Teach Your Children the Importance of Giving Back
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.My husband and I try to focus on teaching our kids the importance of appreciating what they have and how they can give back. It is a hard concept to convey to a child. Not to mention, a lot of adults cannot even grasp this idea. I know I am guilty of wanting more and more stuff and often forget how important it is to give to others.With the holidays approaching it is the perfect time to show our kids how to give back this holiday season. My son’s preschool helps an organization called Operation Christmas Child (OCC), which sends shoeboxes, filled with toiletries, school supplies, toys and other items for children around the world. These boxes are life changing for these children.My boys and I participated in OCC last year. Not only did they have a lot of fun picking out the items to fill the shoebox, but they truly loved the idea of being able to help another child.
Every child deserves to have a Christmas so our wish is to be able to provide necessary items to help children in need. It may seem like filling a shoebox with a few small items would not make a difference, but being able to provide a special holiday for a child who otherwise wouldn't have one is truly amazing.Instead of having our kids only think about toys and games they wanted for Christmas we focused on teaching and demonstrating the power of helping. Operation Christmas Child asks you to decide if the box will be for a boy, or a girl, and then you choose the age group: 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14. My kids decided they wanted to help out a little girl between the ages of 2-4.To ensure we could purchase as many items as possible, we headed to our local Walmart. I knew we would be able to get the perfect items for the little girl we were helping for a great price.Some of the suggestions to place in the shoebox include toothbrushes, bar soap, pencils, pens, calculators, dolls, jump ropes, socks, t-shirts and other age appropriate items.Here is what my kids picked out at Walmart:
- Socks
- Underwear
- Notebook
- Pencils
- Pencil sharpener
- Crayons
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Body Wash
- Hand Sanitizer
- Tissues
- 2 Mini Dolls
- 1 Large Doll
- Candy
We had a lot of fun picking out gift ideas for the little girl and then stuffing the shoebox. 
I even had my boys write a letter for her. My oldest wrote the letter and then signed all three of their names. He kept worrying that the girl who receives our box would not the like items we picked out for her.
OCC has an option where you can donate $7 to discover the overseas destination of your shoebox. My boys and I wanted to see where our box was delivered, so we made the donation and placed the tracking label onto our shoebox. 
Now we will be able to track our shoebox on America’s best and most dependable network using our Straight Talk device. It is going to be fun to see where it ends up. Tracking our shoebox with Straight Talk’s 5GB of high speed data will allow my kids to see how they are able to make an impact even if it is on the other side of the world. *Walmart and Straight Talk have helped to bring my family together this holiday season. It has been a powerful lesson for my kids and we are going to make this a tradition of ours. If I could make one wish it would be for every child to enjoy the comfort and joy of having a holiday no matter where they live.What is on your #StraightTalkWishList year? *After 5 GB, data speed will be reduced to as low as 2G for the remainder of the 30 day cycle. At 2G speed, the functionality of some data applications such as streaming video or audio may be affected. All currently active Straight Talk BYOP customers will also receive the first 5 GB Data at High Speeds at the start of their next 30 day cycle. Please refer always to the Terms and Conditions of Service at StraightTalk.com