Our Children Making Change
By Marci Lutsky
On June 9th Our Children Making Change will kick off their 11th season. Laura Dulac created the program because she wanted her children to get involved in volunteer activities but could not fund any age-appropriate opportunities for them. Over the years, thousands of children have participated, benefitting many charities and it has expanded to other states. Every summer my children and I lead a team and it’s something that we look forward to all year.
Here is how it works. At the kickoff event, children have the opportunity to make presentations nominating local non-profit organizations. After all of the presentations, the children vote and choose six organizations which all of the children fundraise for over the summer. One of my favorite aspects of Our Children Making Change is that it is kid-driven meaning the kids make decisions about where the money goes and they make decision about how to raise the money.
Each participant is asked to raise $100 between June and August. The timing of this is great because it gives them two months when school is not in session to focus on fundraising. So how exactly do kids raise $100? The possibilities are endless. On my team we typically do some group activities like a multi-family yard sale with a bake sale component. In past years I have reached out to the local summer farmers markets like Brigantine and Ventnor to see if the kids could set up a craft table for donations. Since we love to cook, my children and I have made challah breads on Fridays and sold them. I promote this to my friends and we always sell out with a waiting list. Try to think about how to reach large groups of people (at gatherings like a farmers market or via social media), what your kids’ interests are (for us it’s baking) and what people would be willing to spend money on. I loved an idea a friend did last summer with her girls. They made little pots and then filled them with succulents. I thought this was such a creative and fun way to raise money.
Another really creative idea comes from Patrick Grimely, a 12 year-old lacrosse player on the Margate Riptides. He created an event called #PLAYLAXDAY which is a round robin lacrosse tournament. In his first year he had 85 participants who each paid $5 and this year he expects it to be even bigger. What a great idea!
At the end of the summer each participant is asked to go to the bank to deposit their money into the Our Children Making Change bank account. This a great way to teach kids about banking and making deposits. At the closing ceremony in August checks are presented to a member of each non-profit organization. It’s very powerful for the kids to see the money being given to the organizations and how grateful they are. Following the closing ceremony, the kids are given wristbands to ride the Ocean City rides for two hours, a really fun way to reward them for their hard work.
So now you are excited about Our Children Making Change, how can your kids get involved? The program is intended for kids ages 5-15 but I have had kids younger than that on my team. If you know a team leader, you can ask to join their team. If you think you can rally a group of kids to get involved, become a team leader. And if you want to join my team, just reach out. The more the merrier. Teach your kids about giving to local charities this summer by getting involved with Our Children Making Change. It is such a meaningful experience that will have a big impact on your children.
Marci Lutsky is a local mom of eight year-old twins and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
