“You have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

aprilavica:

Even though Christmas is only SIX days away, it’s still not too late to give back! The holidays are rough in various ways for so many people and one of the best things that you can give yourself this season is the gift of giving to someone else.

There are a ton of ways that you can help others in your community:

  • Donate any gently worn clothes, shoes, coats, blankets, toys, books or appliances that you may have no need for to local charities and other organizations that distribute these items to needy families. Donating food to pantries will also help put meals on the table for families.
  • Contact the principle of a local school and find out if there are any families that you can sponsor. This is what my mom did this year and it turned out AMAZING. Two little girls recently lost their mother and now live with their grama that has cancer. My mom bought clothes, books and toys for the girls, as well as gifts for the grandmother.
  • “Choose” a child from a mitten or dove tree. These can usually be found in shopping malls. This is a very convenient idea! You can shop for a child while you do your own shopping.
  • Donate blankets or canned food to your local humane shelter. Pups need love too :)
  • For those you love, you can always give gifts that give back! Some of my favorite causes include: www.invisiblechildren.com, www.tomsshoes.com, www.onemangotree.com, www.unicef.org, www.wfp.org, www.savethechildren.org and www.wowio.com.
  • If you are dedicated to giving long term you can always become a sponsor for a child or family overseas- as well as domestically! There are so many children living in the United States who suffer from homelessness, poverty, abuse and illness. Many children overseas do not need toys or clothes, but rather health care, food, water and education. Yes, some websites may be misleading and a scam, but if you do your homework, you will find that there are many that are legitimate. Two sites that my family have used/looked at are www.worldvision.org and www.childfund.org
  • Giving your time and energy can go just as far as something of monetary value…a couple of hours at a retirement home, soup kitchen, children’s hospital, youth center or homeless shelter can go a long way. There are so many people who don’t need material things this holiday, but rather love and a friend- someone to talk to.

These are just a couple of ideas I wanted to share with you guys! Something to remember is that the need among individuals ALWAYS exists, it’s not just around the holidays. Many of these things you can do all year round!

I hope you all are having a beautiful holiday!

I honestly couldn’t have said this any better myself.

Source: aprilavica

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  1. erickimberlinbowley reblogged this from aprilavica and added:
    I honestly couldn’t...any better myself.
  2. aprilavica posted this