My Son’s Generosity

My husband and I like to watch Good Morning America before going to work in the morning, and the devastation in Haiti is a frequent topic of the news. We have been frequently talking about the situation there and how much to donate and to what organization. We have also been talking about Money Saving Mom and other bloggers’ generous offer to match donations. Last week our church took up a collection, so we decided to donate there.

Yesterday, while we were watching the news and learning more about the dire situation, my 5.5 year old son suddenly spoke up and asked if he could send all of the money in the donate section of his piggy bank to Haiti. (He has a piggy bank that has four compartments—one to save, one to donate, one to spend and one to invest.) Both my husband and I were surprised at his spontaneous generosity. While he has been earning a small allowance and distributing money evenly to each of the four compartments, we have never actually had him donate the money or talked much about it.

We counted the money tonight, and he has $9.00 to donate. The donation section is now empty. I am proud of his gesture and reminded once again that kids are sponges who learn from our example.