Little Acts of Kindness

Tanger recently kicked off its PinkSTYLE campaign to create awareness for the importance of early detection and help to fund the necessary research to find a cure for breast cancer.  

If you haven’t shopped during Tanger’s PINK campaign before, trust me when I say this is an incredible campaign. Here’s how it works:

ALL proceeds from the sale of the Tanger Pink Cards are donated to designated local organizations in each Tanger area and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The unlimited use cards are sold for $5 each and are redeemable for 25% OFF one single item per store per day at participating retailers.

Amazing, right?

This is HUGE in the battle against breast cancer and this amazing program started me thinking about ways that my family can make a difference.

As an on-the-go mom, it sometimes seems impossible to add even one more thing to my to do list…even if it is as important as teaching my children acts of kindness.

Well, thanks to some Tanger inspiration and extended naptime (hallelujah!) and a little resourcefulness (a.k.a. Pinterest), I’ve found several ways to make giving back this year a family affair.

Check out what I’m calling my LITTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS LIST!

1. Bake cookies to take to firefighters, police officers or EMTs.
2. Deliver cards and treats to local nursing home residents. They truly light up when they interact with children.
3. Sort through toy collections and let your kids select gently-used toys that can be donated.
4. Give a small gift to your mailman or trash collector. (side note: My toddler is OBSESSED with our trash service so instead of awkwardly gawking next week, we’ll have a special surprise to give them. Do any of you mommas also deal with this obsession or am I alone in this struggle?)
5. Participate in a family walk/run event supporting a charitable cause.
6. Purchase and donate socks, t-shirts, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other bathroom essentials to a homeless shelter.
7. If your kids are older, talk to them about having a charitable birthday party where their friends bring donations or volunteer time with an act of service to the charity of their choosing.
8. Offer to host a playdate for neighbors/friends so that they can have a date night. They often return the favor!
9. Serve as a Room Mom and help out in your child’s classroom or daycare class.
10. Make hospital care kits for children with extended hospital stays. Comfort items such as teddy bears, dolls or blankets and activity items such as coloring books, comic books, etc. go a long way toward boosting spirits.
11. Collect donations and assemble care kits to send to troops serving overseas.
12. Let your child pick out a holiday gift for a child in need that is the same age/gender or encourage him/her to give up one gift so that a child in need can have one.
13. Organize a canned food or pet supply drive for local food pantries or animal shelters.
14. Offer to be helpers for a new mom in the neighborhood. Prepare meals, help with chores or even entertain older siblings while she tends to the newborn. As we all know, sometimes all a new mom needs is time to take a shower…or a nap.
15. Help pick up litter or plant flowers at your child’s school, library or local park.
16. And, of course, purchase your Tanger PINK card and shop away in October to help fund breast cancer research in your local community.

There are literally hundreds of options that require very little time or money, and can make a huge difference for not only the recipients’ but your kids as well.

So…get a Tanger PINK card, use this list as inspiration, get creative with things that you already enjoy doing with your kids, or let your littles drive what you choose to do as your family’s act of kindness.

Just do it together!

Follow Tanger Outlets on Pinterest for more volunteering ideas with your kids and share your Little Acts of Kindness with me on Facebook and Instagram using #TangerOnTheGo, #TangerMom and tagging @TangerOutlets.