Many of us view the changes happening in our environment and society with dismay. We realize that our society and environment is quickly becoming toxic in both physical and metaphorical ways. We often wish that there was some way we could help but find it difficult to volunteer our time to society and our environment because our schedules are already frighteningly tight. It is a shame that many of us can not find the time to volunteer because in addition to benefiting our society and environment, volunteer work of any kind has advantages for the person donating their time. Volunteer work is excellent on resumes and college applications, and is an excellent way to gain job experience, network and learn new skills. Adults are not alone in benefiting from volunteering their time; it is an especially positive experience for children. It instills good values such as empathy and altruism and also teaches a child that not everyone is fortunate enough to have everything that they need.
The general image that comes to mind when we think of volunteer work is a good Samaritan handing out soup to homeless people at a soup kitchen in a bad part of town. However, there are thousand of ways to donate your time and even money in creative ways that are easy to fit into a packed schedule that can positively affect both our society and our environment. Here is a list of easy ways that a person can help make the world a better place. This is by no means a comprehensive list. I urge everyone to take a moment to research additional ways to help; it is nearly impossible not to find at a least a few ways to help out that will work for you. If you pass some of these tips on to others you’ll greatly add to the impact.
1. Clean up a park or playground
This one is really easy because it does not require any scheduling and the only requirements are decent weather and a trash bag. This is also a good activity for children too since it teaches them not to litter. They can also then play in the park as a reward for their labor. If you visit parks or playgrounds often an easy way to always be prepared for this opportunity is to simply keep a few trash bags in the trunk of your car and make a habit out of cleaning up while you are there.
2. Help older neighbors.
This one is a small task also, though it is a repeated one. Many older people are in need of help with things like shoveling snow from their walkways. If you have a teenager that you can delegate the task to, it becomes even easier! All joking aside, this one isn’t as simple as throwing away some litter at the park but its importance is more than correspondingly larger. It seems that not a winter goes by that I do not hear of an elderly person that suffered a heart attack while shoveling snow or slipped on a snowy walkway. Even if you are not in shape to shovel snow you can still help out considerably. Many elderly people simply need someone to check in on them occasionally. Sometimes when a person lives to an extended age they have few relations left in this world, and no one to help them when they become sick or injured. I often read of situations where elderly persons were hurt or became ill and were literally stranded in their home for days before a neighbor realized something was wrong and came to investigate. You could be that neighbor…have you knocked on your elderly neighbors’ door lately to see how he or she is fairing? It only takes a few minutes to find out if he/she needs you to pick up a prescription for him/her or just check on their welfare.
3. Provide web support for a good cause.
If you have skill with the internet, word processing, or web design your skills are needed by many charitable and community friendly agencies. Many of these organizations need web support to help advertise their efforts and often they simply need people to help answer email requests for information. If you know of any group that is undertaking a community friendly effort that you support and you possess any of these skills make an offer of your time. These activities can generally be done from home with very flexible scheduling making it easy for you to squeeze in time to help.
4. Craft items for needy people.
Do you know how to knit, crochet, or sew? If you possess these skills you can make blankets, scarves, and clothing for needy people. You could also craft baby rattles, dolls, or other small toys for needy children. Nearly every domestic violence and homeless shelter has a location where you can drop off donated items. Children in these situations are particularly comforted by items like blankets, toys and loveys as many of them arrive in the shelter with nothing but their clothes. Pregnant women find themselves in these situations too; the number one cause of death for pregnant women is homicide so quite a few are in domestic violence shelters. Many enter the shelter with nothing for their coming arrival and could use baby clothes, blankets, booties, etc. Your gift could sincerely make a difference. Call your local shelters to find out if they accept donations of this type and where there drop off area is located, you could also ask them what kinds of items they particularly need. You can also increase the impact of this activity by passing along information about it to your friends.
5. Eliminate the tree killing, mailbox invading nuisance that is junk mail.
Well, not completely eliminate it but at least reduce it by roughly 75%. This one is convenient as well as easy since the average person finds the seemingly never ending stream of junk mail they receive to be maddening. Junk mail is hell on the environment as well as on your nerves. The paper used for one person’s unwanted junk mail for one year is roughly equal to one and a half trees. For a person who lives to be 78 that starts receiving junk mail at 18 that is the equivalent of 90 trees! You do not have to be a tree hugging hippy to think it insane that 90 trees are sacrificed in the effort to bombard one person with unsolicited ads that they mostly have no use for. So write to the address below, reduce the senseless ad driven tree slaughter and contribute to your home’s future decrease in clutter all in one fell swoop. Most direct marketers use mailing lists that they get from the Direct Marketing Association. Write to them and simply ask them to remove your name and contact information from their list. This will reduce your junk mail on average 75% the equivalent of 66 trees saved over the course of a life time. Here is their address: DMA Mail Preference Service P.O. Box 643 Carmel, NY 10512. Do this for everyone in your household to multiply the impact.
6. Conserve resources and be thrifty.
There are numerous simple ways to conserve resources that add up over time. This conservation is not only earth friendly but will save you money. Simple efforts like turning the water off while you brush your teeth, recycling, buying in bulk to save money and cut down on packaging, are all examples of easy ways that you can conserve. Being thrifty also helps you save money while conserving resources. Look around in your basement, attic, garage, or storage shed for items that you can put back to general use in your home instead of buying new items. You could also see if you have any items that you can donate to charity or offer on Freecycle. Freecycle is a service that uses the internet to host email lists where members can post “wanted” messages for items they need or “offer” messages for items they no longer need and are willing to give away. Shopping for clothing and other items at thrift stores is also an excellent way to save money while benefiting a good cause as most thrift stores are run for the benefit of organizations like the Salvation Army, and many veterans groups.
7. Put your money where your mouth is – buy and invest green.
You can have a large impact on the environment by changing your buying preferences. Buy recycled items and be loyal to companies that ban animal testing or promote philanthropic endeavors. Boycott companies that do animal testing or otherwise harm the environment and let them know that they are losing a customer because of their practices. Buying organic is very helpful to the environment since the majority of pesticides used on non-organic materials run off in to the ground water. Organic products can be found in many areas now including food, beauty products, and even high fashion. In our capitalistic society money often talks and if you demand environmentally friendly products businesses will respond to the earth friendly need that you are creating. Looking to diversify your investment portfolio, then think about investing green by investing your money in environment friendly alternative energy development. In addition to being earth friendly this kind of investment, when properly planned, is an excellent choice due to the worlds growing determination to develop renewable and clean energy sources. Even some of the big oil companies like BP and Shell are spending a substantial amount of money developing alternative energy sources.
8. Put your workplace to work
Consider suggesting to your supervisor or Human Resources department that the company start a volunteer program that could organize employee volunteer opportunities and perhaps even allow employees limited time off from work to completeapproved volunteer work. If you have the time, offer to help implement the program by generating flyers or finding volunteer opportunities for employees to take part in. Make sure to stress the benefits of corporate philanthropy such as good advertising, positive PR, and increased employee morale.
Some of these activities require very little time and do not require your attention on an ongoing basis. The other opportunities will require a little attention and renewed effort over time but can be done in small chunks when you can fit them in to your schedule making it easier for your to help make the world a better place. People often feel powerless when it comes to changing the world because they do not realize that the battle is primarily fought with the little things; all the small acts of good we complete do add up. Very few of us are put to a choice or given a moment in time so pivotal and important that we can declare our allegiance to right or wrong and do more good than all the harm we have caused in our lives in one amazing act. The real superheros are the ones that keep on grinding it out day by day doing what they can to help whenever they are able to.
