November 18, 2025

Holiday Giving That Changes Lives: 5 Meaningful Ways to Share Hope This Season

Posted November 18, 2025

 

The holiday season has a way of slowing us down just long enough to notice what matters most: connection, kindness, and the quiet moments of hope that remind us we belong to one another. For many families, especially those navigating disabilities or life’s most complex circumstances, the holidays also bring unique challenges. But they bring opportunities too- opportunities for each of us to share hope in ways that genuinely change lives.

At Kids on the Move (KOTM), we’ve spent over 40 years standing beside families of children with developmental delays, disabilities, and vulnerabilities. We’ve seen firsthand how a single act of compassion can shift a family’s entire trajectory. And we’ve watched how community-led giving, big and small, helps children reach milestones, discover their strengths, and experience joy in ways the world often said weren’t possible.

This year, we invite you to be part of that movement.

Here are five meaningful, heart-centered, and SEO-optimized holiday giving ideas that truly change lives- not just for a season, but for a lifetime.

1. Give a Gift With Purpose: Send a Share Hope Card

In a world of quick texts and instant messages, there is something extraordinary about receiving a card you can hold in your hands- a message that carries warmth, intention, and love. This year, through KOTM’s Share Hope Cards, families can send meaningful holiday gifts that give back in a deeply tangible way.

Each card is illustrated by a talented artist whose creativity, courage, and unique perspective bring the artwork to life. These aren’t just charity holiday cards- they are expressions of hope and belonging from young artists of all abilities who understand what it means to be seen.

When you send a Share Hope Card, you’re doing two things at once:

You’re delivering hope to someone you love.

Your personal message is handwritten and mailed on your behalf- a quiet reminder that someone is thinking of them in this busy season.

You’re empowering children with disabilities.

Every card purchase directly supports KOTM’s programs, fueling essential therapies, family support, and life-changing opportunities.

These cards are more than meaningful holiday gifts.
They are gifts that give back, spark connection, and move hope forward.

Pass Hope Forward → https://hopeinmotionglobal.org/share-hope/

2. Spread Kindness in Your Community — Small Acts, Big Impact

Not every act of holiday giving needs a donation form. Some of the most meaningful ways to give back this season are the simplest- and they’re available to anyone, anywhere.

This year, families can create a ripple effect of kindness through everyday actions:

  • Deliver a warm meal or holiday treat to a neighbor.

  • Write a heartfelt thank-you note to a teacher or therapist.

  • Shovel someone’s walkway or bring in their trash bins.

  • Donate winter coats, diapers, or hygiene items to a local shelter.

  • Offer babysitting to a friend who simply needs an hour to breathe.

These small acts add up. They remind families, especially those carrying extra weight, that they are not invisible, and they are not alone.

Kindness is contagious. And during the holidays, it spreads faster than we think.

3. Volunteer Together:  Teach Children That Giving Is a Superpower

At KOTM, we believe every child deserves to feel empowered, valued, and connected. One of the best ways to teach that is through volunteering.

Volunteering together as a family creates powerful lessons that last a lifetime:

  • It teaches children that their actions matter.

  • It shows them what inclusion looks like in practice.

  • It helps them understand compassion in a hands-on way.

  • It fosters gratitude and broadens their understanding of community.

Families can volunteer at local food banks, deliver holiday kits to shelters, help with community events, or serve at a nonprofit like Kids on the Move.

And even one hour of service can change someone’s entire week, especially a family raising a child with disabilities.

If your family is looking for meaningful holiday giving ideas that deepen connection and create real impact, volunteering is one of the most powerful options.

Volunteer With Us → https://kotm.org/volunteer/ 

4. Give the Gift of Rest: Sponsor a Night of Respite Care

For many parents of children with disabilities, “rest” feels like an impossible dream. Caring for a child who needs constant supervision- medical monitoring, behavior support, mobility assistance, sensory regulation, or 1:1 attention- means caregiving is a 24/7 responsibility.

During the holidays, this weight can feel even heavier.

That’s why Respite Care at KOTM is so transformative.

What Your Gift Provides:

When you sponsor a night of Respite Care, you give:

  • A few hours of rest to exhausted caregivers

  • 1:1 support from trained volunteers

  • A safe, joyful, inclusive environment for children

  • Time for parents to reconnect, breathe, or simply catch up on life

Families often tell us, “This night is the only break we get all month.”

This program is fully funded by donation and your gift helps ensure this support remains free to a family in your community who needs it, no matter their circumstances.

Respite is more than a service.
It is relief, hope, and healing wrapped into one powerful gift.

Sponsor Hope Today → https://kotm.org/give/

5. Lift Up a Family in Need: Support, Encourage, and Stand With Them

Not all gifts come from a store. Some of the most meaningful gifts come from showing up.

Families raising children with disabilities or developmental delays often feel isolated- especially during the holidays, when their schedules, sensory needs, or behavioral challenges may prevent them from participating in typical holiday activities.

Here are simple but transformative ways to lift up a family:

  • Offer to help with grocery shopping or errands

  • Invite the family over for a sensory-friendly holiday activity

  • Bring a meal during a particularly overwhelming week

  • Watch siblings while the parent attends an appointment

  • Include their child in holiday traditions, without pressure or judgment

  • Share words of encouragement that remind them they’re doing an incredible job

Support doesn’t have to be grand. It simply has to be sincere.

When communities step in to lighten the load, families can breathe again and children feel wrapped in belonging.

Hope Grows When We Share It

Holiday giving is more than tradition- it’s an opportunity to choose connection, compassion, and community. Whether you send a Share Hope Card, sponsor a night of respite, volunteer as a family, or look for quiet ways to lift someone’s spirit, your kindness creates ripples that reach far beyond the season.

At Kids on the Move, hope isn’t abstract. It’s something we build- step by step, family by family, story by story.

This year, let’s make our giving count.
Let’s choose gifts that change lives.
Let’s create a chain of hope that begins with us… and continues long after the holidays are over.

Pass It On. Share Hope. Move Hope.

Mat Dastrup, CFO

Mat Datstrop, Chief Financial Officer at KOTM, truly embodies a blend of expertise and visionary leadership. Joining Kids on the Move in September 2019, Mat brought a rich history of accomplishments, having served as CFO for manufacturing and software companies. His successful track record includes starting and selling three businesses, showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit and strategic insight. As a licensed CPA and a Six Sigma Black Belt, Mat’s skill set is uniquely suited to driving innovation and accuracy within financial processes. His passion for integrating technology and developing robust accounting systems positions KOTM for long-term success. In his role, Mat is deeply dedicated to creating sustainable impacts that will echo throughout KOTM for decades. His presence in the organization is marked by a steadfast commitment to fostering an environment of lasting change, ensuring families benefit from his transformative work well into the future.

Ryan Erickson, COO

Ryan Erickson, the Chief Operating Officer of KOTM, brings extensive experience and a passionate commitment to nurturing innovation and growth. With over two decades spent as a thought leader and innovator across leadership roles in the medical, software start-ups, technical consulting, and information technology sectors, he has steered successful technology companies to new heights.

Ryan’s expertise is unparalleled. His dedication to mentoring entrepreneurs and CEOs in transforming ideas into reality speaks to his compassionate nature and deep-seated commitment to growth. Serving on several software and technical company boards, Ryan consistently helps these companies reach new heights.

At KOTM, Ryan is uniquely positioned to guide the organization into its next 40 years. His diverse skill set enables KOTM to not only meet current challenges with agility but also to strategically position itself for future growth under his committed leadership. Ryan continues to inspire hope and innovation, reinforcing KOTM’s status as a beacon of support and transformation for families everywhere.

Rachelle Rutherford, CEO

Rutherford is the strategic visionary and Chief Executive Officer of Kids on the Move (KOTM). A multifaceted and sophisticated businesswoman, she has led the trailblazing multimillion-dollar non-profit in its commitment to providing essential and comprehensive support, education, and therapies for children with delays and disabilities.  Rutherford has now spent 20 years in executive leadership roles within the telecommunications, genealogy, real estate, health care services, and education industries. Her notable contributions lie in her perseverance to find impossible and impactful solutions. Rutherford is skilled at reverse-engineering goals by mapping out exactly what is required for a successful outcome.

To help raise $150M to expand KOTM’s support services and establish a state-of-the-art center, Rutherford has partnered with Forbes Books to author and publish Chasing The Impossible, a captivating exposé delving into Kids on the Move’s transformative work. With it, she uncovers the compelling stories of resilience and hope from children, families, doctors, and community members who tenaciously pushed forward when faced with impossible odds or challenges.

Her profound understanding of what it takes to overcome the impossible stems from her own journey as a survivor of abuse and trauma, which has shaped her philanthropic missions, her intuitive nature, and her steadfast leadership. As a CEO, mom, speaker, and philanthropist, Rutherford believes discipline is one of the highest forms of self-love, consistently putting in the necessary work every single day to provide impactful solutions for others, promote a balanced and holistic lifestyle, and create opportunities for continuous growth and empowerment around the world.