Pay it Forward Tweet #showkindness 
Last year Honey and I participated in Operation Christmas in which we filled a shoebox with goodies, decorated it, and sent it off on a plane. Ok we didn’t put it on the plane but Samaritan’s Pride did. Not only was it inspiring to take part it but it was amazing to actually get to see where our shoebox landed. Our shoebox traveled to Ghana. After last year I decided that each year we should participate in some type of program.
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https://twitter.com/shibleysmiles/status/412785200003706880 Teaching your children about giving and being charitable is such an important lesson today and for future generations. My mother volunteered this Thanksgiving in a soup kitchen and I knew I wanted to do something with Honey for Christmas. We decided to help our local community and participate in a toy drive. The mission was to bring any unwrapped toys to one of six locations. Honey and I visited our local Kohl’s to do some toy drive shopping. As always when we enter Kohl’s we are greeted by one of my favorite programs of the store Kohl’s Cares. This holiday season is a tribute to some classic characters the Peanuts gang! 
Gifts that Give Back. This holiday, Kohl’s offers exclusive hardcover books featuring Peanuts classics by author Charles M. Schulz along with coordinating plush toys for just $5 each through the Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program. Also for $5, Kohl’s Cares merchandise brings shoppers the Holiday Cheer cookbook, the holiday CD Upon the Winter Solstice from Trans-Siberian Orchestra and a Peanuts jigsaw puzzle. Through the Kohl’s Cares merchandise program, Kohl’s donates 100 percent of the net profit to children’s health and education initiatives nationwide. Since 2000, it has raised more than $231 million for children’s health and education programs in local communities across the country.
Honey picked out a book and plush and we headed back to the toy section. Because the point of this trip was to purchase toys for the toy drive I like Honey do all the driving. I let her decide what to get. Our goal was $250 thanks to Kohl’s “Pay it Forward” campaign. Honey knew that the toys we selected would be for kids in our community. She decided we needed to buy both girl and boy toys as well as toys for all ages. The hardest part about shopping was narrowing it down to just $250 worth of toys. The best part of the shopping was the sales were plenty this past weekend and we were able to sometimes double our savings and add more to our shopping buggy. 
Honey did such a great job splitting up her finds between boys and girls and babies. She loved the sales sign and I think she may be a true shopper. She knew that if she saw a sale sign she was going to be able to get more toys for the children in need. We walked up and down the isles making careful decisions on what to get. Would a little girl like a doll? Or a craft kit? A puzzle? Or a game? Which baby toy was the best and would boys like cars or balls? I was so proud to see that she was able to shop for others without thinking of herself. We filled our shopping buggy up to the tip top! 
After checking out we unexpectedly received some Kohl’s Cash. One of the best things about shopping at Kohl’s is they are always sending us discount cards and giving us cash to spend. The only unfortunate thing is it would have been great to get an extra $40 for the toy drive however I can not use it until December 25th. As soon as we were done shopping we went straight to the drop off center. I wanted Honey to do the shopping and dropping off to really get an understanding of the giving process.
Pay it Forward
While the holidays are definitely a time to give we encourage you to “Pay it Forward” any time you can. It can be as simple as offering your time, a good word, or if you have the ability financial support in some shape or form. I love that Kohl’s includes charitable programs like the Kohl’s Cares program and offered us this opportunity to give back to our local community. Next year I would like to find a family to sponsor and purchase food, clothing, and toys with the help of Honey of course!
