Let’s face it, there are few middle-schoolers out there who have a steady income, so unless you’re a successful influencer, the ability for most of us to donate is limited. However, we all still influence many of the purchases our family members make on our behalf. And those purchases can influence which businesses our families use. And many businesses use the money we give them to support charities. So even if you’re not earning a million dollars, each of us are still able to donate to great causes.

One example is that my sister and I love pizza. I can eat pizza any day of the week. I happen to know (from reading many pizza boxes) that Domino’s Pizza sponsors St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. So when my mom or dad order us pizza for dinner, they are able to donate money to a charity that supports cancer research.

Another example is that I love Xbox. Fortnite, NHL, Halo, GTA, Minecraft is how my friends and I hang out together in COVID. An incentive I can use to influence my parents to get an Xbox is to show them that Microsoft helps cancer research through their partnership with St. Jude. And Best Buy, the largest sponsor of St. Jude, sells Xboxes. So I can ask my parents for an Xbox and ask them to buy it at Best Buy and we have supported two business who support cancer research.

Even as kids, there are many opportunities for us to influence the gifts family give us and we can expand their generosity to help others in need. Most charity websites list the businesses that support them. If curious, St. Jude lists their sponsors here.