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Tzedakah Tools And Tips For Parents
This document provides tips for parents to teach their children about tzedakah (charitable giving in Judaism). It emphasizes modeling philanthropic behavior, sharing family traditions of giving, reflecting on values and motivations, listening to children, respecting their ideas, supporting their efforts, incorporating giving into holidays and celebrations, and establishing a formal family structure for charitable decisions. The overall message is that thoughtful discussion and active engagement are important for nurturing philanthropy as a family value.
Tzedakah Tools And Tips For Parents
- 1. Jewish Communal Fund FamilyPhilanthropy: Tzedakah Tools and Tips for Parents
- 2. The Parents’ RoleTheParents’ Role • MODEL • SHARE • REFLECT • LISTEN • RESPECT • SUPPORT • STRUCTURE • REINFORCE
- 3. Actions speak louderthan words so model the engagement you would like to see – Let your kids see what you do for charities, show them the satisfaction you derive from your philanthropy.
- 4. Connect with Tradition DuringShabbat or dinner conversations, share family memories and history of earlier generations and their chesed and charitable work. Family traditions of tzedakah
- 5. Share and ReflectShareand Reflect Discuss your motivation for supporting your charities. Talk about why you give! Independence Tradition Maot Chitim “All Israel is responsible one for another” Chesed Equality Justice
- 6. Find the teachablemoments and uncover the values behind your giving. Connecting values with actions helps kids understand the significance of your philanthropy.
- 7. Listen to yourchildren and learn about their interests and concerns. Nurture these interests even if they are different than yours.
- 8. Learn from yourteenLearn from your teen Explain how you choose your charities. Ask your teen how they make funding decisions. What are their priorities? Let them educate you.
- 9. Respect Their Ideas •Don’t dismiss your child’s idea even if you don’t see the value. • Look for the shared values behind their choices and yours. • Praise their interests and compassion.
- 10. Support Your Teen’sEffortSupport Your Teen’s Effort Show interest and ask questions. Set aside a portion of your philanthropic dollars to support your child’s charities. Offer matching gifts
- 11. Acknowledge Accomplishments Making acontribution in your child’s honor to their favorite charity is a great way to recognize: Bar & Bat Mitzvahs Awards Graduations and other achievements
- 12. Interweave Tzedakah intodaily life Holidays are filled with giving traditions and opportunities, so incorporate tzedakah into your celebration. Make a gift in honor of your children. Celebrate Jewish holidays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and birthdays by asking your child to make a donation in your honor.
- 13. Use a formalstructure Form a Family Tzedakah CircleForm a Family Tzedakah Circle Everyone is responsible for researching an issue or a charity. Everyone has a voice and gets to vote on where to make the contributions.
- 14. Set Goals • Discussa giving goal that can help focus your family on tzedakah. • Ask your teen to help the family decide how much to give each year. • Create a timetable for when donations will be given. • Include an action plan detailing the steps necessary to reach the goal, and list who is responsible.
- 15. What’s Next: Reinforcethe Experience Help teens find engagement opportunities that can utilize their new skills and support their interest in philanthropy. Seek service opportunities for teens as well as families. Establish an independent charitable fund for your teen.