How I'm Teaching My Daughter to "Give Back" & Help Children's Charities at Only 1 Year Old...

Now that my little sass is officially one, it's like a little learning switch was clicked on and she's absorbing everything. She repeats a lot of what we say now, she is suddenly standing on her own (I have a feeling she'll be taking steps any day now), and she is constantly wanting to explore. It's pretty amazing watching her mind act like a sponge, really soaking everything up and I feel so blessed I get to teach her all of life's lessons and more.

While I'm so excited D is learning new words and physically developing, I also want to nourish her soul. I want her to learn to always have a giving, caring heart, to do the right thing, and to just be a good human and I think that's something we need to start fostering now. So today, now that her birthday celebrations are winding down, we decided to set up a little lemonade stand.

And... instead of her pocketing all the proceeds, we are raising funds to help a charity that we feel passionate about supporting - We are dishing out some delicious lemonade #ForRMHC!

The Ronald McDonald House Charities provide places for families to stay within steps of the hospital where their children receive the medical care they need. I know what you're thinking... it's a hard pill to swallow, thinking about a child being critically ill - but it's a reality. While it's something I never hope to face, it's something several people are dealing with right this second. To give you an idea of what I mean by several, in 2016, RMHC provided 2.4 million overnight stays to families with sick children!

Let's do the "math"... That means 2.4 million families were able to spend the evening with their little one a tiny bit less worried, 2.4 million people were able to snuggle their sweet child to sleep, those same children were able to feel the comfort of knowing their parents were just seconds away.

It's amazing that RMHC was able to help so many children and their families... but the numbers are still growing in 2017. So, they have challenged everyone to truly raise love. Their goal is to raise enough to help provide 12,500 more stays for families, so that they may share a smile, hugs, and just simply spend more time together.

I guess you can see why I knew this was the perfect way to teach Delainey about giving back, it's practically common sense to want to help these families out. So on that note, I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What can I do to help?"

And the answer is simple - donate... or you could always start your own RMHC fundraiser to help give back! Find out more about how you can do either here!

Once you decide to start your own fundraiser, whether or not you're hosting a bake sale, planning on juggling your heart out to entertain the masses, or setting up a chalkathon... it's easy to do your part and help these families going through a tough time out. Just spread the word and let the magic of caring hearts work, at least that's what I told Delainey. Raising love and funds for these kids was easy peasy once we had our lemonade dished out.

While we were only making proceeds one quarter at at time, we're proud to say we made enough to send over a tiny sum to RMHC and can't wait to set up our little "lemonade shop" again soon to continue raising funds for our favorite children's charity.

So tell me, how will you raise funds for these kids and their families? I'd love to hear your plans for fundraising and how you plan on giving back in the comments below!