Are You in the Giving Spirit?

Most likely, many of you are in the Giving Spirit, especially at this time of year. Yay! Giving is awesome!
Some people already know that giving and helping others is what truly helps to make the holiday season happy!
Does your family have a special tradition that you do every year to help others by giving of your time, your talents, your money, or your networks?
Or perhaps you do something with a group of friends or with your neighborhood to embrace the spirit of giving at this time of year? 
If you already do cool giving projects over the holidays, we would love to hear what you do!
 If you are still looking for some last minute ideas for giving,  hope that you will check out our Figgy & Friends Pinterest Board.

Hello from Big Bro & Little Bro!

Hi Friends!

Our real names are not Big Bro and Little Bro, that is just our nicknames on social media.  

Here are some things about us:

Big Bro

Age:
12 years old.
My Thoughts for Today:

All animals are awesome, especially my dog Elliott, and my fish, Tokyo!
I helped draw some of Figgy's friends.
I love to read, watch sci-fi movies, and make things out of cardboard and duct tape! My favorite dog that I created for our Figgy blog is:
Basil.

My Three Favorite Giving Projects:

Making board games and educational materials for others to help them learn
Visiting people at the nursing home and bringing them cards and homemade gifts to make them smile
Sending care packages to people who are lonely  What I've Learned about Giving: 
Anyone can give if you give from your heart! I love doing projects to help others and have also learned that there are many forms of giving.

Little Bro

Age:
9 years old
My Thoughts for Today:

I love getting to play outside, even when it is windy!
I love to build with LEGO and I also love to draw and had fun drawing several of the dog friends for Figgy.My Favorite Drawing of a Dog that I Drew for this Blog is:
Rocky (I love how Rocky looks because he reminds me of a mix of my real dog, Elliott, with my grandparent's dog, Bree.)

My Three Favorite Giving Projects:

Going to the Dream Center to find out about their program
Helping make things to give to others
Organizing things for our community like our Cardboard Challenge What Giving has Taught Me:
Giving is a way to help others and to show them love.

Hello from Figgy!

Hi! My name is Figgy!

My doggy friends and I hope that you will like our blog!
Our goal is to share ideas about how friends and families can give generously by sharing of their time, talents, money, or social media connections.
Some people think that to be a giver, that you have to be an adult or at least an older kid.
Well, my doggy friends and I have found out that there are many ways for kids to give too!
Some nonprofit foundations were even started based upon projects that children designed, such as:
The Imagination Foundation, which grew in part from Caine's Arcade, and Alex's Lemonade Stand. 
These are just a small sampling of great giving projects that started because of children wanting to give!
What might seem small to you might be huge to those whom you choose to help!
Since I am a dog, I will be getting some great insights from my people friends, who go by Big Bro and Little Bro, as well as some of their friends.
We have added a list of links that give great ideas for giving generously, so please be sure to check out our list of links. We hope to grow our list so if you have any suggestions, please let us know!
Special thanks to Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen and her foundation, The Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen Foundation, LAAF. We have all been inspired to try to be better givers as a family based upon what we have learned from her great book, Giving 2.0, and her awesome online Giving 2.0 MOOC.
If your family wants to learn more about Giving, we encourage you to have a grown-up from your family take the Giving 2.0 MOOC and read the Giving 2.0 book! So many ideas for neat things to do to give generously as a family or as a group of friends in this book and online class!!!

Also, if you read this post and you would like to share what you have done to give from the heart with your family or friends, please email your ideas along with a drawing or photo of your favorite dog or other pet. We will select some of the emails that are sent to us and will share your drawings and your ideas for giving!