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Jared Dees

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Our Little Free Library

By Jared Dees

Last weekend I finally installed our Little Free Library in our front yard. It has been such a great experience so far.

Last summer, our kids raised money to offset the cost of the library by almost daily lemonade stands. People in the neighborhood were very, very generous. You would be surprised how many times they received a $4.50 or $9.50 tip for a small, $0.50 cup of lemonade!

Now that the library is installed, we see many people of the neighborhood stop on their walks either as adults or adults with their kids. Many people have stopped in their cars, too, to exchange books.

What I’ve enjoyed most about this entire process is the ownership our children have had in the project. They earned money to pay for it. They painted it. They put in the first few books and recruited some neighbors to donate a few books to get us started, too.

As summer starts and they think about their lemonade stand, they aren’t thinking only of saving money to buy new toys. They are thinking creatively about how they can use the money to do good for our neighborhood, our local community, and the world.

That is meaningful work.

Our Little Free Library

 

May 25, 2018 Filed Under: Meaning and Motivation, Meaningful Work

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children.

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Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children. See all of Jared's Books →

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