I found out about this great website on Facebook.  I think it’s a great site for anyone with kids, but I can definitely see the wonderful opportunities for homeschoolers.   This is not just a “pen pal” type of social networking site for kids, it’s also a charity program that kids can get involved in and win some cool prizes.  Here’s what the site says:

What is A Child Writes?
A Child Writes is a free, safe envi­ron­ment for kids to come together, be matched with online Pen­Pals and write to one another with­out the need to share per­sonal infor­ma­tion.  Mem­bers are invited to join fun, mod­er­ated online par­ties hosted on the A Child Writes site, which gives them the oppor­tu­nity to inter­act with other chil­dren within the same age range.  Dur­ing the mod­er­ated par­ties the con­ver­sa­tion will be guided on a spe­cific topic with fun age appro­pri­ate games and prizes to win.  There will never be non-moderated chats open on A Child Writes.

What can I do on A Child Writes?

• You can cre­ate your child their own free pro­file dis­play­ing only user­names, birth dates, gen­der, bio and hob­bies.  No per­sonal or con­tact infor­ma­tion shared publicly.
• You can browse other pro­files and request friends based on sim­i­lar hobbies.
• Your child will be matched with a Pen­Pal as soon as pos­si­ble and invited to a pri­vate group to write him/her back and forth.
• Mem­bers can join invited online par­ties for their age group.
• Mem­bers have the abil­ity to enter all con­tests held on A Child Writes by fol­low­ing con­test spe­cific guidelines.
• Par­ents can read and share all arti­cles found on A Child Writes.
• Par­ents can sub­mit their child’s story and/or photo to be con­sid­ered as the Fea­tured Mem­ber of the month.

As you can see, there are a lot of wonderful ways for kids of all ages to communicate with other kids and help various charity organizations.  Right now they are featuring Autism Awareness.  Because they are having a “soft launch” of their website this featured organization will be featured for two months.  After this future featured causes will only be featured for one month.

A Child Writes asks chidren to send cards, crafts, or pictures to put a smile on a child that is affected by the cause.  They can send in as many items as they want to.  Each item they send in is good for another entry into the monthly contest.  Who ever wins the contest gets a prize package that is donated by the various sponsors for A Child Writes.  This is a great incentive to get kids wanting to participate with all the different causes featured.

This months contest winner will recieve:

Grand Prize: Noah’s Ark Ani­mal Work­shop Party in a Box for 6 Includes: 6 pre-selected ani­mals, stuff­ing, wish­ing stars and cus­tom made A Child Writes™ t-shirts for the ani­mals.

Two run­ners up: Each will receive one pre-selected ani­mal, stuff­ing, wish­ing star and cus­tom made A Child Writes™ t-shirt for their ani­mal.

I think this is an excellent way for parents to not only give their children a safe environment to socialize with other kids their age from around the country, but also a great way to introduce our kids to volunteering and participating in wonderful charity organizations.  I highly recommend this website to any family who wants to teach their children the value of charity.

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