Giving Back This Holiday Season (And All Year Long)
It’s become a cliché, but the holidays are truly a time of giving to others. If you remember your Charlie Brown Christmas special, the crass commercialism of the modern world is trying to destroy that spirit.
That’s why it is so important to show generosity to others by giving back. It’s not only something you should do during the holidays but should be a year-round endeavor.
Here are ideas on how you can give back now and all year long:
- Quick change — Most of us have that change jar in our house or a cubby in our car where we throw our loose coins. Rather than using this for an occasional soda, take it into a bank and exchange it for hard cash and then donate this to a local charity.
In fact, relabel your change jar as the donations jar and keep putting in extra money year-round. (Another great use for your coins is to take them down to the local Salvation Army bell-ringers and just pour the whole jar in. They’d love to have all of that change at once and you won’t have to cash it in first.)
- Volunteer — Another popular form of giving back to the community is volunteering. One of the most popular forms of this is to help out with the local food bank or homeless shelter serving holiday meals. But the reality is that many of these already get tons of help during the holidays.
If you want to assist with serving meals or donating food, do this in the spring and summer when demand is high, but donations are low. Instead, donate your time to a local nursing home. And remember that it’s not just human beings you can give back to. Your local animal shelter would love toys and food for the animals there. You can also donate your time caring for the animals housed at the shelter.
- Build relationships — One of the greatest things you can do is to develop a bond with another human being. During the holidays, thousands of senior citizens are alone. Talk to your local senior center and see if they can let you come in and visit with these individuals so they don’t have to be so alone at this time of year.
These bonding activities can include sitting and talking, reading to them, or singing Christmas carols as a family or group. If you develop a connection, you may be able to have them join your family for dinner over the holidays. Chances are, if you try this you will develop a connection that will last long after the holidays are over.
During the holidays, many people get an entitled attitude of “give me more.” But it is also imperative that you give back to the community, especially if you have little ones that you want to inspire to do the same.
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