6 Essential Ways to Get Students Interested in Giving Back
The school year is the perfect time to inspire charitable giving in students of all ages. Especially with the holiday season upon us, the importance of compassion, generosity, and charitable giving is that much easier to teach and showcase. Whether you’re a principal, professor, or teacher hoping to teach your students about charitable giving, take a look at these various ways to get students interested in giving back! From volunteer trips to clothing drives, let’s teach our children the importance of helping others in our communities and around the world.
Plan Monthly Trips to Shelters and Soup Kitchens
One of the most important things you can do to emphasize the importance of charitable giving is to make it a recurring thing. If you set up a clothing drive, take a trip to an animal, or visit a homeless shelter, make sure that you continue to do those things. So, to get your students interested in giving back, plan monthly trips to shelters and soup kitchens. These monthly moments will help the students create a connection with those in need and help them see how their work helps others.
Set Up a Clothing Drive
One of our favorite ways to get students interested in giving back is by setting up a clothing drive. This can be just for your class or for the school as a whole. Either way, urge students to bring in the essential items that a lot of charitable organizations are looking for—coats, shoes, scarves, etc. You can then ask the students to choose where they would like these items to go, which will help them figure out the sort of organizations they want to support.
Play Online Educational Games to Donate Food
This is a simple way to encourage charitable giving, and it’s educational as well! These games will donate food to those in need for every correct answer. For example, Free Rice is a website trivia game run by the United Nations World Food Program, and it donates 10 grains of rice for every correct answer. Give your students a minute to play this game and see who can raise the most food!
Plan a Volunteer Trip—Internationally, Nationally, or Locally
Volunteer trips are one of the best ways to get children to understand the importance of giving back. You can plan an international trip to Africa and help communities there, out of state to build homes for disaster victims, or even to local communities. School trips are common—so why not make them charity trips?
Give an Assignment That Teaches the Value of Giving
Another small way to encourage charitable giving is to be intentional about the assignments you give. Especially in college, professors have more free rein in what assignments they assign. It can be as simple as asking students to take the public bus and make notes of communication. For younger students, these assignments can ask them to choose their favorite charity and research it.
Organize a Charity Field Trip
Different than a volunteer trip, these field trips are a bit more educational than hands-on. Say you’re teaching your students about local non-profits and charity organizations. Once you finish discussing them, plan a field trip to those organizations. Witnessing a community leader address a specific need or purpose will help inspire students to choose an issue of their own and make a stand for it. These trips can make a huge difference in their lives.
