An Ark

When Charlotte was young we decided to set aside $20 a month to donate to organizations of her choice. When we received mail from non-profits requesting donations, we would talk with her about the organizations. We created a file folder that organized these requests by category (food, shelter, health, animals, etc) and she would decide on the giving. I would sign checks and she would fill in the amounts and the organizations. most often she would divide the $20 into $5 and $10 amounts, allowing for greater distribution in the giving.

After a few years of this monthly activity, she came to me one day and told me that she would like to put all of the money toward an ark that Heifer offered. It took years for us to accumulate the $5000, but we met our goal when she was in high school. During this time we invested the money that accumulated in a CD and turned it over a couple of times, which provided another early encounter with this type of savings process.