Helping kids in Haiti, one Tinkertoy tower at a time.

Here’s a fun way to get your kids involved in the Haiti relief effort: A Play-a-thon. In case you have never heard of one (like me, up until now), it’s just like raising pledges for many other ‘a-thons’, but instead of running, dancing, or phoning a pledge into a B-list celebrity-manned phone bank, your kids play for the money.

Get friends, neighbors, grandparents, teachers, whoever you can snag to pledge a flat donation or certain amount for every 15 minutes your kid plays. Invite a group of kids to play together and turn it into a real event. Hasbro Children’s Fund is not only providing ideas for organizing a play-a-thon, they’re matching all money raised through March 31 and donating it directly to SOS Children’s Villages through Youth HandsOn to help build pop-up shelters like the one in the photo here, for orphaned or abandoned children in Haiti.

I’m of the firm belief that the simple act of a child playing happily puts some good energy into the universe. Now it can put some money where it’s needed, too. -Carrie

Find Play-a-thon for Haiti details and more at Hasbro.com.