When I learned about the Couponing for Good campaign that AllYou magazine and Champions for Kids coordinated, I instantly wanted to be a part of it. I’ve always felt strongly that learning how to shop strategically with coupons is a useful skill – not only for the way that it can benefit your family, but also for how it can easily impact the community. Many of us already operate on tight grocery budgets – but with coupons in hand, an expensive item can turn into a donation that doesn’t hurt your bottom line. Week after week of setting aside small non-perishable items adds up to a full donation bag within a month. It’s simple. And it feels so good to give!
If you remember, I took my coupons to Walmart to see how far my budgeted funds would stretch. After that big Walmart shopping trip, I added other items – some from my own stockpile along with current deals from other stores – to create a reasonable donation pile:
Promise Village: Home for Children
I really wanted to find a great place to benefit from what I’d gathered, but it was difficult to find a charity nearby that would accept both food and health & beauty items and directly benefits children. I did find charities that were seeking soap and toothpaste and plenty that needed school supplies and backpacks, but most of what I had purchased were food items. So I took my question to the Bargains to Bounty Facebook fans – and am I ever glad I did! My eyes were opened to many deserving area charities that are in desperate need of contributions. I’ll certainly be keeping them in mind for the future!
Promise Village: Home for Children really caught my attention – and the administrative coordinator there encouraged us not only to bring our donations, but to tour and experience the facility as a family! We loaded up the van with the kids and our donations and took an hour’s drive…
Promise Village is a residential treatment center for struggling and at-risk adolescent boys near Holly, Michigan. Promise Village walks closely with up to 12 boys at a time, encouraging positive character traits, building and shaping them, then transitioning them back into their home environment. A “relationship-based” model of care along with a number of different layers of therapy (including animal-assisted therapy) makes the faith-based program at Promise Village truly one-of-a-kind. Since it’s difficult to represent this well-rounded program adequately in a few words, please consider learning more at the Promise Village website.
With that teenage boys in the home at a time, you can imagine the amount of food required at each meal! I knew our donations would make only a small dent in their limited grocery budget.
Nestled on 70 rural acres, the setting of Promise Village is truly breathtaking – a haven.
We had the chance to meet all of the boys in action around Promise Village. They were well-mannered and respectful. And I can’t think of the last time I saw the room of a teenage boy looking so clean!
My family and I were also able to enjoy a walk around the grounds – they even fed some of the animals (a definite highlight)! Of course, their care and feeding is actually the responsibility of the boys staying there. It’s all part of the animal-assisted therapy: horses, miniature horses, miniature donkeys, pygmy goats, llama, exotic birds and more live there as well.
If you’re interested in supporting Promise Village, there are a number of ways to get involved. You’ll find a printable wish list of items you can donate, along with information about their upcoming Comedy for a Cause fundraiser in Troy.
You can Coupon for Good, too!
So are you inspired to join the Couponing for Good mission? Here are the details:
Gather your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to participate in an All You Couponing For Good project! Use your couponing skills to find great deals on clothes, food, hygiene products, school supplies, books, and games for children. Pick up these extra items at a discount or buy-one-get-one-free. Give the items to an organization in your community that serves children (like a school, religious organization, or nonprofit). Then click here to send us your great Report and Photos!
For ideas on where to donate your items, check out All You’s Couponing for Good Resource page!
You can also follow Champions for Kids on Facebook and Twitter for more information.#AllYouCFK