Simple projects for people of all ages.
Give Back Together
This week, get out in nature and find some treasures! Watch for more:
Pick up some pine cones, leaves or flowers off the ground and make something out of it -- a card for someone, a toy, a bird feeder, the possibilities are endless! Deadline is June 3.
Share pics of your creations with #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Here's Corina's 'kid going to school' made out of wood chips, paper and tape!
Spring is here and that means it's yard work time!
This week we're taking part in the letter carriers' annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive! Hopefully, if you're in the U.S., you received a blue bag in your mailbox this week. If so, simply fill it with nonperishable food items and place it by your mailbox by 9 a.m. Saturday, May 12. Your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver it to a local food bank. Lost your blue bag or didn't get one? No problem! Add canned food to a paper bag or a cloth bag that you don't mind saying goodbye to, mark it with a 'Stamp Out Hunger' sign and put it beside your mailbox.
Deadline: Saturday, May 12
More info: Visit the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive website.
Note: If you forget to put your bag of food out on Saturday, or it doesn't get picked up that day, simply put it out on Monday!
Better late than never! Our May Day project got a bit delayed due to illness this week but it's always a good time to give someone you love flowers, isn't it? Watch the video below to hear more about this week's project.
It's card-making time! Watch to hear more about this week's project:
Join us and make a card for the people who pick up your garbage, recycle and yard waste. This simple project will take well under an hour and is sure to brighten the day of the waste collectors in your neighborhood. Let us know how it goes! Share pics of your cards with #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Earth Day is April 22 and this year, it's all about saying no to plastic. Earth Day's 'End Plastic Pollution' campaign highlights the amount of plastic we create (6,300 million metric tons as of 2015) and the amount that winds up in landfills and the environment (79% of that 6,300 million metric tons). There's a lot we can all do to cut down on the plastic we use. Watch the video below to see what we'll be doing!
If you're in the Seattle area, join us at Log Boom Park in Kenmore this Sunday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to Noon to clean up the beach. Check out other Earth Day activities at earthday.org. Share your pics on social media with #EndPlasticPollution, #EarthDay2018 and #GiveBackTogether!
Have you heard of Good Four, a movement all about doing good? Thanks to Give Back Together supporter Anna Gorohoff who clued us in! As actress Kristen Bell explains in a short video, Good Four is a movement for good, and we're thrilled to join in. You can too! All you have to do is do four hours of good on April 4, 2018. You could clean up a park, visit an assisted living home, collect and donate food, etc. It's up to you! We love this idea because it gives people the opportunity to chose something that really matters to them.
So for this week's Give Back Together project, join in on Good Four, in whatever way matters most to you. If you can't think of anything and are in the Seattle area, join us! We'll be holding a lemonade and cookie stand along a popular biking trail, giving away treats to bikers and asking for donations for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, an organization that is doing vital research to find a cure for people with Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease that can lead to bone marrow failure and cancer.
If you're in the Kenmore or Seattle area and want to join us, we'd love to see you! Here are details of our Good Four activity:
Date and time: April 4, 2018, 5 to 6 p.m.
Location: Log Boom park in Kenmore, Wash.
The plan: We'll be getting our other three hours in by baking cookies, making lemonade and decorating posters for the stand we'll set up at the park. Come on by with your own homemade goodies (or just yourselves!) and help us hand out treats and raise money for Fanconi anemia research. And that's not all...we'll be giving away Give Back Together t-shirts to anyone who joins us!
Give Back Together directors Keeley and Corina hearing all about Good Four from Kristen Bell.
There's no doubt about it — teachers go above and beyond to make school a fun, creative place where kids are excited to go every day. Our kids' teachers are no exception. We even bumped into one of the preschool teachers at the kids' evening gymnastics class last week and she was cutting out pieces for the next day's craft project! They go the extra mile to make sure our kids feel welcome, motivated to learn and comfortable being themselves. Now it's our turn to give back.
This week, we're making our teachers a homemade vase and filling it with flowers. Hunt through your cupboards or fridge to find a glass jar (jam works great!). Next, decorate it. We used Mod Podge and tissue paper but you could use stickers, tie on pipe cleaners, glue on feathers or ribbons — the sky's the limit. The final step is to fill it with flowers. Our plan was to pick from our yard but spring hasn't quite sprung so we pulled from a bouquet we got last week. Homemade paper flowers are also acceptable!
Time: 1 to 4 hours (hint: spread your Mod Podge a little thinner so it'll dry faster)
Supplies: A jar, Mod Podge, tissue paper, other decorative items, glue
Cost: $5 to $15, depending on what craft supplies you already have at home
Deadline: Sunday, April 1
Let us know how it goes! Share photos of your vases with us using #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Sponsoring a child in another country is one of the most rewarding things our family has done. We were introduced to Children's Hopechest through a work colleague and started sponsoring a girl, about the same age as our oldest daughter, through the organization about four years ago. One of the things we love most about this is that we can write letters to the girl we sponsor and she writes letters back -- so that's what we're doing this week! If you're interested in sponsoring a child, check out Children's Hopechest, World Vision or another reputable organization's sponsorship program.
Step 1: Research sponsorship programs and chose one that feels right to you. Then, get writing!
Time: 20 minutes to an hour to write your sponsored child a letter.
Supplies: Paper, crayons, pens
Cost: Although most of Give Back Together's projects are free or of very low cost, this will likely be $35-40 a month. More expensive but worth it -- the relationship we've built with our pen pal in Ethiopia is wonderful!
This week, we're joining Jessica Biel and taking the #PlungeforElodie! Elodie is a toddler who was born with a rare genetic disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa. EB causes skin to break or blister very easily. There are no cures or treatments. #PlungeforElodie raises awareness of EB and money for research to find a cure for Elodie and everyone who lives with this terrible disease. We love this campaign and hope you will too. All you have to do is plunge into water and make a donation at plungeforelodie.org — it's that easy. Here's our plunge on this cool March evening in Seattle:
Time: 10 minutes to an hour — depends if you decide to fill a huge pool like us
Supplies: Water! And something to hold it — a pool, bathtub, etc.
Cost: A donation to EB Research Partnership at plungeforelodie.org
Deadline: Sunday, March 18
Share your videos with #PlungeforElodie and #HealEB on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word about this cool campaign!
We've been very impressed with the firefighters in our area, coming to preschool to talk to our kids about preventing fires and how to keep safe if there is one. So this week we're writing them letters to say thank you. Join us in showing our appreciation for these incredible people!
Time: 30 minutes to an hour
Supplies: Card-making materials (paper, crayons, markers); envelopes and stamps
Cost: Hopefully just the cost of a stamp -- use arts and crafts you already have to keep costs down
Deadline: Sunday, March 11
Let us know how it goes! Share photos of your letters with us using #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
This week, we're supporting an amazing organization started by a kid! Ellie founded KidKnits at the age of nine to help combat global poverty. KidKnits buys hand-spun yarn and other products from women in Rwanda, Chile, Mexico and Kenya, then sells the yarn and knitting hat kits online to people all over the world. What an absolutely fabulous idea — we are so impressed! We bought one of the "Me and My Doll" kits and can't wait to try it out!
Time: 20 minutes to peruse the website and purchase an item; longer to actually knit it!
Cost: Ranges from $6+ for yarn or $14+ for a hat kit
Deadline: Sunday, March 4
Note: It was tough to talk to our kids about poverty, and I'm not sure how much sunk in since they are young (age six and under), but they understood that some people have more than others. And they really loved watching the video about KidKnits and the idea that kids can make a big impact on other people around the world.
We're lucky enough to have some fabulous neighbors and friends who pass kids clothes on to us and now it's our turn to do the same. This week, we are going through the dresser drawers and finding clothes that are too small or no longer worn, and items we simply have too much of (how many pairs of kids' leggings does one really need?!). Once the bags are full, we'll drop them off to a collection center. Join us!
Time: 1 to 2 hours
Supplies: bins or plastic bags for the clothes
Cost: zip
Deadline: Feb. 25
This week's project comes straight from six-year-old Keeley and it's something everyone can do! Watch the video for tips.
Our kids could do arts and crafts all day long, so this is definitely one they have been looking forward to. Make Valentine's Day cards by cutting out giant hearts, sticking on red and pink stickers and signing your name — they don't have to be fancy! Drop cards off to loved ones living at an assisted living home to help spread the love in the run up to Valentine's Day.
Don't know anyone living in an assisted living home? We don't either — call a home near you and explain that you're part of a group that does weekly service projects. Ask if it's OK to drop off homemade Valentine's Day cards and visit for a short while with residents. Many residents don't get regular visitors, so chances are you'll get the green light for a visit.
Time: 2 to 4 hours
Supplies: construction paper, stickers, scissors, glitter, markers and/or crayons
Cost: $20 or less; use supplies you have at home to keep costs down
Deadline: Sunday, Feb. 11
We'd love to see your cards! If you're sharing them on social media, use #GiveBackTogether and tag us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Happy crafting!
Let's put pen to paper (or maybe crayon to card) and write a letter to someone special. Our kids picked their great grandma Martha (98 years old!) and had fun drawing her pictures and writing a little note. (Another highlight — putting the stamp on!)
This is such a simple way to brighten someone's day. After all, everyone loves getting mail! We hope you can join us in spreading a little joy through good old-fashioned snail mail.
Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour
Supplies: paper, pen, crayons, markers, envelopes and stamps
Cost: just the cost of stamps if you use card-making materials you have at home!
Deadline: Feb. 4
A big tip of the hat to everyone who's completed a Give Back Together activity so far. Let's keep the momentum going! Share your pics with #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
I can't believe it's week four already! This week we're focused on those close to us — literally. Knowing your neighbors doesn't have to be restricted to suburbia or the '50s — let's bring it back! For this project, cook a meal or a tasty treat for some of your neighbors. You could pick a family new to the neighborhood, someone who has recently had a baby or simply someone you'd like to surprise with something scrumptious. And if you have kiddos and they are anything like ours, they will relish the opportunity to bust out the art supplies to make a cute card to drop off as well.
Time: 1 to 2 hours
Supplies: Ingredients and cookware for the meal; markers and paper for a card
Cost: $0-$20 for supplies; keep this to a minimum by using what you already have at home
Deadline: Sunday, Jan. 28
Reminder: Share your photos with #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Share in January for the chance to win Give Back Together t-shirts (more about this on our blog)!
Calling all you bookworms! Let's get those well-read books to some new audiences. This week's challenge is to donate books. You can drop them off at a collection center or check with your local library -- many take books in good condition and add them to their collection. A great way to support the library and ensure your books get read time and time again!
Time: 1 to 2 hours
Supplies: boxes or bags to transport books
Cost: bus fare, gas, uber -- transportation costs are it for this one
Deadline: Sunday, Jan. 21
Tip: Call the library branch you'd like to drop books off at or check out their website to make sure they take used books.
Make sure to share your photos with #GiveBackTogether on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Share in January and you'll be entered to win Give Back Together t-shirts (check out our blog for more info)!
