Charitable giving for less
April 5, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Fun Stuff, Health & Wellness, free stuff
Something on many families budgets is charity. People give to the church, they give to events and organizations, they give to the girl scouts (yay cookies!) but it can add up. In times like these it’s hard to be able to afford to give what you’d like to give. BUT you can be charitable even when giving nothing or very little – here’s how…
Image: sxc.hu
Volunteer as a mentor:
Cost: FREE to very little.
Volunteering as a mentor is as cheap as charity gets but rich in many other ways. Many programs, such as Big Brother/Big Sisters of America advocate activities that cost little to nothing, and will even give out freebie tickets to sporting and other events. Most mentor programs require as little as one or two hours per week but the time you spend with a child adds up big time. Learn more about mentoring in general OR read about my experience as a mentor.
Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity:
Cost: FREE
You can volunteer in your community to help build homes for families with Habitat for Humanity. Not only is this a free way to make a positive difference, but it cuts out your gym fees too (building is excellent exercise!)
Donate your gear:
Cost: FREE + one cleaner house for you
Gather up clothing, cell phones, old laptops, and more and find out how to donate this gear to a great organization.
Run, walk, or bike for a cause:
Cost: FREE + a leaner and healthier you
There are any number of events each year that raise money through activity. Race for the Cure is a good example but your local community center or newspaper will know of all sorts of other events.
Be kind:
Cost: FREE; but not always easy…
Here’s what gets me; I meet people who really like to talk about how they give so much money to specific places or how they collected such and such cash for an event because they “want to give” and then you see them treat other humans around them like dirt. You know who I’m talking about. In my opinion, it’s far better to treat those around you with kindness than to give a billion away. Your interactions with people make the biggest impact on this world, not the money you spend – so give your kindness freely and often.
Charity is not always about money – how are you giving back to the world?
Good tips! I know that smiling at a stranger can make a big difference in my attitude too. It’s so simple to be kind!
Sharon
volunteermatch.org is a great resource for volunteer opportunities in your community.
You can also search for virtual volunteer opportunities if you can’t or don’t want to drive to a volunteer opportunity.
Virtual volunteer ops – hmmm, never heard of that. Thanks for the tip. And yes, Sharon, smiling is easy, more people should do it.