Investment-Giving Tuesday

Mindful Monday blog a few weeks ago was on 'Investment'. Who do you invest int? Where do you invest? And, what are you investing? Do you invest your time to volunteer, or your finances to donate or your own talent to support others?

This year for Giving Tuesday think about it! There are so many good people whom deserve your time to invest in them and there are so many good organizations that would do a lot of good with your financial investment. Please, research this a little bit and find what you are most passionate about. If you're passionate about the local Food Pantry, by all means donate to them. If you're passionate about the homeless population, by all means donate to them. There is no short on people, places or organizations in which you can support and invest in.

If you're passionate about our children, about teaching them vital core values in which they will use for a lifetime, please consider our organization, Characters of Character. Since 2020 we have donated over one thousand of our Superhero Activity Boxes to Children's Hospitals in Tennessee. Both to the Carell Monroe Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and also the East Tennessee Children's Hospital. (We also donate in Texas and Illinois to Children's Hospitals.)

Some of the comments from these donations are as follows:

"When a child is hospitalized, they face a multitude of challenges throughout the process of their care. These fun-filled boxes introduce lessons using playful activities and encourage the development of positive coping skills.The development of these skills helps provide strength of character that will continue to benefit them throughout life. What a positive impact for this growing generation!"Nicole Wenger, MS, CCLS

"Thank you so much for all the amazing donations of superhero activity sets and craft boxes that you sent for our patients here at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. Our patients were thrilled to get them! Through Characters of Character our patients not only learn about themselves but learn about the importance of friendship and kindness toward others. They can pass on what they learn to others and keep it going. Thank you for your generosity and support of our patients and families." Teresa Vessell East Tennessee Children’s Hospital

From ED Unit staff- “ I love giving those out! They have been giving kids in the waiting room lots to do while they wait, and the kids and parents appreciate them so much. Happier kids and parents makes my job so much easier, so THANK YOU!”

From Child Life staff-

“We love all the choices of activities contained in each box. Giving our patients choices in an environment where they tend to have so many choices made for them is one of the ways that we strive to normalize the hospital environment for our patients. These boxes have been a huge hit!”

“Just today we have a 6 year old boy who is here and will be admitted for Halloween. He is super bummed about not being able to go trick or treating… we gave him a superhero box and his eyes lit up with excitement! This Is just one story of the many patients that benefit from these boxes. Thank you so much!”

From a (really sweet little boy) patient 😊 - “This is my favorite thing to do!!! I get to take all this box home with me?!”

"Thank you for these boxes! Our pediatric patients will love them and will make the hospital a little less scary of a place. "

And, to receive requests for these Superhero Activity Boxes just puts a bounce in our step as we work tirelessly to donate them. Your support would appreciated and would certainly make a difference in the life of a child. Joni

Our Pediatric patients and their families love these very much along with our staff. I was reaching out to inquire about how to receive more of these boxes and how often are they sent out. We have a large number of pediatrics that we see in this ED, and I would love to continue to be able to provide our little ones with these amazing boxes.

Our organization, Characters of Character has a mission to provide a firm foundation for children to establish strong civic values. This looks different many times, it may be through our published books, our classroom visits, our community engagement, facebook, instagram, linkedin, TikTok, our free resources, our newsletters, our GivingMatters profile, word of mouth or these activity boxes.

We have made the investment since 2007 to make a difference in the life of a child. We hope you'll also consider to invest in our organization this year and for years to come. The Children's Hospital project will remain in place as we have seen the impact, and discovered a need, this is an investment that's worth your support.

Another way that you might invest in our organization is our Wish List on Amazon. To subscribe to our newsletter. To follow us on social media. To share us with others. There is a lot of truth to the ol' cliche of "it takes a village" and we have invested our time, our talents our finances to do whatever we can to make that difference in the life of a child. You are welcome to contact me with any questions or ideas at anytime, and remember, YOU ARE SUPER! Make your investment count.