My kid's not begging...she's fundriasing for a good cause!

I offer no conjecture here but my personal experience. First let me say the word "begging" lends itself to a negative connotation or stereotypical view of someone who is in need asking for a handout. In the eight years that I've been a part of the MOT community I have given my share of dollars and spare change and even purchased items from some youth groups or organizations trying to raise funds. At no time did I feel that the children were begging  or poorly representing the organization to which they belong. On the occasions that I choose not to give, I respectfully say thank you, smile, and go on my way.

I was standing outside of Acme with the Girl Scout troop collecting donations for the Food Bank of Delaware when someone showed me this FB post:

I immediately started dictating my thoughts as this was definitely a great blog topic.  Having felt the sting of the comment, I came to the conclusion that the benefit of having our youth fundraise for causes important to them and participate in community groups is more significant than the irritation that an adult feels when a young person asks them to support a cause outside of the grocery store or pharmacy. I thought for a moment what our Girl Scout Troop had to gain from collecting food for the Delaware Food Bank today.  Here's what I came up with. I see the growth and development of personal communication skills as these girls were greeting people and sharing with them what they learned about the food bank and how much it helps people right here in the MOT area. They were encouraging (not begging) shoppers to support the food bank. I saw young girls excited when their friends went into the store and came back out with a donation for their cause; hence the building of community, and probably most important, I am saw young people who care about the world in which they live and who are choosing to make a difference with the support of adults and organizations that bring youth together.

Because I'm a professor I know all too well how not having a solid foundation impacts you later in life. We have students who are very individualistic, who have never been a part of a team or organized group (in some cases because they couldn't afford the fees) and young people who don't have a sense of civic duty.

Whether you are one who perceives this as a beg-a-thon, one of those people who walks in the opposite direction when you see young people in front of the supermarket or pharmacy, or one of those folks that cuts the kid off before the even finish their spiel, I'd ask you to consider this; these young people are doing something productive.

In a world with so much friction and despair we should seize every moment possible to empower our children. If you don't agree with what they're doing you can walk away but you can also do it in a manner that respects what they're trying to do and that helps to build them up.

I didn't read all 200 + responses to the post but I read quite a few of them and with all editorials you should take from it what you need. Do so with this one as well.

Through the sarcasm and cattiness that FB yields when there is a post that leads to discourse such as this I always try to be self-reflexive.

I come from a world where I was always supported as a young person but at the same time I saw children who did not have the same benefit. I will continue to support the athletic leagues the cheerleaders the local Scouts and even church groups that are in the community trying to make a difference. I urge you to do the same. The next time you see youth who are "trying to encourage adults to support them", don't turn your head so far in the other direction pretending not to see them, walk with your head down, or speed walk into the store like your ankles are on fire! Instead look the kid in the eye and whether you give or not, offer an encouraging  word.