Caring Causes: Move Beyond Materialism & Shop with Purpose for Back to School

With most of our area's children returning to school before Labor Day, the race is on to gather school supplies. Whether you got a late start or are finishing up, you may be feeling overwhelmed or just plain run down by everything your kids need (or simply want) to be prepared for the year ahead. And with that come a feeling that some of the mountain of stuff you accumulate prior to the first day of school seems wasteful, materialistic or simply silly.

But you can beat those school supply blues by shopping with purpose: giving back to charity with purchases you'd be making anyway. Or take it a step further and donate cash or supplies to local children in need. Just because school's right around the corner doesn't mean it's too late to contribute.

Here are some ways you can give back to your community while you cross items off your school supply list.

Buy a Little Extra Something for Local Kids

Several area charities and businesses are still collecting school supplies for local children in need. There are too many kids in this country whose parents struggle with the rising costs of school supplies. If you're fortunate enough to be able to afford spare supplies to donate, you can make a difference in helping underprivileged children feel as ready for the school year as your kids do.

Donations are being accepted by:

·       Family & Children’s Service – drop off school supplies at their Minneapolis, Bloomington and Brooklyn Park locations.

·       Boys & Girls Club of America and Staples - through September 17^th, visit your nearest Staples store to donate items. (This is especially convenient if you are shopping at Staples for your own children.)

·       Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis - they have a wishlist of needed supplies that you can check before purchasing anything. Call 612-204-8295 for drop off information.

·       Yoobi at Target - with every Yoobi purchase, available at Target, Yoobi will donate supplies to children in need around the country.

·       The Salvation Army Northern Division - you can donate money online. The Salvation Army will match your zip code to children in need in your town and buy supplies for them.

·       Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities – you can either donate money to fill backpacks for local kids or drop off supplies at one of many locations throughout our area.

·       Kids in Need Foundation and Nordic Naturals – if you buy Nordic Naturals products for your family, you'll see when you buy certain items a school supply donation will be made by the company.

Make Kids Smile with Amazon Smile

The Amazon Smile program is a little-known gem. By simply using Smile.Amazon.com to access the Amazon site and shop as you normally would, you can donate to your charity of choice. The first time you visit Amazon Smile you'll be given the option to choose a charity. After that, any time you shop by visiting Smile.Amazon.com, the Amazon Smile Foundation will automatically donate a percentage of your purchase to charity. It doesn't cost you anything extra, and perks like Amazon Prime also work through the Smile program.

If you're shopping on Amazon for school supplies (and who can resist some of their savings?), this is a great way to make a difference. And you can continue using Amazon Smile throughout the year – think about the potential impact of your online Christmas shopping!

Support Disaster Relief with Online Shopping

Speaking of shopping online, you can help a local charity, Headwaters Relief Organization, by shopping at their online store for essentials like a refreezable lunch box, a lightweight backpack for gym and sports clothes or a water bottle that infuses water with fruit flavors kids enjoy. Headwaters Relief is based in Golden Valley, MN, and is a non-profit that provides emotional support, housing and other relief to victims of natural disasters.

Headwaters Relief has worked in the Twin Cities, nationally in places like Missouri (after tornadoes), and internationally in Haiti (after the earthquake) and the Philippines (after super typhoon Haiyan). All proceeds from purchases at their online store go directly to their relief efforts. And all the items sport the Headwaters Relief logo, so your kids can spread the word about this worthy charity at school and beyond.

So this year, make a difference as you get your kids ready for the scholastic adventures ahead. Don't you feel better about back to school shopping already?