This is a contributed post. I received compensation for posting it.
Child psychologists have often said that kids are born with this natural inclination to share, and as parents we often try to harness that predisposition to philanthropy so that they grow up to be the loving, caring adults we have always hoped.
Getting children involved in charity will widen their scope of the world, but there are also great teaching tools that you can use at home to help them understand global issues like poverty and illiteracy. These days, plenty of children’s book authors are writing charity-themed stories as a way to get them to relate to the characters, thereby teaching them about moral values such as empathy and compassion.
Beatrice’s Goat
Page McBrier’s story surrounds a young African girl named Beatrice who dreams of books, school uniforms and learning, but with five other siblings, her parents don’t have enough to send her to school. One day, a stranger provides her with a gift of a goat which Beatrice quickly learns that she can use its milk to earn money, money that one day could help her dreams become a reality. This book is a reminder of the obstacles many children are faced with when trying to pursue their education, and something as small as one euro a day for a child in need or supplying livestock for a family can make a huge difference, bigger than anyone can possibly imagine.
Cows for America
Another tale about international giving is Thomas Gonzales’ book that highlights the generosity of a small African village. A villager returns from medical school in America one day and shares the tragedy of September 11. The villagers are so moved by the events that ask a US Ambassador to visit their village where he is gifted with 14 cows as their contribution in their recovery process. The book also has some of the most beautiful illustrations and comes highly recommended for child educators.
The Giving Book: Open a Door to a Lifetime
The Giving Book by Ellen Sabin is an interactive tool that contains learning activities to engage its readers with charity, rather than just reading about it. Utilized by parents, teachers and many others, this book is a way for kids to experience the world of philanthropy in a fun way. Through The Giving Book, they become the authors of their own stories as the jot down their journey into charity.