Helping Children Help Others (NAPSA)— If you’ve been teaching your kids the importance of sharing, it looks like they got the message. A recent survey found that 69 percent of children believeit’s important for kids their age to contribute to a charitable causewith 62 percent of those children saying they’ve donated their own money to charities (Yankelovich Partners/Lutheran Brotherhood study). Knowing what they should do is one thing, but giving them the meansto do it is somethingelse. Experts say thefirst step is to find out what causes your children care about—and to do that, you might want to hand them a set of markers. “Drawing with crayons and markers is a universal childhood experience. It’s sometimes difficult for kids to put into words how they really feel, and drawing opens a window to their minds and tells us what they’re thinking,” explains Dr. Rhonda L. Clements, Professor of Education at Manhattanville College and past president of The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play. “Through the drawing you can learn what causes your child is most passionate about— whether it be homelessness, hunger, bullying, or any other community need.” Dr. Clements recommendschildren and parents get involved in a program called Erase It! The Erase It! Fund was born when Crayola surveyed 1,000 kids and found that 80 percent believe they can erase problemsin the world. Drawing Attention—Children’s drawings may show you what issues are most important to them. Crayola is putting a portion of the proceeds of its new erasable markers into the fund—but its kids who will decide exactly how that money will help to make a differ- ence. So while kids are erasing the little problems in their homework and artwork, they can also help to erase some of the world’s biggest problems. Kids ages 6 tol3 are encour- aged to draw picture of a social problem they want to help erase and send it to Crayola accompanied with about 25 words explaining the problem and why they want to eraseit. The entire Erase It! Fund, will be donated to a charity that helps to erase the issue identified by kids, as every drawing they enter will help uncover the problem they want to erase. Selected pieces will be displayed in New York City. For more information visit www.crayola.com.
