My parents can be proud of this. Not of me and not of my sister but of the evidence that points to the legacy of their own work.
My 8 year old niece’s head was bent over the craft table in full concentration. She was busy with some type of project. Tugging a phone book as large as herself across the room, she sealed an envelope and asked, “How do you spell Womens’ Resource Center?” My sister assisted and asked what was in the envelope. My niece couldn’t remember. A bit concerned about the phone call that might come from the Center or elsewhere, my sis took a peek.
The Gift? A Note and 5 Pencils
Apparently, my niece was not bullish to take the credit. She had taken it upon herself to act as scribe for my 5 year old nephew. It was, in fact, his desire to send his pencils to the Womens’ Resource Center. Or so she says.
It was HIS idea!
While just that bit – seeing kindness for others less fortunate pass through the generations – warms my soul, I am grateful for the acknowledgement that came from the Womens’ Resource Center.
The Grateful Response
So, is this just a cute interaction between a little girl, her brother and a non-profit? I think it’s more fundamental. In new research by the National Center on Citizenship, we learn that in order to build a vibrant and thriving community, we must not only feel attached to our communities but we must also believe that the people in our community care about one another.
The Center follows a number of indicators that track social connectedness. These are things like eating dinner together, talking with family and friends online, doing favors for neighbors and attending community meetings about local issues. The list rounds out with indicators such as belonging to organized groups, volunteering and making charitable contributions.
I’m sure I wouldn’t score perfectly on all of those indicators but I’m happy to know what they are. These little people would do well on caring for others and making charitable contributions and with time, I know they’ll round out the complete picture. Who says kids don’t copy what their parents model for them?
Great job Sierra and Laiken!
Agrigirl's Blog 
Todd Pack
/ October 4, 2011That is too sweet. Laiken and Sierra are being raised well.
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Yes, they are. And they will grow up to be good parents too.
milkayphoto
/ October 4, 2011Stories like this warms my heart! The world is better for the existence of Laiken and Sierra for sure. I also commend the center for acknowledging them. Kindness begets kindness and this is a fine example! 🙂
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Yes, it was so great that the center sent a note back!
Danielle Luko
/ October 4, 2011Very nice story. And it reminds me that I need to keep showing my daughter when I donate to the community or volunteer or get involved in community meetings. We do go to Goodwill together to donate piles of her outgrown stuff for other little girls who need it more than she does. I am proud of Sierra and Laiken!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Keep showing her Danielle. She’ll follow your lead.
Kathy McNamara
/ October 4, 2011Very heart warming.
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011😉
Debbie
/ October 4, 2011Kids can be wonderful teachers too, can’t they? I was so encouraged by this. 🙂
Thank you for sharing!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Yes, they can but they do model what they’ve seen before.
Lisa H
/ October 4, 2011Kudos to Sierra and Laiken. Their gift goes beyond the actual gift of the pencils. It’s the thought, sweetness, and determination to help others that make their gift so special. The fact that the shelter took the time to write a thank you note is incredibly lovely and encouraging to the young pair that they can (and do) make a difference.
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011It’s great that the shelter wrote back.
Know Thank You
/ October 4, 2011Awesome!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011It is!
nrhatch
/ October 4, 2011Oh, our wonderful Mirror Neurons . . . allowing us to empathize with others while encouraging us to lend a helping hand.
Yay! Great story. Thanks for sharing.
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011You’re welcome.
Janis Karanza
/ October 4, 2011This is very special! I am ,of course proud of all my grandchildren . Shawna and Jay are terrific people and parents and I love them dearly.Thank you Tammy for your thoughts . Janis K .Jay’s Mom
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Thanks for reading Janis. You’re right. They’re great parents. This is evidence.
montucky
/ October 4, 2011Fantastic! Seeing this sure made my day! Thanks!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Great story, isn’t it?
The Table of Promise
/ October 4, 2011Wow, I am so speechless. It is like a North Star of what to shoot for as a mother.
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011Yes, it is. So hold the vision and don’t stress out over the other stuff.
Cindy
/ October 4, 2011Aaaaw, well done Sierra and Laiken, you are really fine girls!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011kids!
Dawn
/ October 4, 2011GRIN. What a great story – so happy you shared it…
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011You’ll have stories like this to share someday not to far off.
daisyfae
/ October 4, 2011magic. thanks for sharing it!
Tammy
/ October 4, 2011You’re welcome DF.
Tandy
/ October 5, 2011this is an amazing story – thank you for sharing 🙂
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011You’re welcome Tandy.
nursemyra
/ October 5, 2011how wonderful
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011x 2
Auburn Meadow Farm
/ October 5, 2011That’s a really great post. Kids are so funny – we need to try harder to stay out of their way, : )
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011Yes, and to share more pencils.
Estrella Azul
/ October 5, 2011My gosh, that’s the sweetest thing ever! Definitely a reason to be proud, I always love it when children are considerate and give (in their own way).
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011It is the sweetest thing.
isathreadsoflife
/ October 5, 2011Absolutely adorable and so thoughtful ! First helping each other with a view of reaching out to others, this is simply wonderful.
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011Yes, I wonder how much of the helping the little brother really occurred but it’s precious nonetheless.
Strix
/ October 5, 2011Wow! I love it. Was I ever so sweet as a child? We lose so much as we “mature.” The pureness of a child — we should all find it again.
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011I don’t think I was ever as sweet as that.
GroundCherry
/ October 5, 2011Funny, as an adult, you wonder what the value of a pencil is. But, wait, as a 5-year old, a new penceil (especially when it was sparkly and purple) held all the potential in the world. We should share more pencils (and books, for that matter).
Tammy
/ October 5, 2011So, so true.
kateshrewsday
/ October 6, 2011What a wonderful little girl: not just writing a letter, but doing it at her little brother’s request. I loved this 🙂
Tammy
/ October 6, 2011It is sweet, isn’t it?
Sheree
/ October 6, 2011This is a wonderful example of how family connectedness can lead to social and civic connectedness.
People helping people. People building community. Kids are a key part of this.
Everything counts, especially the little things (like pencils). I believe that humanity, generosity and kindness is present more in the little things than in the gifts of vast sums of money.
Not dissing money, mind you, but the effort that goes into the little things is often greater than the effort or commitment it takes to write a check.
Tammy
/ October 6, 2011You’re so correct. I sometimes find myself writing a check because I am so busy.
Tokeloshe
/ October 6, 2011Wonderful !
Thank you for sharing 😉
Tammy
/ October 7, 2011You are welcome!
sonsothunder
/ October 6, 2011Great story…Bless You for sharing.
paul
Tammy
/ October 7, 2011Bless them.
Rukmini Roy
/ October 7, 2011Im proud of them..so very. I have nieces and nephews too and I ardently wish that they grow up to think such.
You know what I’m more happy about? That the center wrote back to them. This will strengthen their belief in doing good.
Well done Sierra and Laieken. You story is going my nephew and niece today night.
Tammy
/ October 7, 2011Do share Rukmini! Hopefully it will wear off on others.
lindsay
/ October 7, 2011little hearts and hands make such a huge impact on the charitable events. This is precious! what a great letter.
❤
Tammy
/ October 8, 2011Agree!
Hannah
/ October 7, 2011Oh, that’s so heart-warming! I work for an NGO, and would love to receive a letter like this 🙂
Tammy
/ October 8, 2011I know that you’d send a reply too!
Kath (My Funny Little Life)
/ October 8, 2011What a lovely story! And I love that there came such a reply because it shows the children that they can contribute something and it is appreciated. Silence would have been so encouraging. So yes, for building a community, people have to communicate with each other (duh – but it’s often forgotten!) and be friendly and appreciative. Now the children have learned that activities like this can do something good, and will be motivated to do something for others again. If all people learned that from early age on, and showed their appreciation for each other more, things would be a lot better.
Tammy
/ October 9, 2011And it gives me a lot of hope for the future.
Melissa @ Be Not Simply Good
/ October 9, 2011I love it! I think these kinds of community involvement are an important part of a child’s education.
Tammy
/ October 9, 2011I agree. Obviously they had seen this behavior before and took it upon themselves to mimic.
Tracy
/ October 9, 2011So TRUE to my personal feelings. I simply can’t understand why people isolate themseves into a little bubble and don’t seem to care about what’s going on in the world around them. They can’t see the connection about how issues can affect them and their children until it’s too late. We’ve become a REACTIVE society instead of a PROACTIVE society, and that drives me crazy.
“to build a vibrant and thriving community, we must not only feel attached to our communities but we must also believe that the people in our community care about one another.” ABSOLUTELY!!!!
Tammy
/ October 9, 2011Good point on the reactiveness vs. being proactive.
Kathy
/ October 9, 2011This is so inspirational, Tammy. We adults feeling the innocence of a child’s love and connection. I am thinking about the different kinds of communities right now. The way our blogging community supports one another… We live in a hologram of communities, don’t we?
Tammy
/ October 9, 2011Hologram is an interesting way to describe it Kathy.
Tes
/ October 10, 2011This is a cutest post 🙂
Tammy
/ October 10, 2011Thanks Tes.
Eggs In My Pocket
/ October 10, 2011Yes, I agree, this would make all parents proud. I just loved this, it touched my heart to see such young ones care! blessings,Kathleen
Tammy
/ October 10, 2011It touches mine too Kathleen. Blessings back at you.
notesfromrumbleycottage
/ October 10, 2011This is a great story. I love the letter Sierra wrote.
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011It’s great, isn’t it?
b r
/ October 10, 2011This honestly warmed my heart.
I’ve been trying to find local community where I live here in Los Angeles. While I’ve found niches of groups and subcultures (which is great), I think in the end what I’m really looking for is a living neighborhood community that hits all those points the Center mentioned about social connectedness.
(And the first paragraph–that’s a poem if I ever saw one :))
-b
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011What a great idea – to turn it into a poem. Good neighborhoods are hard to find billimarie. Even though I think mine is quite good, I just found out about an elderly man down the street with no food and no electricity. Needless to say, I’m on it but it truly takes a village.
theboldlife.com
/ October 11, 2011Tammy,
Thanks for sharing. This is simply beautiful and says volumes about the parents.
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011They’re awesome parents.
I Made You A Mixtape
/ October 11, 2011This actually brought a tear into my eyes. Shows how much more caring and wise children can be than most of us adults.
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011Yep, we all start out pretty innocent.
the island traveler
/ October 11, 2011A lesson we can all learn from. These kids have a genuine heart that wants to give in their sweet little way. So adorable. Love their writing too. Beautiful. Stay blessed always.
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011And you. Thanks for the visit.
croquecamille
/ October 11, 2011Thanks again for another inspirational story from the next generation.
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011It is inspiring isn’t it Camille? There is hope for a brighter future.
Simply Life
/ October 11, 2011what a fun post!
Tammy
/ October 11, 2011Thx.
Naomi
/ October 12, 2011Beautifully done, all of you! And thanks for sharing this inspiring story, Tammy 🙂
Janice
/ October 13, 2011That’s very touching Tammy. Well done Sierra and Laiken. 😀
souldipper
/ December 12, 2011In spite of many comments, Tammy, I just have to say this is where the whole world needs to be. I am so touched by these children. If we see youth leap frogging over us in the care department, we have facilitated the essentials.
Tammy
/ December 12, 2011I agree with you 100% Amy! This is what matters.