The Family Giving Tree

My company has always had an organized charitable holiday gift-giving program. In years past, we would exclusively deal with Toys For Tots. So, you just bring in toys or money to the office, and then hundreds of toys are donated to children in need.

This year, we're working with Toys for Tots again, but instead of toys, we're helping out with their Literacy Program. We're donating books and money to support literacy and academic success. (Love it!)

On top of "Books for Tots," we're also working with The Family Giving Tree. I am SO excited about this! You know how there are gift-giving trees, where you take a piece of paper that says a child's age and gender on it, then you have to go out shopping for an appropriate gift? Right. Well, that's hard, because when you have the money to make a charitable gift, the chances are that you're too old to know what those little kids *actually* want at their ages. Sheesh! Don't get me wrong, I've done it anyway, but it's still not as easy as it could be.

Enter The Family Giving Tree. They actually provide cards (to decorate your office's tree) that include not only the kid's age and gender, but also *what they want for Christmas*. Genius. Here are the 3 cards I picked:

1. newborn baby girl needs baby supplies
2. adult male wants a rainstick instrument
3. 11 year-old girl wants a backpack & school supplies

Oh my goodness, I can't handle it! I *love* school supplies! My favorite time of the school year was when I got to pick out a new backpack, and fill it with a bunch of new pencils and paper and folders and markers and erasers, etc. I was thrilled to go buy school supplies for a sixth grade girl!

I decided to ask my co-worker what his daughter needed for 6th grade (her current grade), and he actually got me the list their school sent to him in August. I bought almost everything on the list. I had a blast! =) I bought a pink backpack, and filled it with:

- pens
- mechanical pencils & lead
- eraser
- glue stick
- white out tape
- scissors
- binder
- folders
- ruler
- post-it notes
- colored index cards
- calculator
- accordian file
- planner notebook
- markers
- "twistable" colored pencils (they don't need to be sharpened!)
- cute things (Hello Kitty bag clip & mini gel pens)
- an "American Girl" book on Starting Middle School (next year!)
- USB thumb drive

...that's right, a USB thumb drive. According to parents of elementary school kids around here, that's totally essential for school. More and more is done on the computer, and it's the easiest method for moving information around, I guess. Amazing. School continues to morph to meet the needs of each generation! I think that's exciting, and I wouldn't want this little girl to be left behind academically.

Anyway, as it turns out, The Family Giving Tree also does an event for kids who are starting school, to outfit them with these very same things. I think I might end up liking that time of year as much as I like Christmas! (maybe.)