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My mother has started this as a Christmas tradition: every year, she calls all the farflung grandkids (or their parents) and asks what animals "we" (she, in the kids' names) should sponsor this year.
This year, the nine kids all decided on hives of bees. Gramma tried to get them to diversify: a rabbit here, a flock of ducks there, maybe a goat and some beehives. But no: the kids want to give masses of beehives to places around the world.
I admit that I'm a little surprised that my mom embraced this as a holiday tradition. It's such a great way to engage the kids in the act of making the world better, bit by bit.