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By Mom Unplugged, October 22, 2008 3:17 pm

Do you ever get upset about the excess of marketing targeted at your children? How about the sexualization of children’s toys and ads? Even without TV, it is hard to miss the barrage of ads, “licensed characters” and sleazy or violent toys. We see it everywhere: in children’s magazines, in the grocery stores, and even (or so I have been told) in the public schools.

Some people don’t seem to mind, and that is OK. But if you are a parent who feels manipulated, angry and frustrated by every trip to the supermarket, toy store, or even book store, then head on over to Parents For Ethical Marketing and meet Lisa Ray, a mom who is not just complaining, but is actually trying to DO something about it!

Lisa started her website and blog in 2007. Via her blog that began as a simple creative outlet, Lisa discovered her true passion: fighting corporate marketing targeted at children.

Now a year later, she is taking her website one step farther. Lisa is creating a non-profit organization to help her take real action to curb unethical children’s marketing. Her plans include educating the public via free workshops for parent groups, newsletters and her blog, Corporate Babysitter. She also hopes to influence legislation and encourage parents to write to corporations about marketing policies that displease them.

Lisa’s goal is to raise $10,000 by Thanksgiving. Read more here. If you like what you read, then you can make a donation to her cause via the Parents for Ethical Marketing page at change.org.

It is so easy to sit back and complain about what displeases us, but very few people have the energy or drive to actually try and do something about it. Thank you for taking this cause and running with it Lisa. I applaud you!

(Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Anita Patterson Peppers for this lovely photo.)

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By Mom Unplugged, May 27, 2008 9:44 pm

Those of you who have been visiting Unplug Your Kids for a while, might remember my children’s Heifer International fund raising efforts. They made and sold Christmas ornaments, and earned money from their “Candy Bank” to contribute to my oldest daughter, E’s, class charity fundraising project.

E got so wrapped up in the fun of helping others, that she announced that for Christmas she wanted a book about different charities and what they do. “Santa” brought her A Kids Guide to Giving by Freddi Zeiler.

I promised you a review if we liked it, so here it is - finally!

Ms. Zeiler (age 20 at the time of publication) really began work on this book at age 14 when she became interested in charities, and started researching and compiling notes on different charitable organizations and how they spend their money. Her parents encouraged her to expand her research and turn it into a book to inspire other young people.

This book was just what E was hoping for. The first half discusses why to give, how to choose a cause, types of contributions (money, things, and time/effort), fund-raising ideas, and more. There are also sections on why it is important to know how a charity spends its money and how to avoid scams.

The last portion is a guide to tons of kid-friendly charities arranged by subject (“People,” “Animals,” and “The Environment”). It explains what each charity does and gives contact information, website, breakdown of how each dollar donated is spent, etc.

There is a small section for notes at the end, although my daughter likes to just put a check mark by her preferred charities. The hard cover and fold-over magnetic flap make it appealing in almost a diary, or notebook-like way.

My daughter likes to sit and read it, and I am happy to let her do so. Since this is a guide for children, the charities are comprehensible to children. You will not find yourself having to explain to your 7 year-old what a rape crisis center is, for example.

My children’s “charity of the day” is the African Wildlife Foundation (discovered through this book). They have already “adopted” one animal, a leopard, and are working on raising money to adopt another.

A final note: The recommended age range for the A Kids Guide to Giving, is 12 and up. My daughter is only 7, but she is an excellent reader. In my opinion, this book is suitable for children younger than age 12 provided they have the necessary interest and reading skills.

GREAT REALTED LINK: Topaz Took was kind enough to offer a link (in her comment on my Heifer-results post) to a wonderful website called Doing Good Together, about volunteering together as a family. There is a wealth of information including how to get your family involved in helping others, as well as an interesting resources section (books, videos, and websites arranged by topic and age). Thank you Topaz!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 15, 2008 5:19 pm

A Heifer International fund raising update:

My daughter’s Montessori class ( 1st-3rd grade) of 20 children raised a total of $1,067 to donate to Heifer International! Each child raised money their own way.

Last semester the class studied basic human needs, and this semester they are studying the continent of Africa. This fund raising project ties in with both those themes.

My daughter (and 5 year-old son) made and sold Christmas ornaments by the side of the road and contributed candy and junky “toys” to their Candy Bank to earn money for the project. In addition to each child’s individual earnings, the class also held a bake sale in the school parking lot (on a very snowy day!!).

I just wanted to post an update about this project since someone out there who knew my address, was so kind as to spread the word and organize contributions from all over the country. Truly amazing! Thank you again whoever you are!

The class earned nearly double their original goal and instead of buying an animal or two for one family, they are able to fund a project that will help an entire African village.

Your generosity, and that of our local community, makes a HUGE difference. Not only to a village in Africa, but to my daughter and her classmates who now know how good it feels to give and to help others. Thank you!

Photo (Zambia) courtesy of Heifer International.

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By Mom Unplugged, December 19, 2007 9:18 pm

Several weeks ago for an Unplugged Project, we made Christmas ornaments that my 7 year-old daughter intended to sell as part of a class project to raise money for Heifer International. Her plan was to set up an “Ornament Stand” by the side of the road (instead of the classic lemonade stand) and sell her ornaments to make money to contribute to the class Heifer fund.

Well…I give her an A++ for vision and determination because she (and 5 year-old little brother) did it! It was very cold that day, but they sat out there after school for about two and a half hours. I did not interfere, but did hang around outside pretending to garden (in December???) and FROZE TO DEATH while protecting from kidnapping perverts and making sure the baby didn’t run into the road.

They set up two kid tables from the playroom and hung some self-made signs on them. They arranged all the ornaments on trays and even brought out a Heifer catalog that had come in the mail (in case people had questions). Honestly, it was cute beyond words!

We live on a quiet street, especially in the winter since this is mainly a summer community, so only two cars went by in all that time (and tragically didn’t stop). But the neighbor came over, the contractor working on the house next door stopped by, and many of my friends (in fact pretty much ALL my friends, as well as my sister) “just happened” to drive by and stop!

The plan was to try again on a weekend morning since we would probably get a bit more drive-by traffic (and it might be warmer?), but so far the weekends have been snowy and ill-suited to Ornament Stands.

But my daughter is thrilled, because so far she has made $56 all by herself. Today in the car on the way home from school she told me that she wants to “devote her life to helping the poor.” I am NOT making this up!

For the first time ever, I am wildly hoping that this is not “just a phase!” As you moms know, most “phases” are pretty dreadful.

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By Mom Unplugged, December 5, 2007 1:19 pm

This is our “Candy Bank,” it is our extension of the Halloween “Candy Fairy” concept. Every time the kids go to a birthday party and come home with a bunch of candy and junky toys, they can choose to put them in “The Candy Bank.” When the jar is full, I give them $10.00 to donate to a charity of their choice.

My original plan had been to buy them each a small gift when the jar was full, but before I was able to suggest the gift idea, my daughter said she wanted to use the Candy Bank as a way to collect money for charity. My son was enthusiastic about the charity idea too, so that is what we are doing with our Candy Bank!

They were so excited, that after putting in their candy, they asked if toys could go in too.

“Of course!!!” I said, hardly believing my good fortune!

They rushed off to collect bits and pieces and, in under ten minutes, they had the jar completely filled. At $10.00 per jar this could get expensive, but for a good cause, I don’t mind. I didn’t realize that it would be filled so quickly, but I am so grateful for their enthusiasm.

We had a very interesting dinnertime conversation that night about some different charities and what they do. My daughter apparently still remembers seeing the Smile Train website over a year ago, because she asked me about the charity that fixes children’s mouths.

The two junior philanthropists have decided to donate the first batch of Candy Bank money to Heifer International, since my daughter is trying to earn money for her class to buy animals and seedlings from Heifer International to donate to a village in Africa. After the class places the Heifer order, then the kids want to donate to Smile Train.

Honestly, I am blown away by this whole concept that we have stumbled upon, and especially by the children’s excitement.

What a win-win:

+ The kids develop a sense of altruism and learn to enjoy helping others.

+ They also learn about saving up for something, a notion that we can extend to actual money later on.

+ Of course you won’t be surprised to hear how thrilled I am to eliminate candy and a bit of clutter from the house!

+ We have a few little toys to donate to a local charity thrift store.

+ I am also hoping to teach cooperation. Since we have only one jar and one sum of money, the two children must fill the jar together, and then together, come up with a plan for the money.

On a side note, a few days after the Candy Bank discussion, my daughter asked me if for Christmas she could get a book about different charities that exist and what each of them does. I definitely want to encourage this spirit of generosity as much as I can, so I immediately went onto Amazon and found this one which I have ordered:

If we like it, I’ll write a review after Christmas.