Helping your child celebrate his birthday and give to others is a new concept that most parents may not have put together, but Debbie Zinman and Allison Smith of ECHOage did. Being parents themselves, they realized children want to have fun with their friends, party, eat cake and just be kids! The pile of presents usually sits on a table until someone says it’s time to open them.

I can so relate to this scenario. With a number of birthday parties under my belt, opening gifts is my least favorite part of the party. I read the riot act before hand about being polite, even if you don’t like the gift, saying thank you, not mentioning if you already have the same thing at home, etc. It’s nerve racking because I don’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt. And it’s wasteful because my daughter doesn’t need 10 gifts all at once. Never mind the wrapping paper, gift bags and cards that all gets thrown away too.

That’s why I’m thrilled with ECHOage. Debbie and Allison have created a way for children to learn to “…give children a hands-on, real opportunity to do something to help children in need and help the planet. Kids are looking for tangible ways to give of themselves and ECHOage is a child’s opportunity to celebrate giving.”

This is how it works:

• You and your child chose an online invitation.
• Choose a cause. There are a few charities to chose from, not too many to overwhelm your child and just enough to give them time to learn about them by doing some research. The charities rotate routinely but all improve the lives of children.
• Email your invitations. Save paper!
• Track your party. You’ll be able to see who’s RSVP’d, if there are any children attending with allergies, parent contact information and who has contributed.
• Use half the money donated to purchase one large gift for your child. The rest is for you and your child to donate to the charity chosen.
• Have your party!
• Award your child. Print out an award from the site to acknowledge what your child has done.
• Say thank you. Save paper by sending online thanks.

How do parents feel about making a donation instead of buying a gift? Debbie and Allison have heard positive things. I can tell you I’d be thrilled to do this. No guessing what to buy. No shopping. No wrapping or buying a card. I can do this online in five minutes. And do something positive with my child. I’m good to go!

ECHOage: Echo relates to the voice of a child being heard. Children want a chance to give back and to help save the planet. Age is the time of their birthday. What better time to enable your child to be true to him/herself?

I’ve already discussed having an ECHOage party for Peanut. She likes the idea. She’ll be the first of her friends to do it and knowing that she has enough “stuff” she’d rather “help out other children who don’t have enough.” Out of the mouths of babes.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Baby Products, Children's Products, Fun, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.