With the holidays being in full swing, there’s a major push to give back. And that’s not a bad thing at all. Giving back, being charitable, helping those who are less fortunate is always good and keeps with the spirit of the season. Doing so at the end of the year means that those organizations can start the new year with (hopefully) all they need. If you’re unsure of what you can do or if you need ideas, Lynsey over at Eternally Wanderlyn listed 10 ways you can give back. But if nothing on her list seems like something you can or want to do, here’s a few alternatives, not just around the holidays but throughout the year:
Workplace donations
This is one of the easiest ways to give back throughout the year. If your workplace participates in a United Way campaign, consider having money pulled from your paycheck each payday and have it sent directly to an organization of your choosing. I did this when I worked and I truly didn’t miss the $10 per pay. Sure, it wasn’t a huge amount, but it was something and it was literally the easiest way to help an agency whose mission I believed in throughout the year.
If your job hosts a food drive or coat drive or something similar, consider bringing in a donation. You have to show up to work anyway. Taking along a can or two of food or an extra coat to drop off isn’t a big inconvenience.
Use your skills
Everyone is good at something and every organization can use someone who has a specific skill set. For instance, if you can sew, consider sewing pillowcases for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. If you’re good with money, consider working with an agency that helps people learn to budget. Maybe social media is your thing. Find out if a local organization needs help managing their Facebook or Twitter. If you blog, use your platform to bring attention to a disease or cause. There are dozens of ways to use what you’re good at to help.
Mentor
This can fall under the scope of volunteering but rather than just showing up somewhere and helping wherever you’re needed, you’ll work directly with a person or a small group of people. You can do this anywhere–at work, in a school, at your place of worship, at a shelter for pregnant teens, or any number of places where there might be others who can benefit from your guidance. If you think you don’t have any special insight to offer, trust me when I say that you do. There are plenty of people who can learn from what you know. And sometimes, they just want someone who won’t judge them to talk to and spend time with. You can do that.
Event based volunteering
I think many people are put off by the idea of volunteering because of the time commitment. And they have a point. But what if you gave your time every now and then, and you gave your time to causes that have a special meaning to you? For instance, you can offer your time at a Meals on Wheels event, taking tickets or staffing an auction table. Or you can organize a Relay for Life team or spend some time helping at Habitat for Humanity or find something in your area that gives back to local organizations. Where I live, we have something called Big Ball. It’s a 24 hour softball/kickball marathon and all the money raised goes towards helping people in our area. It’s only once a year and from what I hear, it’s crazy fun, too. Consider something like that.
Be creative
My girl Kerry has lots of ideas for how you can give back creatively; you can check out her ideas for inspiration. But really, when it comes to giving back and helping, it’s all about what you can do. And if you can’t do much, well, that’s okay, too. Maybe funds are tight and you don’t have a ton of discretionary money but you find a few dollars and use them to buy a bag of food for the local animal shelter. While you’re at it, why not go through your towels and sheets. If you’ve got any you want to get rid of, bring those to the shelter along with the food. It might not seem like much to you but to them, it’s a lot.
It’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you keep the giving spirit you have now throughout the year. Because it’s the middle of the year when nonprofits and charities need it the most.
What do you guys do to give back?
