Fundraising with Kids

I am veering away from one of my favorite topics, quilts, today to address another favorite topic, kids! Not just any kids, though, some great, hardworking kids that are learning the value of working together and helping others.

My family has a Realy for Life team and last year a few of the kids in the family participated in the festivities on Relay night. Joey did a magic show. Kelsi, Kaden, and Jordan assisted in marble tournaments. They all helped set up and tear down. If you are not familiar with Realy for Life and the culminating event, you can read more on the website listed at the bottom of this post. My cousins, aunts, uncles, and I had planned for several months for the event and had many fundraisers during that time. About two weeks after the event, some of the kids started asking if and when we were going to do "that" again. "That" was really fun. So the idea struck me that our kids - kids in our Curtis family could learn now while they are young that they can make a difference. We (my cousins and I) think we have pretty good kids. They get along, like to hang out together, support one another in school activities, and generally do what is expected of them at home and when visiting others.

When my brother, cousins, and I began to form our team this year, we talked about ways our kids could be more involved. My brother (brave soul that he is and a big kid himself) consented to be the captain of a kids team. Our objective is to help the young folks in our family learn now how they can make a difference in their world. Many people in our family have fought the battle with cancer. Three of the "kiddos" never had the opportunity to meet their grandpa - he died when he was 33 years old with bone cancer. Five more of the "kiddos" have a Pa that is battling the dreaded disease now. Two more missed out on getting to know their Pa because of lung cancer. These are just three examples, but the bottom line is, all of these kids know or have known someone with cancer, or have missed out knowing an important family member because of cancer.

We hope that being a part of Relay for Life will accomplish many things:

1. Our kids will learn that everyone can make a difference. There is truth in the stories of the power of one!


2. We want our kids to learn to give. In a society that sometimes to appear to be all about taking or receiving, giving, whether it be money or time is a lesson we can all use.


3. Being on a team is hard work! So much to learn - compromising, organizing, and sometimes doing more than your share. All important lessons.


4. Who will be our leaders of tomorrow? I know that I want the next generation of my family to stand up for what they believe in, to express themselves in a way so others will understand what they have to say, and to set goals in order to accomplish whatever they set out to do. Early involvement in a "cause" that is important to you and your family will help foster the ability to lead.


5. Last, but maybe the most important, is the memories our kids will build through their endeavor to help others. Yes, they are learning that they can make a difference, the importance of teamwork, all about giving, and becoming leaders ---- but they don't know that. What they know is that they are having FUN - spending time with their family and friends raising money for a worthy cause. The memories they make during this time will be what sticks with them as they grow older. These kiddos will have memories of staying up all night at relay with cousins from near and far, doing magic shows, playing marbles, inviting friends to make animals at the teddy bear factory, making ice cream, handing out pizza coupons at school, and having family get togethers - all of this and more while raising money to fight a disease that rears its ugly head in our family much too often. The fond memories will keep them involved year after year.

It is my hope that community involvement will become a way of life for our "kiddos" and as they grow older, they will be able to look back on the memories they make and pass on to their kids all of the qualities that we are trying to pass on to them. I want to close this post by saying that I am so proud of all the "Curtistown Kiddos" and the adults that support them in their quest to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The Great Smoky Mountain Teddy Bear Factory was the fundraiser they completed this weekend and they could not have done this fundraiser without their captain, their parents, and their grandparents who supported their effort. If you want to know more about Relay for Life or if you want to support the Curtistown Kiddos Relay team, check out this link. You can see the money these guys have raised by clicking on "view all teams" and clicking on the Curtistown Kiddos team. Proceeds from this weekend have not been added yet! They are getting closer to their goal!
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=22816&pg=entry