In the summer of 2021, two cousins Kana (age 8) and Meera (age 14), got Vaisesika Prabhu’s inspiring book Our Family Business. Meera says, “Reading Our Family Business made me and my cousin Kana filled with excitement to distribute books.”  Kana said that after reading the book it made him realize that life isn’t just about maintaining our existence (eating, sleeping, playing), but about using our life to share Lord Krishna’s blessings with others.

Kana and Meera had fun coloring 1,000 pictures of Lord Krishna for the soldiers and senior citizen homes and sent it to them with 1,000 Beyond Birth and Death books.

The kids couldn’t go out due to covid, so they decided to make care packages for soldiers and senior citizens at home. In each care package, the kids put Srila Prabhupada’s book Beyond Birth and Death and pictures they colored of Lord Krishna. The colorful drawings of Lord Krishna have varieties of happy messages like, “You are a hero,” Thank you for your service,” You are a star,” and “Keep Smiling.”

They brought all of their work to their homeschool umbrella group principal, Mrs. Jenny Bradshaw. She immediately loved the beautiful pictures of Lord Krishna. Mrs. Bradshaw said that by volunteering, people can see that actions that might seem small can make a big difference in the lives of others. As a result, getting involved and giving back can help develop self-esteem. By taking a part in trying to change the world, kids become happier.

Mrs. Bradshaw says that the pictures of Lord Krishna that Kana and Meera colored are very beautiful.

Mrs. Bradshaw encourages all of her students to do volunteer work. Some kids did volunteer activities like collecting canned goods for the impoverished, others did projects of collecting clothes to help the refugees from Afghanistan, and many others. Mrs. Bradshaw was very pleased with her students. So she gave this information to the White House and the students got awards and medals (gold, silver, and bronze) from President Biden. Kana and Meera both were awarded gold medals.

When Mrs. Bradshaw was giving all of the kids the presidential awards and gold medals during the ceremony, she said that research has consistently shown that acting altruistically has real benefits.

Volunteering provides physical and mental rewards:

• • Reduced Stress: When you focus on someone other than yourself, it interrupts tension-producing patterns.
  • Improved Health: The moods and emotions that frequently come through volunteer services like optimism, joy, and a sense of self-efficacy can contribute to strengthening the immune system.
  • Happiness:  Working for the benefit of our fellow creatures can fill us with a sense of purpose, and that can lead us to feelings of satisfaction and true happiness.

Mrs. Bradshaw said, according to the Director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning at Tufts University, Peter Levine, children who regularly volunteer tend to perform better in school and have higher high school and college graduation rates compared to children who do not volunteer.

Kanu and Meera’s at-home easy and fun Christmas 2021 marathon. Packing 1,000 gift bags for soldiers and seniors

Meera says, “What Mrs. Bradshaw said is so true when we distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. Working for the benefit of our fellow creatures by giving them Krishna (Srila Prabhupada’s books) does fill us with a sense of purpose, and that leads us to feelings of satisfaction and true happiness.”

Kanu and Meera had so much fun with their summer project (one thousand care packages with Srila Prabhupada books), they felt enthusiastic to distribute one more thousand books in care packages for their 2021 December Prabhupada Marathon. Kana says, “Distributing books is easy and fun, just like it says in Vaisesika Prabhu’s book – Our Family Business.”