14 Simple Ways to Give Back to the Community
Giving back to the community is an act that we need to do every day. It makes life meaningful to the giver and changes the lives of the beneficiaries.
What does giving back do for you?
Giving back is good for your health and happiness. It is a great tool to fight depression, because you temporarily forget your problems when you shift your focus to help other people. When you give back to the community, you get the fulfillment that you may not get elsewhere. In fact, giving back is one of the basic human needs that makes life have more meaning. It is an essential part of life, and it is the secret to a happy existence. The act of giving back changes not only the lives of others but also enriches your life.
What Are Ways To Give Back?
The beauty of philanthropy is that it doesn’t need to be extravagant. You don’t need to be a celebrity to reach many people. It takes one simple step to start. You can donate your time or use your skills and change your community for the better. It can simply be helping a blind man cross the road or helping an elderly neighbor to carry groceries to the house, clean the neighborhood, or plant trees.
Here are 14 simple and meaningful ways to give back to the community that you can start today.
1. Teach a Skill
There are plenty of ways to give back for free, and teaching in your area of expertise is one of them. Everyone has unique skills that they can teach others. Do you have a high-impact skill that you can teach people? For example, if you’re good at public speaking, you can mentor young professionals. Or, if you’re a skilled artist, you can use your hobbies to coach young children. You can teach English as a literacy volunteer to those who need help. All you need is to reach out to the schools and community centers that would benefit from your skills.
2. Perform a Random Act of Kindness
Give back by making simple gestures of kindness to strangers or your neighbors. For example, help your neighbor carry groceries or walk their dog or babysit their child when the nanny calls in sick and they have to rush to work. These simple tasks will make someone’s day better when you do them.
3. Support Businesses That Give Back To the Community
There are various charitable businesses where when you purchase a product, part of the proceeds supports a more significant cause. Get online to get a list of charitable companies that give back.
4. Do a Cleanup of Your Neighborhood
Are you wondering how to give back to your community? You are the resource that the community needs to make a difference. Start from where you live. Organize or participate in cleaning up your neighborhood or a nearby park or beach. This is a great way to give back when you don’t have resources but have extra time.
Encourage and tag along with your friends and family and impact the community and the environment together. It doubles up as bonding time with your loved ones and teaching your children to give back to the community.
5. Donate Your Time
When you have more time than money, use it to help those in need. For example, give back by donating your time to a local nonprofit organization or an animal shelter a few times a year. Or participate in runs or walks that seek to raise funds for a cause. Time is valuable, and it will make a massive difference in the lives of others.
6. Donate Food to Those in Need
Many families sleep hungry every day in the world. Find charities that feed homeless people and commit to donating dry food packs. It is a chance to make an immediate difference in other people’s lives. You don’t need to give a large sum of donations to make an impact. Instead, donate what you can afford to charities such as Feeding America, Samaritan’s Purse, or Feeding the Hungry.
7. Participate In Charity Events and Fundraisers
Find a cause that is important to you and identify charities in that line. It will be a great motivation to support what you are passionate about. For example, if you love children, find organizations that work directly with children. Some people have started charities based on what they have gone through, be it a disease or loss.
8. Volunteer in A Local Shelter for Elderly People
The seniors often feel lonely and isolated in the later years. So you can assist them with the daily tasks or donate money to such homes to provide better services to the seniors.
9. Give Back To the Community as a Business through CSR Projects
Most companies have a yearly CSR project. If your workplace is yet to start, reach out to the HR department or raise the corporate volunteering idea with your boss. You can work together on a charity task such as visiting homeless shelters. Or, if you run a company, consider including it in how you give back to the community. Set up an allocation point for money and nonperishable food items in the office. When people come together, there can be more impact on the lives of those in need of help.
10. Donate Blood
Donating blood is a life-changing way to give back. It can save up to three lives. The best part is that it only takes 15 minutes of your time to save another person’s life. Moreover, donating blood prompts your body to produce new cells and help you live longer. Search for a blood bank near you and sign up to be a blood donor.
11. Plant a Tree and Save the Environment
Air pollution and deforestation are significant causes of global warming. However, we can save the environment for our future generation. Planting trees is an excellent way to give back. It is also beneficial for the environment and improving the population’s health because trees decrease toxicity by producing oxygen that purifies the air we breathe.
12. Donate Items That You No Longer Use
Most of us have piles of clothes and stuff that we no longer need. Don’t let them fill up your space while they could be of help to someone else. If you have a stack of clothes you’ve not worn for last year or toys or appliances you no longer need, consider donating them to a local nonprofit organization that gives homeless shelters.
13. Recycle Plastics
Another way to give back to the environment is to recycle plastics. It reduces the pollution to our environment because plastic degrades slowly. The advantage is that most local recycling centers give money in exchange for your plastics.
14. Give Back Online By Raising Awareness on Social Media
Share how you give back on social media and create a challenge to inspire other people to give back. Spreading the word to other potential volunteers and inspiring others to give back is another way of giving back.
One person can make a big difference. So let’s create a chain of people who give back and cause a ripple effect of positivity around the globe. If every person reached out to those in need, the world would be a much more joyful and inspiring place to be in.
How Do I Start Giving To Others?
Like any change, if you’re starting, start slow. Don’t give much too fast or volunteer in so many things simultaneously. You can always add more time or money as you go along. Make time to volunteer even if you have a busy schedule and see your life transforming and becoming more fulfilling.
Ready to give back? Whether you give back by volunteering or planting trees, it still impacts and gets the fulfillment that humans need to live a healthy life. We can make a significant impact when we for this together, shall we? Make a yearly plan of giving back and start immediately. Please share in the comment section what activities you do to give back.
References
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