Doing Good Together’s
Kindness From A Distance Tools & Tips
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Help your family move with purpose and make a difference during these uncertain days, as the impacts of this global crisis fall heavier on some than others.
Show Compassion.
Teach Kindness.
Make a Difference.
Now more than ever, action feels better than anxiety.
We created this resource page in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis. As the needs and opportunities for service from a distance evolve, we will continue to curate and grow this list of big-hearted, family-friendly service ideas and kindness activities.
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Check out our unique DGT Digital Kindness Kit - available in easy-to-download-and-print PDF format. We’ll send you everything you need to advocate for issues that matter; share gratitude; and spark fun, meaningful conversations.
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Explore and share this growing list of anti-racist resources. Our children will be better able to break this chain of bias and distrust if we give them opportunities to think deeply and talk openly about justice, inequity and humanity from a young age -- and how together we can build a better world.
Share Kindness
Lift spirits, warm hearts, and teach compassion.
Share Your Message of Support On Social Media
“Seniors and those with underlying health conditions are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 – and we must all do our part to protect them at this time. While nothing replaces in-person visits with family members and friends, residents and staff would benefit greatly from knowing individuals from around the country were thinking about them and offering their support.”
We’re hearing wonderful stories of neighbors offering to share their abundance with others who are struggling in their own community.
Write pandemic-themed Haiku or other poetry, draw, paint, color, fold origami, or explore other creative passions. Then share your creations, along with an uplifting note, with folks in need of support.
Celebrate the everyday heroes in your community, from grocery store clerks to medical staff to your mail carrier.
Strengthen empathy muscles by celebrating everyday acts of kindness. This book-based project featuring a fun, free printable will get you started.
Leave uplifting sidewalk chalk messages like “We’re all in this together,” “This too shall pass,” and “Bloom where you are planted.”
Set out card-making supplies and our printable. Then invite kids to create cards whenever the mood strikes. Share your creations with seniors in isolated nursing homes, essential employees on the front lines of fighting this virus, or anyone you know in need of extra support.
They’ll send it on to seniors, soldiers overseas, and anyone in need of a smile.
Mail pandemic-themed Haiku or other poetry, draw, paint, color, fold origami, or explore other creative passions. Then share your creations, along with an uplifting note, with folks in need of support.
The mission of Letters of Love is to bring the joy of thoughtful letters and cards into the lives of the elderly in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospices, and senior centers around the world.
Mail or deliver colorful bracelets to cheer up friends and family members.
Share love from a distance with this simple origami printable (and a video to make the origami heart easier!).
Volunteer
Meet tangible community needs.
We do the research and compile free monthly listings of creative family-friendly volunteer projects in several major U.S. cities. Each month, we offer at least five opportunities. Be sure to subscribe to this free service to add these volunteer opportunities to your email inbox!
Share extra groceries with neighbors and workers in your area. One big-hearted family we work with has been sharing staples in their driveway. Some neighbors are pitching in too! And at the end of every day, the table is nearly empty, as folks took what they needed.
Your family can help scientists track the spread of COVID, monitor changes in weather, and identify drinking water quality all from your home. Visit our project page for details!
Grab plastic bags and garden gloves and clear up the refuse around your neighborhood.
Help out homebound neighbors. Offer to mow, water plants, or tend to other outdoor chores as needed.
It’s puppy and kitten season, and though many shelters are closed to the public, many are still looking for foster families.
Our friends at Munchkin Fun have gathered even more cute ideas to volunteer and get creative while staying home together.
Donate
Share your abundance and teach the importance of charitable giving.
Help your child participate in your family’s charitable giving. Organizations you may want to support include Family-to-Family, No Kid Hungry, UNICEF, or your local food bank.
Each day (for 30 days) count something different in your home with this simple printable. Place that many coins in a bowl or jar to donate to a hunger-relief charity.
Set up a drop off station in your driveway or other public space. Inform friends and neighbors of your drive. Be sure to remind folks to keep their distance as they bring over their donations. Then drop off your collection at the food shelf and thank everyone for participating!
Give essentials to those in need. Church World Service (CWS) collects School Kits, Hygiene Kits, Baby Care Kits and Emergency Clean-up Buckets for worldwide distribution.
Donate art supplies and activity kits to a local food pantry or shelter to help support kids with extra time at home.
Advocate
Raise your voice for peace, justice, and social action.
Reach out to your elected leaders - especially local leaders - and let them know you expect them to support people who are experiencing homelessness or food insecurity at this time.
We’re now offering our printable advocacy templates for environmental justice, helping the hungry, and more for free!
Research an issue your family is passionate about. Then create a newsletter to raise awareness about your cause.
Our new printable is designed to help your family urge elected officials to consider sustainability even as they work to meet the challenges of this current crisis.
Do your part to correct injustices and support people struggling through the crisis.
Learn & Discuss
Start big-hearted conversations and explore big ideas.
Boost emotional intelligence, the foundation of empathy, with 9 pages of DGT’s flashcards. Plus we offer creative game suggestions.
Discover a wealth of additional resources and tips for your family during this pandemic.
When children learn to appreciate and enjoy nature, they are more likely to grow into adults who value and protect our environment. Get the printable here!
This simple book may help young readers (pre-k) understand and express their emotions about pandemic-related changes in their lives.
Use this At-Home Helper Map to inspire your child to pitch in at home. This popular DGT Newsletter demonstrates the power of chores to empower compassionate kids.
Record the highs and lows of your experience during this historic moment. You may also want to write a reflection question in your journal each day and invite each family member to record a response. Click here for more family journaling ideas.
This online quiz game from the World Food Program. Players match words with their meanings to earn donations of rice for those in need, now featuring a cornoavirus category.
This holding space for your family’s questions, and ultimately answers, will encourage curiosity.
Reflect on Service
Help children understand complicated issues before they do good.
You can make a difference to someone coping with an illness – and help their loved ones as well.
By volunteering with older people, children learn to celebrate aging and the wisdom our seniors can offer.
By volunteering together, your family can address the issue of homelessness thoughtfully and make a meaningful difference.
By volunteering together, you and your family can make a difference to those who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity.
Reflecting on your volunteering experience can lead to thoughtful learning and growth. Take time to explore these questions together!
All of us have had times of need, and times when we've given to others. Chat with your children about those times and how we are all givers and receivers.
Encourage children to appreciate and celebrate the wonderful diversity of the people and cultures around our globe.
Understanding our impact on the environment will inspire enthusiasm for any environmental volunteering you plan.
The plight of animals inspires profound empathy and makes children want to do something to help.
Read with Empathy
Make story time an opportunity to think big.
Give Big-Hearted Gifts
Shop with Kindness and Compassion in Mind
We’ve found creative products like kindness kits that are great for at-home service activities and also make great gifts. Scroll further for board games, books, and more.
***Importantly, the CDC, the World Health Organization, as well as the Surgeon General have indicated that there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through the mail.
Specifically, according to the World Health Organization, “the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and been exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.” And according to the CDC, “in general, because of poor survivability of these Coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures.
Disclaimer: Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.
Share your gratitude with these fun, printable thank you notes.