How Family Volunteering Helps Combat Bullying

"Kids who believe they have the power to make a difference are less likely to stand by when they encounter a bully, according to the Pacer....Parenting isn't about toughening up our children for the real world. It's about raising our children to be thoughtful, confident, respectful, and brave. The sort of adults who get involved when they notice injustice."

I love this post by DGT for many reasons:  it's honesty, the practical ideas, and the resources shared. Mostly, I love it for how it shows how doing acts of kindness with our children can help prevent bullying.  Enjoy!

A great resource for weekly kindness

A great resource for easy ways to spread kindness each week, complete with related children's books and resources! Thank you, Doing Good Together!

"Interview with a Triathlete"--produced by Tyler and Megan

The kids wanted to interview me this time! "Interview with a Triathlete" produced by T & M. :) 40 days left to reach our interim goal of $500.00! Our focus organization for the next 10 days is Doing Good Together. To make your tax-deductible donation click here: http://www.doinggoodtogether.org/donate-dgt. Thank you!

$500 in 50 Days

As we prepare for our first, short(er) race in 50 days (Oil Man Texas: 70.3 miles long), the kids have a message to share with all of you in the video below.

Here are the links to help support the wonderful organizations Doing Good Together and Little Helping Hands:

• https://littlehelpinghands.org/donate.php/

• http://www.doinggoodtogether.org/donate-dgt 

Remember to indicate it's for the "Schmidt Ironman. 100% of your donation goes directly to their organizations and all donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you in advance for helping us to reach our goal of raising $500 before the Oil Man (Nov. 6th) and $2812 ($10 for each of the 140.6 miles for each organization) before IRONMAN Texas. Together, we can help spread the kindness that is so needed in our world today.

The power to change our world

Community: The second key "C" in family volunteering and IRONMAN training

A little while ago, I wrote about how consistency was a key ingredient in family volunteering and IRONMAN training.  At that point, I had no idea it would be the start of an alliteration theme, but as I thought about our volunteering experience today, another "c" word kept bubbling up in my thoughts.

This morning, Megan and I had an opportunity for some mom-daughter time helping out Interfaith of the Woodlands in their Veggie Village, getting the plots ready for the fall planting.  Veggie Village is a community donation garden where people work together to grow fresh food for the Interfaith Food Pantry.

After we were done, I asked Megan what her favorite part was.  Even though I thought she might say spreading the compost with her bare hands (that was the one job that she REALLY seemed to love), she responded back "the team we got to work on."  

With that simple response, I was reminded of another aspect of Little Helping Hands and Doing Good Together that makes me believe in them and drives us to support them through Project Becoming Our Best.  In their own ways, they both provide supportive communities for growing kindness in our children.  Each of the projects Little Helping Hands plans (more than 70/month!) involves multiple families working together.  Through the Big Hearted Families community and Family Volunteer City Listings, Doing Good Together provides a place where families interested in growing kindness can connect.

Supportive communities, even if they consist of two people that we have never met before (as was the case today), can make all the difference when the work gets particularly draining and they can multiply the learning and joy experienced when volunteering.

Come to think of it, I could easily say the same about triathlon training.  The triathlon community I've come to know here, particularly through Magnolia Masters, (and not to mention having Jeff training with me at the same time), has lifted me up when I didn't feel like jumping in the pool one more time or getting up for one more 4am workout.

Who knew that family volunteering and IRONMAN training had so much in common?  Here's to discovering what the next "c" will be :)...

Without words, this little girl showed why I believe in family volunteering

The range of expressions on this sweet girl's face throughout the video express perfectly without words why we support Doing Good Together andLittle Helping Hands. It's definitely worth a watch.