Doing Good Together

Doing Good Together, a Minneapolis based E-Newsletter comes up with great ideas to engage children in service. This month the topic is web based games that create an understanding of life needs throughout the world and how we can make a difference.

Doing Good Together has different kind of "computer" games to recommend this month. Like all good games, they are fun and painlessly educational. But these online games go a step further. They also allow youth to make a real-world difference while they play. (Often, correct answers result in donations on their behalf.)  Each game has a theme, such as hunger, water scarcity or malaria prevention. While playing, parents will have a great opportunity to talk with their children about these issues, making parent/child time together even richer. We also provide corresponding resources to bolster conversation.

Make a Difference..... 

These online games enable participants to make small donations while youth play - at no cost. They can be played individually or as a family team if you want to give even more.

· Free Rice An irresistible vocabulary game for all skill  levels. Players earn grains of rice that are donated for every correct answer.

· Charitii This game is similar to a crossword puzzle, except that your answers are multiple-choice. Five ounces of clean drinking water is donated to families living in poverty for each correct choice. The water donations add up quickly!

· Answer4Earth Each correct answer in this trivia game helps plant a tree (1 answer = 1 leaf, 12 leaves = 1 branch, 15 branches = 1 tree). Youth can track their scores to learn how many trees they've planted.

· Free Kibble Once each day you're invited to answer a trivia question about dogs (Bow Wow Trivia) and cats (Meow Trivia). Whether you answer correctly or incorrectly, 10 pieces of kibble will be donated to an animal shelter each time you play.

· Nothing But Nets The challenge is to hand out as many insecticide-treated bed nets as you can before the sun goes down. This simple game doesn't actually raise money (or provide malaria nets), but it can help start a conversation about this worthwhile organization, and you can donate $10 to purchase an actual net for a family in need of protection from disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Learn About it and Talk About It...

Playing these games together with your children - or as a team with your extended family - can increase how much you donate. Don't miss the opportunity to talk about the issues your game addresses. We especially recommend these educational tools to help guide your discussions. (Be sure to preview these resources before sharing them with your children to make sure they are age-appropriate.)

 · Free Rice: The World Food Program, which runs the Free Rice game, gave Molly, a 12-year-old living in Nairobi, a small video camera. Share the film she made with your own children. Talk about the similarities between children from all over the world. Maybe you'll be inspired to make your own film to send to Molly!

· Charitii: If you choose to play for charity: water, watch this video about the value of water. For older children, "Water Changes Everything" takes a more serious (and disturbing) look at the water crisis in the developing world.

· Answer4Earth: Learn about why trees matter, then talk about their value whenever you're walking in the neighborhood, park or woods. Plant a tree of your own.

· Free Kibble: Talk about how 11-year-old Mimi Ausland started this organization to make a difference for pets. What does your family care about and how can you make a difference together?

· Nothing But Nets: For a quick overview of malaria facts, download this PDF. Then talk to your child about malaria and the efforts to eradicate it. You can also download and read the Netman comic together. If you want to join the Nothing But Nets campaign, go here.