Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Helping HAITI as CHILDREN

Today was a big day for TWO reasons:

First, we held our second Playdate with a Purpose our purpose is the 2nd big thing of the day

Second, we kicked off our NEW KIDSLAKE PROJECT!!

BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI!!!


We are raising money for New Missions in Haiti to provide metal bowls and spoons for children. While my husband was there in December, they literally saw kids take bowls of rice and pour them onto their backpacks and eat the rice with their dirty hands because they didn't have the proper utensils.

So, today we did our playdate with a purpose to each teach the kids about Haiti and raise some money!

The idea behind Playdates with a Purpose is that all moms are looking for something fun to do with their kids! So, we decided to use the usual playdate and give it a twist. We meet at a local park and all the moms bring their bag lunch. We provide 2 things: 1. A game/activity used to teach the kids about our project, 2. a Craft to take home as a teaching tool.

This month's focus was Bowls and Spoons for Haiti. Every child brought $5 as their "offering" at the end. We played at the park for a while and then began our activity. I sat all of the children down on the playground and told them I had a snack for them. I asked Addison (the oldest child present) to come up for his rice. "Where is your bowl, Addison?" I asked. He, of course had no bowl and spoon. . .so I spooned the rice into his hands. We continued on with each child. Then, we talked about how hard this would be and how dangerous if your hands were really dirty. We also talked about how sad you would be if this was your only meal and you were dropping most of it on the ground!

Brooke then provided the craft. We made the CUTEST placemats with foam bowls and spoons on them. Then, the kids added pictures of children in Haiti, a map of Haiti and a sign saying, "pray for Haiti".

I think the kids really got it today. They talked about how their hearts were sad because of the kids without bowls and spoons and how they wanted to do a Hot Chocolate Stand to raise some more money!

So, there is your challenge: raise, earn or save money with your children for BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI this month! $5 buys metal bowls and spoons!
**here is the question: I have waited to post this to get pictures from New Missions. They are super busy and haven't gotten back to me. . .should I extend this project for another month or just have it be a short notice month? What works best for your family?

4 comments:

T and T Livesay said...

Hurray, this is awesome!

Michelle said...

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful post!! I would love to organize one of these playdates in my town. Amazing!! I am so glad to stumble upon your blog! My husband and I foster for an adoption agency, but we are starting the process of adopting through our state foster care system.

Kari said...

Looks like it turned out well. I wish that the kids weren't sick, we would have loved to join you.

Anonymous said...

Hey Brandi-
We were talking about this at MAT meeting last night....are you doing a thermometer this month to track amount collected?
thanks!
lisa e