in your community that you can bless. My boys enjoyed making a list and they wanted to get to them all today.  I love kids enthusiasm and carpe diem attitude! Need ideas? Your local librarian, store cashier, gas station cashier, sunday school teacher, waitress/waiter, mailman, garbage collectors, newspaper deliverer (if you’re up that early), maintenance man, repair person, firemen, police station personnel, customer service personnel at your local store….. What to put inside them: a cold drink, bottled water with drink mix packets, baked goods your kids helped with, store bought snacks, a couple of mini chocolate bar varieties, gum packets, coffee packets, a gift card . . . . Really any gesture of kindness would work because the thought would bless this person more than what’s inside the bag. You can have your kids draw a picture for them. The possibilities are endless… We made chocolate covered oreos a semi-homemade treat that our kids could help with and I bought some water bottles to share with the local police sub-station in our neighborhood.  Our boys were super excited to help with this project and to get these in the hands of the police men!  As a mom that fills my heart with joy. It would make my day to read how you are spreading joy in your community. Stop by and share with us the responses from both your kids and those receiving the bags of joy! What are ways that you show appreciation/kindness to those around you?

The Quirky Mommas have a few other ideas for sharing appreciation and kindness:

• Peaceful Parenting: Make a Kindness Jar
• Postcards: An Easy Way to Thank Our Military
• Homemade Cards
• How hugs make a real difference in your kids!
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