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Adults have a huge responsibility to teach their children both philanthropy and kindness. Often times teachers, parents, and mentors find it difficult to really make it completely understandable for little children. The best way to teach children philanthropy and kindness is through doing, leading by example.

As I was growing up, I distinctively remember my mother always helping others. She baked meals for everyone who was going through something difficult like a physical injury, a divorce, the loss of a beloved person in their lives. She would do this without prompting and without help from others. She didn't have much time to do these things but she would do them anyways. In fact, I remember always thinking, "Why do they get the sugar cookies? Why can't we keep them? I like those better than a bag of chips." She would focus on our dinner last, it would still be nutritional, but many times my brothers and I watched as our favorite meals went to someone who needed them more.

Today I strive to do the same kind of thing that my mother did for the people she made dinners for. My mother was always about helping people. She wanted to help, help, help people. These people included adults, teenagers and children. For me the calling was a little different. I am all about helping animals. Not that I don't love people too, I just seem to have this understanding or "way" if you will, with animals. We get along exceptionally well. I volunteer at animal shelters and have been known to take in any stray animal that wanders within a five foot radius of where I happen to be. It is because of my mother that I grew up with this desire to help make the world a better place and to be kind to everyone.

I remember being at the playground and others telling different kids that they weren't allowed to play various games. I always thought, "Why? Why can't they play?" The natural tendencies to be rude to people or to be selfish didn't really ever present themselves in me. Not that I'm perfect, I'm not even close. I just really wasn't anything but nice to others as I grew up. My mother had taught me with only one lifestyle and that was to care about others, treat them with kindness and help them in any way that you could.

As children grow up, it is important that their role models including their teachers, mentors and parents exhibit random acts of kindness as well as planned acts of kindness. It is important that children grow up in an environment where these acts of philanthropy and kindness are natural as well as encouraged. This may be one of the greatest tools we have to changing our world for the better.

Learn more about this author, Gabrielle Schrader.
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