One of the main purposes for starting this blog was to spread awareness about albinism. When I talk about awareness I mean sending a message, getting attention, and getting people to talk about albinism even if it is in the smallest way. I hope that by doing this the few people who read my blog take those conversations further afield and by continuing on this thread we can create acceptance and inclusion for those people with albinism.  I know, I know this is an idealistic goal but I can only try.

I hear you thinking so how does this relate to the title Outside The Box? Recently my husband and I attended our first preschool parent night at my eldest son’s new preschool. During that meeting, one of the parents gave a short presentation about her and her families new business venture called ‘Outside The Box’. Now, this venture has nothing to do with albinism but it does have everything to do with trying to make a difference, showing our children how we can do that and exposing children to causes they may never have been exposed to.

With that in mind, I wanted to write a little bit about this business venture Outside The Box. The box is a monthly subscription or one-time gift that “is full of things that provide an opportunity to spark creativity, curiosity, and imagination while providing teachable moments on how we can not only talk about connection and community but how we can start to live it in our daily lives”. Elizabeth and her husband Aaron have both worked in non-profit for over twenty years. Her biggest passion is giving back and serving the community and with that in mind, they decided to start Outside The Box.

The box is filled with experiences and crafts to be shared. Each box contains items based on a monthly theme: A wearable item, a book, 2-4 crafts or activities that reinforce the boxes theme, community cards that inspire intentional ways to share Outside The Box, and a spotlight on a different non-profit, community service or give-back company. Also, a portion of each box is donated to the organization of the month. I love supporting local, family businesses and this is definitely a business to get behind.

I often wonder how we show our kids how to be kind, how to give back without just talking about it. We started fostering dogs in hopes that we could show our children what it means to be part of something greater than themselves and also to see what our family looks like with a dog in it. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is, tiring but rewarding and I hope it is something our family can continue to do in the future.

We all preach about the need to be kind, generous and helpful to our children but how often do we practice it in a way that really impacts them?