helping

National Food Bank Week- Helping Others in your Community!

Abby H.Leave a comment

This week is National Food Bank Week. If you’ve got a spare $5.00 or so, you can help your neighbors in need by picking up some canned/shelf-stable food and donating it to your local food bank or local free little pantry. Find your local food bank here, and your free Little Pantry here.

For those in need in the San Diego County area, check out my list of local food resources here.

Today is National Child Health Day!

Abby H.Leave a comment

The first Monday of October is National Child Health Day. I’m taking a little time today to share some ways you can keep your kiddos healthy while still staying on budget.

Here is a recent post about freebies and deals for vision-related needs. If your kids are hard on glasses like my big kid is, contact the company/optometrist’s office if the glasses break within 6 months of receiving them. My kiddo gets 1 pair per year through insurance, and I make sure that if anything goes wrong, we contact the office and get them repaired or replaced ASAP.

Here in California, vision and dental insurance are included under health insurance plans for kids 18 and under. To learn more, check the back of your kid’s health insurance card for phone numbers.

Mental Health is also important for kids, especially in Middle and High school when there are so many changes going on all at once. Here are some free resources for all family members. 

BrightLife is a Mental Health resource for kids in California- more info can be found here. 

Studies have proven that poor dental health and hygiene can lead to other more severe health issues, so please take care of the kiddos’ chompers! My kids love the Toms of Maine Strawberry toothpaste (also available in fluoride-free).  They are not bubblegum or mint fans. Whatever it takes to get them to brush their teeth!!

Another thing that is important to overall health is PROPER REST. The CDC recommendations can be found here. My littlest is hard to get settled for bed, so here are some of the ways we help get her ready to rest each night:

Helpling Neighbors without Breaking the Bank

Abby H.

There are a lot of people around us who need help right now in our communities. There are so many ways to help neighbors, and I’ve collected a few of the ways that my family helps in the hopes it will inspire you to do the same.

You’re probably aware of mutual aid sites like GoFundMe, but do you know that there are other ways that you can help your friends and neighbors without breaking the bank or charging on your credit card?

Mutual aid is more than giving cash. It’s giving your time, goods from your home, or offering to help with chores or errands.

Blessing Boxes/Free Little Pantries. When I go to the grocery store, I allot $5-$10 to pick up canned goods or shell stable foods that are either ready to eat and have a pop top or require just the addition of water and heat. Things like chili, canned soup, water, only mac & cheese, Ramen, peanut butter, bread. These items are donated to our local Blessing Box, which helps our neighbors in need.

Filling a Free Little Library.  You probably have a couple of books around your house that you read once, maybe twice, and you’re never gonna read again, or your kids have leveled up beyond picture books, and you’re not quite sure what to do with them. Look for a little library in your area. There are tons of them in my town, and I am always putting a paper back or two or a couple of kids’ books in when I see one that needs a couple more books in it

Check out your local Buy Nothing or Buy Nothing Like group. Check and see if there is a neighbor in need who needs something that you have. Either something in your home that is physical, maybe they need assistance with a project, or they are asking to borrow a tool.

I just finished up doing some summer cleaning and posted all sorts of items to share. I have gotten rid of a broken computer (someone was excited to use it for parts), an extra monitor, some blankets, and old sheets that are in great repair, but my son does not like the texture.

There are all kinds of ways that we can help our neighbors with what we have and the skills that we possess.

Talk Back: How have you helped in your community?

Got A Teacher in Your Life? 7 Ways to Lend Support

Abby H.

May is upon us, which means it’s the downward slide into the end of the school year. It’s also that time of year when your teacher friends are a little more stressed than usual. For some states, standardized testing starts after spring break. For most classrooms, the supplies that were purchased in August have run out completely.

Here are seven ways that you can lend your support to an educator in your life without buying $30 wrapping paper at their next fundraiser.

If you’ve got the time, cash, or inclination, here are a few ways you can help the teacher in your life:

  1. Check with them to see if they need supplies.  Between Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Amazon, there are a lot of places you can find inexpensive number 2 pencils, markers, and lined paper.
  2. Headphones/in-ear headphones. Mid-year is about the time when they stop working. And most schools can’t afford to replace them. A lot of classrooms use programs that read to kids, especially in the lower grades and special education classrooms. Standardized testing frequently has sections that are read to students or require them to speak. A handful of the plug-in in-ear headphones from Dollar Tree or Five Below can help. School iPads use USB-C headphones.
  3. Do they have a Donors Choose Page? Are they trying to raise funds for a special project? Throw $10-$20 their way, and share their donor’s choice link on your socials.
  4. Ask if they have an Amazon wish list. Buy something, share it on your socials.
  5. If you eat out frequently, check to see if your teacher friends’ PTSA/PTA utilizes restaurant fundraisers. The school my children go to has a restaurant fundraiser once a month with local restaurants in our community. 20% of the bill goes towards funds for the school. We don’t eat out very often, but it’s a good way to support my kids’ school without having to buy a $30 roll of wrapping paper.
  6. If you have flexibility in your schedule, offer to volunteer. Either in class or after school. Teachers need help after teaching hours with grading, resetting the classroom, prepping projects, and changing out bulletin boards.
  7. Be supportive. Teaching is more than the three hours, and it can take a lot out of teachers. Teachers are not only educators, but they are also the social and emotional support for kids for six hours a day, 180 days a year.