8 Stories to Inspire Generosity and Charity in Kids八個激勵孩子樂善好施的故事

克里·弗拉特利

Below are eight stories of kids who saw a need in the world and set out to fix it. Hearing the stories of these kids charities will inspire generosity and charity in your own kids.本文講述了八個關(guān)于孩子們看到他人有難、主動行善的故事。這些孩子創(chuàng)立了自己的慈善機構(gòu)，聆聽他們的故事將激勵您的孩子慷慨行善。

My kids love stories. And stories about other kids？ Even better.

So when it comes to teaching my two daughters about generosity， what could be better than to tell them stories of kids who happened upon a need in society and set out to fix it？

Below is a list of eight kids who founded their own charities. Some of these organizations address local needs and others reach internationally， but all were founded by kids.

Hannah Taylor—The Ladybug Foundation： When she was 5 years old， Hannah Taylor saw a homeless man eating out of a garbage can on a cold winter day. For the next year she constantly asked her parents： “Why？ Why couldnt everyone just share what they have to end homelessness？”. At age 8， Hannah founded The Ladybug Foundation which has raised over 3 million dollars to fight homelessness in Canada. Hannah is also the founder of a second， separate charity， The Ladybug Foundation Education Program Inc.， through which she created “makeChange： The Ladybug Foundation Education Program”， a K-12 resource for use in schools across Canada to empower young people to get involved and “makeChange” in their world.

Craig Kielburger—We.org： One morning over breakfast， 12-year-old Craig Kielburger was flipping through the newspaper when he stopped short1 on a story： Iqbal Masih， a 12-year-old former child slave in Pakistan， had been murdered because he spoke up for human rights. In that moment， Craig realized he could have been Iqbal but for the fate of where he had been born. From there， Craig determined he had to do something and with the help of some classmates and his brother， WE （then Free The Children） was born – an organ-ization that empowers with a mission to free children and their families to lift themselves from poverty and exploitation. The team has also created WE Villages Adopt a Village， dedicated to development that provides access to five key pillars—education， clean water and sanitation， health care， food security， and alternative income— a combination of key interventions that empower a community to help lift themselves out of poverty.

Janine Licare and Aislin Livingstone—Kids Saving the Rainforest： Janine Licare and Aislin Livingstone were 9 years old in 1999 when they saw the rainforest disappearing from their beloved home in Costa Rica and the negative impact this was having animals， particularly the mono titi monkeys2. After becoming dissatisfied with how their donations were being spent with other rainforest charities， Janine and Aislin set out to begin their own organization—Kids Saving the Rainforest. The mission of Kids Saving the Rainforest is to protect the diverse wildlife of Costa Ricas Pacific coast by rehabilitating wildlife， conducting original scientific research， training volunteers， and promoting conservation.

Jonas Corona—Love in the Mirror： When Jonas Corona was 6 he and his Mom would make monthly visits to the local homeless shelter to volunteer. The experience of seeing not only adults but also kids in need inspired Jonas to begin his own organization. Jonas says “every kid should look in the mirror and love themselves” and thus came the name “Love in the Mirror”. The mission of Love in the Mirror is to inspire young people to make a difference through their volunteer commitment of providing disadvantaged youth and their families with basic necessities.

Austin Gutwein—Hoops of Hope： In the spring of 2004， Austin Gutwein watched a video of children who had lost their parents to AIDS.? Moved to do something to help these kids， Austin decided to shoot basketball free throws3 as a way to raise money on World AIDS Day. He shot 2，057 free throws to represent the 2，057 kids who would be orphaned that day. Through sponsorships， he was able to raise almost $3，000. From that year forward， Austin organized a shoot-a-thon4 called Hoops of Hope， that thousands participate in. Hoops of Hope participants have raised over $2.5 million to provide orphans of AIDS access to food， clothing， shelter， a new school， dormitories， a computer lab， two medical centers， and more.

Annie Wignall—Care Bags 4 Kids： At eleven years old， Annie Wignall began the Care Bags Foundation in 2000 when she discovered there are many kids in crisis situations who have to leave their homes with very few of their own belongings. Annies organization creates and distributes fabric care bags filled with essential and comforting items for needy children aged baby-18 years. Over the years， with increased support and donations from businesses， groups， and individuals， along with agencies who hand-deliver the bags， Annies idea has grown from a small home-based project helping a few kids in Iowa， into a nationally-recognized nonprofit that provides services to thousands of kids worldwide.

Garrett and Kyle Weiss—FUNDa-FIELD： In 2006， Garrett and Kyle Weiss attended the World Cup Soccer games in Germany. At a game between Iran and Angola， they discovered what a privilege it is to play soccer in Angola. Since they were two young American soccer players and had taken for granted cleats， shin guards， and fields to play on， the brothers decided to fund fields for kids in less fortunate areas of the world so they too can take part in the game. In addition to having built 10 soccer fields around the world， FUNDaFIELD says its fields support the rehabilitation and recovery process in post-conflict and post-trauma regions around the world.

Mackenzie Bearup—Sheltering Books： Mackenzie was 13 years old when she began collecting childrens books for shelters in and around Alpharetta， Georgia. It soon became a family project with her 2 brothers， Alex and Benjamin， working alongside her. In total， they have collected and donated over 360，000 books for shelters across the world.

我的孩子們喜歡聽故事，特別是有關(guān)其他孩子的故事。

因此，在教導(dǎo)我的兩個女兒學(xué)會慷慨解囊時，給她們講述其他孩子因偶見他人有難而投身慈善的故事無疑是不二之選。

下面八個孩子創(chuàng)立了自己的慈善機構(gòu)。這些組織有些行善一方，有些則將愛心播撒到世界各地，但都是由孩子創(chuàng)立。

漢娜·泰勒——小瓢蟲基金會：? 5歲時，在一個寒冷的冬日，漢娜·泰勒看到一個無家可歸的人從垃圾桶里掏東西吃。在接下來的一年里，她不斷問父母同樣一個問題：為什么？“為什么大家不能分享自己的東西，不再讓人無家可歸呢？”8歲時，漢娜創(chuàng)立了小瓢蟲基金會。截至目前，該基金會已籌集了超過 300 萬美元幫助加拿大的無家可歸人員。此外，漢娜還創(chuàng)立了另一家慈善機構(gòu)，即小瓢蟲基金會教育計劃公司。通過該公司她創(chuàng)建了面向加拿大 K-12 學(xué)校的“做出改變：小瓢蟲基金會教育計劃”，旨在幫助年輕人參與慈善并“做出改變”。

克雷格·基爾伯格——We慈善機構(gòu)：一天早上，12歲的克雷格·基爾伯格一邊吃早餐，一邊翻閱報紙，突然注意到這樣一則報道：巴基斯坦12歲的前童奴伊克巴爾·馬西因主張人權(quán)而被謀殺。在那一刻，克雷格意識到，要不是因為自己出生在命運不同的國家，他也可能會有跟伊克巴爾一樣的遭遇。在這件事的觸動下，克雷格決定要做些什么;在一些同學(xué)和自己兄弟的幫助下，克雷格創(chuàng)立了 WE慈善（當(dāng)時叫做“解放兒童”）。該組織的使命是幫助貧困兒童及其家庭增強能力，讓他們靠自己擺脫貧困和剝削。該團(tuán)隊還創(chuàng)建了 WE Villages Adopt a Village計劃，致力于提供五大方面的保障，即教育、清潔水和公共衛(wèi)生、醫(yī)療保健、食品安全與替代性收入，這些關(guān)鍵性的干預(yù)措施結(jié)合起來幫助社區(qū)增強能力，使之靠自己擺脫貧困。

亞尼內(nèi)·利卡爾和艾斯琳·利文斯通——“兒童拯救雨林”：1999 年，年僅9歲的哈寧·利卡爾和艾斯琳·利文斯通目睹了在哥斯達(dá)黎加自己熱愛的家鄉(xiāng)雨林消失的慘況，及其對動物，尤其是伶猴的災(zāi)難性影響。哈寧和艾斯琳向一些雨林保護(hù)慈善機構(gòu)進(jìn)行了捐款，但款項的使用方式引起了她們的不滿。為此，她們開始著手成立自己的組織，即“兒童拯救雨林”。該組織的使命是保護(hù)哥斯達(dá)黎加太平洋沿岸的各種野生生物，具體措施包括恢復(fù)野生生物的種群數(shù)量、進(jìn)行原創(chuàng)性科學(xué)研究、培訓(xùn)志愿者和宣傳環(huán)境保護(hù)等。

約納斯·科羅納——“鏡中之愛”：6歲時，約納斯·科羅納每月都會和媽媽去當(dāng)?shù)氐牧骼苏呤杖菟峁┲驹阜?wù)。約納斯發(fā)現(xiàn)流浪者中不僅有成年人，還有孩童，這激發(fā)他創(chuàng)立了自己的慈善組織。約納斯認(rèn)為“每個孩子都應(yīng)看看鏡子里的自己，自賞自愛”?；谶@一理念，他將組織命名為“鏡中之愛”。 “鏡中之愛”的使命是鼓勵年輕人投入到為弱勢年輕人及其家庭提供基本必需品的志愿服務(wù)，從而發(fā)揮自己的作用。

奧斯汀·古特魏因——“希望之籃”：2004 年春天，奧斯汀·古特魏因觀看了一段關(guān)于孩童失去身染艾滋病父母的視頻。奧斯汀深受觸動，為了幫助這些可憐的孩子，他決定在世界艾滋病日通過籃球運動的罰球籌集善款。他投了2057次罰球，代表那天將成為孤兒的2057個孩子。通過各種贊助，他籌集了近3000美元的資金。從那一年起，奧斯汀組織了一場名為“希望之籃”的投籃馬拉松比賽，有數(shù)千人參加?！跋Ｍ@”的參與者籌集了超過250萬美元，這些錢用于為艾滋孤兒提供食物、衣服和住所，并為他們修建了一所新學(xué)校、幾間宿舍、一個計算機房和兩座醫(yī)療中心等。

安妮·威格諾爾——“關(guān)愛兒童愛心袋”： 2000 年，11 歲的安妮·威格諾爾發(fā)現(xiàn)許多孩子漂泊在外，幾無財物，處境堪憂。為幫助這些孩子，她成立了“愛心袋基金”。該組織積極為18歲以下的貧苦孩童制作和分發(fā)愛心袋，里面裝滿了必需品和慰問品。多年來，企業(yè)、團(tuán)體和個人紛紛向這家基金會伸出援手和提供捐贈，一些機構(gòu)還承擔(dān)了親手遞送愛心袋的工作。在社會的幫助下，安妮的基金會已從幫扶艾奧瓦州幾個孩子的小型家庭作坊式項目成長為舉國公認(rèn)的非營利機構(gòu)，目前可為全球成千上萬的兒童提供愛心服務(wù)。

加雷特和凱爾·韋斯——“捐建足球場”：2006年，加雷特和凱爾·韋斯在德國參加了世界杯足球賽。伊朗對陣安哥拉的一場比賽讓他們意識到，踢足球在安哥拉是一件無上榮耀的事情。對這兩位年輕的美國足球運動員而言，防滑球鞋、護(hù)脛板和球場都是理所當(dāng)然的。為了讓世界貧困地區(qū)的孩子也能參與足球運動，兄弟倆決定資助球場建設(shè)?！熬杞ㄗ闱驁觥北硎?，他們在全球建造了十個足球場，此外，在剛剛經(jīng)歷過沖突和創(chuàng)傷的地區(qū)，這些足球場還有助于當(dāng)?shù)氐幕謴?fù)重建工作。

麥肯齊·貝勒普——“為收容所捐書”：麥肯齊13歲時開始為佐治亞州阿爾法利塔及其周邊的收容所收集兒童書籍。很快，她的兩個兄弟亞歷克斯和本杰明也加入她的行列，與她一起搜羅書籍。他們收集到的書總共超過36萬本，這些書捐給了世界各地的收容所。

Inspirational Quotes About Giving

We make a living by what we get， but we make a life by what we give.

——Winston Churchill

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

——Pablo Picasso

You give little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

——Kahlil Gibran

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

——Mahatma Gandhi

Giving is not just about making a donation; its about making a difference.

——Kathy Calvin

Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.

——Brian Tracy