Our Best of 2019: A Recap
It's that time again! From cool events to inspirational toolkits, we're spotlighting DGT's best creations of 2019, in case you missed them the first time.
As we look back, we're immensely grateful for our community of big-hearted families working to raise children who care for others. Please let us know how you're using our resources to emphasize giving and caring in your family or organization. We'd love to hear from you.
Finally, in this tumultuous time, take a moment to be proud of the many ways YOU are building a kinder, more just world.
Wishing you a joyous, peace-filled 2020.
--- Jenny Friedman, Executive Director
ACTION
Best loved newsletters: Here are the newsletters our readers valued most in 2019: Use Art to Learn Empathy and Create Social Change; How to Talk to Your Child About Climate Change; and How to Raise a Good Sport.
Our most read blog topic was Active Gratitude. And don't miss our popular new e-book, DGT's Guide to Active Citizenship.
Beyond Our Neighbors: We partnered with Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, to create a wonderfully accessible e-book called Beyond our Neighbors: A Curriculum for Expanding Empathy and Compassion to "Others." It's available for free on our website. You'll find fun tools to encourage elementary school-age children to expand their "circle of concern"--- helping them develop empathy and kindness toward people outside their immediate circle.
Broadening our reach: St. Louis is the newest location where parents can receive free monthly lists of local family-friendly volunteer opportunities. We now offer this amazing (again, free!) curated list in eight cities. Parents in Miami and San Diego can look forward to their own lists in 2020.
A book close to our heart: We were thrilled about the publication of Simple Acts: A Busy Family's Guide to Giving Back (Gryphon House, 2019), written by DGT's New York City Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Silverstein. It's a fun compilation of ideas that empowers families to weave service to others into their hectic lives and practice generosity, kindness, and community engagement. A portion of the proceeds goes to Doing Good Together.
Don't forget Family Service Fairs: One of our first and still most popular creations. This program has been so successful in the Miami-Dade Public Schools that we just finished our third year of kindness-promoting activities there, thanks to the very awesome Al and Jane Nahmad Family Foundation. We have 16 schools taking part in 2019-2020. If your school or district is interested in partnering to build a culture of kindness and community engagement, please contact us.
CONVERSATION
The start of the New Year is the ideal time to ask your family members these questions, perhaps at the dinner table:
What did you do last year at school, at home, or in the community that helped others?
What did others do for you this past year that made a positive difference in your life? How might you thank them?
Our lives are so busy, with school, jobs, sports, and friends. How can we be intentional about making sure we care for people in need (whether friends, family, or strangers) --- and our planet --- in the coming year?
What should our family goals for kindness and giving be for 2020?
BOOKS
Have you perused our new book lists? We're continually adding new favorites in a variety of topics, and this past year was no exception: Your Family Philosophy Club, Picture Books for the Youngest Philosophers, and Picture Books about Illnesses.
INSPIRATION
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.
--- Neil Gaiman, English author