Day 11: Saving the World One Scooter at a Time?

There is something about a child’s innocence that is remarkable some days. My son is not an exception to this rule.

At 3, Nicolas is a great shopper. He has been coming everywhere with me since the day he came home. From grocery shopping, banking, dry cleaning, vets appointments. Even as an infant, he sat in on Board Room meetings.  Today was no exception and we stopped at our local Salvation Army Thrift Store to look for Halloween gear. (a great cheap and cheerful alternative to buying new)

Nic loves the “Second Hand” store as he calls it. Lots of toys to play with as Mom shops. Soon after we arrived at the store, an item caught Nic’s eye. A used scooter. It just so happened that his Aunt from Toronto had sent him a birthday cheque last week to get a scooter. (Thanks Aunty Hilary this is in honour of you!) Most kids would want a shiny new one but not my son. I wasn’t leaving there without that scooter.  I saw a great opportunity to make this shopping experience the beginning of a life long lesson. We made a “deal” (always the negotiation) for the scooter. The deal went – if we got this scooter with the money from his birthday, we would also take the time to buy something we could GIVE with his birthday money.

In comes the GIVE of the Day by guest giver Nicolas Way.

Give 11 / Day 11

Today my son and I went to the SPCA to donate towels, blankets and 2 stainless steel dog dishes. You can look up an Animal Shelter in your area and see what items they need donated. The list was quiet extensive for the shelter in our area: West Vancouver SPCA. We chose items we either had at home (the dog dishes) or bought second hand items at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store. We ended up doing a number of different GIVES today.

1) Donated much needed items to the local SPCA (Animal Rescue Shelter)

2) Bought items donated to the SPCA from at a thrift store that supports the Salvation Army

3) Bought a used scooter for Nic’s birthday helping to save the planet one scooter at a time! (one less scooter for a land fill)

Wow does this mean I can take a day off now! Just kidding. Back at it tomorrow and love how the opportunities keep coming without a GIVING plan.

Time Commitment: 1/2 hour (double backed it with a few jobs in between) Cost: $12.00 Purchased by my Nicolas’ from his birthday money