Home is Where the Heart is so Give Back! #CincyGive

I have lived in Cincinnati all my life and have so much pride and love for this City. If you know me, you know that I love to explore and it never ceases to amaze me the new places and things I find in Cincinnati even though I have lived here for so long. As a blogger and a SAHM, community has been so important for me. I have had to reach out to people and places I was not familiar with and although it wasn’t always comfortable, it has allowed me to make great relationships in both the blogging world and as a woman who now has 3 kids. I learn about new opportunities not only for myself, but my children through my community and I honestly could not work from home and stay at home with children if I didn’t have that community support. 

I have had a yearning to volunteer with my boys for a long time now. I called so many different places to see if they will allow me to bring my boys because I would love for it to be a family affair and I think it would be great for the boys to participate in as well. One of my resolutions was to volunteer with the boys once a month so we have picked some of the places listed  below and just put it on the calendar for the month. I hope this help inspires you if you also want to get involved with your kiddos in giving back! 

Helping the Homeless: we collected food and clothes and went downtown and gave them out to the needy and homeless. If you want more info about this just email me. I went with some local friends, but I know there is a local charity that does this a few times a  year. 

Read my post for more info on the Warm Welcomes Foster Outreach

Matthew 25 Ministries: This ministry is AMAZING! They take so many different donations and they allow kids of all ages to volunteer with their parents. You will be doing more sorting and inspecting of goods. We have been a few times now and I have even seen moms carrying their babies in slings! Even my little Bennett can help. They have plenty of walk in hours, but if you are bringing kids they prefer you call ahead of time so they can find jobs that align with your kids ages. My kids LOVED this! They have the coolest tour so that your kids can see what it is like in other countries. 

Joe Nuxhall Miracle League: this is an awesome league where kids with disabilities can play baseball with the help of volunteers of all ages. What I like about this program is that once you sign up they will send you the schedule for for the season and you can sign up when it works for you and your family. We are super excited to volunteer for this! You can sign up here.

The Children are Waiting/ Hands Against Hunger: This is for kids ages 5 and up. You can bring your younger kids and they have a play area for them, but you have to be 5 and older to volunteer. Here you will pack food to send to kids in other countries, take a tour and even taste the food that you are packaging. Check it out here. 

Ronald McDonald House: There are a lot of volunteer opps here. I have cooked and served meals to families here which is very rewarding. They have a list of ways you can help on their website. 

St. Susanna Church has a Peanut Butter and Jelly Ministry. You can sign up for a time slot or even go as a group and you can make PB&J for those in need. You can email: robertab@cinci.rr.com.  They also have the Schuh Center and there are a lot of things you can do to help with that. You can email rbolte_754@fuse.net for details. We have made blankets and birthday bags for examples. 

My home and community has helped me grow and change over the years and sharing that through volunteering with my kids has been a huge blessing. I always like to keep it local when I can. I love buying from and supporting local businesses and I was very impressed when I learned about Cincinnati Bell giving back to our City through their #CincyGive Campaign! 

Cincinnati Bell has been around for over 140 years so they want to celebrate local businesses and one of the ways they are doing that is through partnering with, My State Threads, creating this HOME t-shirt and donating the proceeds to 4 local charities: USO of Central and Southern Ohio, Dragonfly Foundation, CancerFree KIDS, and SPCA Cincinnati. 

Overall, I am very impressed with Cincinnati Bell by taking initiatives to #giveback to our community! It inspires me to take time out of my life and volunteer more with the kids or even find a local charity we can become passionate about as a family. Life is so busy, but it is important to #giveback to this place we call HOME! Home is where the heart is after all!

I would love to hear about ways you #giveaback to your local community and how being apart of the community has helped shape your life!