Thursday, September 17, 2009

Getting Kids to Believe in Causes

Marketing products to and through children is a tried and true strategy. Just ask any cereal company why they advertise during cartoons, or any toy company why they target children's television programming leading up to the holidays. So it stands to reason that getting kids involved with causes and breeding passion for philanthropy early on can lead to lifetime involvement in volunteerism. It's important to set a good example for children by being active with causes you support, and explaining to children the value in helping others.

My son and some of his friends last summer created a concert to bring in local bands and raise money for the youth group at the church where the concert was held, as well as raise money for a fellow student battling cancer. The results were admirable. They sold concert t-shirts and the church sold concessions. About five groups performed to nearly 200 students. My son and his fellow organizers learned how to deliver a proposal to adults, work within the rules of a system, organize volunteer help and in the end provide funds for two worthy causes.

My hope is that these important life lessons will guide these young men in the future toward building on their philanthropic success and contributing to furthering other causes. Getting children of any age involved with such efforts can only fortify the value of volunteerism. Who says we can't market that during children's programming on Saturday morning?