At my part-time job, we are always trying to sell things for charity. If you’ve ever shopped anywhere, I’m sure you know what I mean. People are always asking to donate a dollar for some charity or another. And I think it’s great! I always try to do it when I can afford it (come on, it’s a dollar). However, there seems to be this attitude that you should only do charitable things during holiday seasons. It’s like, adults think that Santa is keeping tabs of THEIR deeds, and only want to do good for others when they think he’s watching. To me, that is preposterous. There are ALWAYS people in need, YEAR ROUND. Giving back is something I try to instill with my family. If you’d like to try, but are unsure of where to start, check out this post by Kristen at We Are That Family. It’s a list of 100 awesome service projects to do as a family! Here are a few of my favorites:
-Babysit for a single mom or new parents.
-Pick up trash at a local park or around your neighborhood
-Sponsor a child monthly
-Participate in disaster relief causes
-Volunteer at any non-profit. Time and help is often more valuable than money.
-Donate whatever you can, wherever you can: toys to childrens’ hospitals, food to food banks, school supplies to classrooms.
-Write thank you notes to people that serve YOU: postal workers, doctors, teachers, restaurant servers, etc.