My children are a little spoiled and often ungrateful. My little boys, four and five, are especially unaware of how hard many people have it and how good they have it. For that reason, I wanted to show them that doing something for someone else is a good thing and can make you feel good inside. Note: I have not done nearly enough of what follows in my life, and I want to change it!

I wanted to do something for the poor and homeless. I made a few calls over the course of the past week and thought going on a food drive was a good idea. We would gather food, take it to the food pantry, and later, watch as people received food from the donations. This felt like a safe and easy thing for the little ones to be able to make an impact.

Today was the day of "food gathering" - and it was an excellent experience. Every family that was home was able to provide something. I realized, through this experience, that this was beneficial for my children for reasons beyond the original intention:

1. Taught them to do something for others (the original intent). 2. Taught them that going up to random people and speaking with them, or asking them for help, is okay and not that difficult (not expected). 3. Taught them to communicate a mission statement with clarity, so people would understand why you are ringing their doorbell (not expected). 4. Taught them that people are rather generous and appreciative when approached with good intentions (not expected). 5. Taught them a little about planning. We created a flyer that we could show people what was needed by the food pantry, we planned the process, from a few calls, to the entire "life-cycle" - and we went into action. 6. At first, the children were nervous, and honestly, so was I! It is hard to go "door to door" and ask for something. It was completely worth it for all involved and we all felt good as we finished the first phase - arguably, the most difficult.

I wanted to share this on HN because many of us have a hard time meeting new people or getting something started. The outcome of my experience was greater than I could have imagined and we all feel great about the experience.