Get Your Friends and Family Together and Give

December has arrived and the holidays are coming! Around this time of year, people often try to find ways to give back, but also feel overwhelmed with holiday planning, traveling, and a long to-do list. With these ideas, you can use your friend and family gatherings to encourage everyone to get into the giving spirit together.

Give Life to Literacy with Books-In-A-Bag

Books-In-A-Bag is a project run by Valley of the Sun United Way in an effort to encourage children to read. If a child doesn’t familiarize themselves with reading at an early age, it can become difficult to keep their reading level up later in their education. This provides children that opportunity by building up a home library for them to enjoy.

Giving to this project is quick and easy!

1. While you wrap-up your Christmas shopping, grab some paper bags for you and your guests as well as some paperback children’s books
2. Bring out the crafting tools and give each person a bag to decorate with children’s book characters or inspiring words and create something fun
3. Drop off the decorated bags with books inside at Valley of the Sun United Way’s office

Inspire Greatness with Encouragement Cards

A kind word can go a long way to make someone’s day brighter. As part of United Way’s WeekEnd Hunger Backpack program, encouragement cards are placed in the food bags with weekend meals for children facing chronic hunger. Encouragement cards give these kids a positive message and a smile for the day, letting them know someone believes in them. To create your own cards, all you have to do is:

1. Grab paper, stickers, markers, and anything else you want to use for decoration
2. Write an encouraging message like, “Keep it up!” or “You rock!” (must be religion and gender neutral)
3. Drop off the cards at Valley of the Sun United Way’s office

Encourage Your Friends and Family to Join in the Giving

These quick and simple ways to give can be fun for the whole gang and mean a lot to the children you are helping. While you are taking photos and making memories, share your experience with friends and family using #UnitePHX in your posts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

United Way has many opportunities to volunteer throughout the year. If you are interested in learning more about the Books-In-A-Bag, WeekEnd Hunger Backpack, or other opportunities to help from home, visit www.vsuw.org/athome today.