Giving Back: Hands Across the Sea

One of the many reasons we decided to go cruising with our kids was to give them a large perspective of this world. They've grown up in this tiny hometown with the usual suburban life---which don't get me wrong, we LOVE our hometown, and our friends are very dear to us-- it's just that our kids were starting to pay too much attention to material things and take a lot of things for granted. I think we all were, in a sense. You wake up, go to work/school, come home or go to different activities...there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities for enjoying quiet family time, as we were pretty busy! It was time to slow down, show our kids that there is so much more to this world, and sort of shake things up a bit.

We are starting off right away with the first leg of this journey. While in the Caribbean, we have volunteered to work with Hands Across the Sea, a literacy promotion program. The goal: get new books in the hands of kids and promote the love of reading. Our family will be helping to build libraries, deliver books, read with children, as well as a provide little teaching, as needed.

It is such a great program and one that is close to my heart. I absolutely LOVE reading, in fact, our entire family would be considered bookworms. Back home, the bookshelves were overflowing (and don't even ask about my classroom library)! In order to make room for new books, we would place others in the small little neighborhood libraries around town. It was a nice way to  give books a new home in our own community. Sometimes, movies would show up in those little libraries and we'd enjoy a free movie night. It would go right back into the library the following day along with a couple of our contributions. What a great concept as it certainly promoted the reuse and recycling of books!

This little free library is right
around the corner from our home.

We are all about giving back while on this journey and this opportunity will enable us and our children to do just that, while experiencing and working with different cultures along the way.

Here is their website, for more information (or if you would also like to get involved): http://www.handsacrossthesea.net

School Supplies for Schools in Need

Part of our mission while cruising is to get school supplies to the schools and students that need them. The school I currently teach at is pretty set when it comes to supplies. We have a generous PTA that helps teachers with classroom needs and our site has an awesome supply closet.

This is NOT the case at every school. I know this, because I have taught at a few schools throughout my career. There were years we didn't have any school-bought supplies, so everything came out of pocket. Hubby was not thrilled about that, but what's a teacher to do? I changed districts after a few years (we moved), and began learning that not all schools are created equal.

When Jared and I were discussing our goals while sailing, one priority is to give back where and when we are able to. Some locations happen to be high tourist traffic areas and get a lot of donations. Our goal will be to help out the less fortunate schools, perhaps those off the beaten path.

This weekend while running errands, I noticed a huge sale on school supplies. The teacher in me made a huge beeline over to that aisle and stocked up on some great stuff, all at 70% off! I may or may not have also cruised the summer clearance aisle and bought a wading pool for some S.T.E.M. activities...

The supplies I purchased today are going in my class store (and some in the boat pile), which I started back at a school that had a high homeless population. The class store is held monthly and allows students to buy school supplies with their class dollars (their income comes from class jobs, attendance, and their own class businesses). I use the classroom economy to teach my students how to keep a balanced checkbook, plan for expenditures, save up for items, and in general, be responsible with their money. They also learn how to be entrepreneurs. It's a lot of fun and the kids really get into it! Bake sales, thrift shops, duck-tape wallets, origami, crafts, auctions, desk cleaning services...the list goes on. Even the parents like to get involved. Having fun while learning--what I like to do best!

~Stef