Lend A Hand

As an independent introvert I love service projects because I can be deeply involved and yet don’t have a specific timetable or a supervisor looking over my shoulder. Of course it is a bit more difficult when you’re in charge of everything in the project. To that end I offer you 10 ideas for humanity-related service projects that you can pretty simply do yourself.

1. Donate your long hair to Locks For Love - An organization that creates hair pieces for people suffering from long term illnesses.
2. Donate gently work business attire to Dress For Success - This group gives professional ware to disadvantaged women to help them find productive jobs.
3. Offer to read or play games with an elderly resident of a local nursing home.
4. Offer to take some kids that you know could use a good time to an amusement park, beach or movies. It will make their day and let them know they are valued and important.
5. Donate new socks and underwear to shelters. These items are seldom donated and are in great need.
6. Spend five extra dollars at the grocery store and drop the food off at a local food bank.
7. Offer to mentor or tutor a child that needs it.
8. The next time you’re in a drive through, pay for the order of the person behind you. Or pay the toll for the car behind you at a toll booth.
9. Donate eyeglasses to a donation that helps provide them for needy individuals.
10. Purchase a back pack full of new school supplies, socks, underwear, etc for a disadvantaged child who needs it.

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It is possible to attract a small gathering of people together in order to tell them your concerns, opinions, and recommendations for your cause. To start, hang a flyer stating date, time, location, and topic. If you hang these flyers when people interested in you issue would frequent. For example an issue that would be close to the heart of young people would find you hanging flyers at the local college whereas a cause affecting children or property taxes would be more pertinent to 30-somethings so you would be better off hanging your flyers at the supermarket.

You’ll be surprised by how many people respond(assuming your cause is a valid one) so stock up on drinks and chips or veggie platters.

Once everyone is there explain your position as evenly(calmly) as possible and discuss your ideas for solutions. Be prepared for criticism and for questions. If you have adequately prepared you shouldn’t have any trouble responding to negativism.

Once you’ve expressed everything you want to and need to express, as for input from the group. Some will be on board, some will just be bored and others will think the whole thing is crazy. If you end up with two of three that seem to be on the same page with you, you’re off to a good start building your grassroots movement.

Important, don’t spread propaganda for your cause – people will feel like you’re putting one over on them. Instead stick to why this issue is so important to you and quote only particularly relevant statistics.

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Once you’ve found that cause that is close to your heart you may find that you’re not satisfied just volunteering a few hours a week and writing a check twice a year. If that happens you always have the option of throwing a small event to raise money for your favorite charity.

Hosting a fundraiser isn’t as difficult as you might think. In fact a fundraiser can be as simple as a cookout, a yard sale or a picnic. The hardest part is finding donors to attend and if your cause is a good one,  that shouldn’t be that hard.

Start by deciding what kind of event your want to host; casual or formal, indoor or outdoor. Imagine you’re throwing a part at first. List the elements you need to work out. Food, decoration, entertainment, the money-making aspect of the event, swag (free items given for participation), etc. This is a good time to evaluate the amount of work the event is going to involve and decide if you’ll need help from friends or volunteers.

For your first fundraiser you should probably keep it simple and inexpensive. A walkathon or community yard sale is a good idea that doesn’t require a lot of start up capital. Walkers in the walkathon can get sponsors to pledge a certain amount while a yard sale simply makes money from selling donated items. Once you have one of these simple fundraisers under your belt you’ll probably find yourself eager to try something grander.

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Most neighborhoods have some minor or major issues that the people who live there are less than thrilled  with. If you want to change the world what better place to start than your own neighborhood?

Hopefully your neighborhood already had a well organized neighborhood association and all you have to do is start attending meetings and bring up concerned and possible solutions.

If your neighborhood lacks an organization you may have to start one before you can get the ball rolling. You’ll need to figure out a way to get the word around that you’re having a neighborhood meeting to discuss various issues. You’ll probably be surprised by how many people show up with the same concerns. Oh, and you might want to serve coffee and donuts.

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There are thousands of things we can do to make a difference. Here’s a list long enough to keep you busy all year round.

Spring

1. Cut some flowers from your garden and share them with a lonely or elderly neighbor.
2. Go for a walk with someone you know who is lonely and doesn’t have much to do. Just spending time with someone can cheer up their day and maybe gain you a new friend.
3. Collect old eyeglasses and donate them to a charity that can use them. Search online for “places to donate eyeglasses”
4. Offer to do some gardening for an elderly or disabled neighbor who can’t garden as well anymore.
5. Buy a gift certificate for an ice cream cone, a movie rental, etc and give it as a gift with a note letting someone know how special they are and how much you appreciate them.
6. Pay for the coffee order or fast food order for the car behind you in a drive-through. Have the cashier let them know to pass the favor forward.
7. Make a picnic for a neighbor or elderly friend. Even if they can’t get out, they’re sure to enjoy the chicken, potato salad and apple pie!
8. Compliment every service person you come across today. Let the cashier know you appreciate her smile or her quick service, etc. Go out of your way to look for ways to make others feel special today.
9. Become a foster parent for homeless cats and/or dogs. At this time of the year many shelters are overrun with strays and need to find places to stay until they can be adopted.
10. Someday when your family is planning a fun event, invite at least one child you feel could really use a day of fun.
11. Clean the gutters for an elderly or disabled neighbor
12. Build or buy a birdfeeder for a housebound neighbor, friend or family. Hang it in a tree where they can see it and make sure to keep it filled with birdseed.
13. Plant a neighborhood garden. Invite everyone in the neighborhood to help out. When the vegetables are ready to harvest you can donate them to a local homeless shelter where fresh produce is hard to come by.
14. Start writing letters to soldiers overseas and away from their families. It means a lot to those men and women to know that we support and appreciate their sacrifice and haven’t forgotten them.
15. Contact a children’s sport team in your area and see if they are willing to donate their old equipment to a less fortunate team.
16. Give blood. Simple, quick and much needed.
17. Throw a tea party or movie day for an area Senior Center.
18. Build or buy birdhouses and hang them everywhere you can. Birds are beneficial to the community and beautiful to watch.
19. Plant trees anywhere possible. Visit the Arbor Day website to learn about getting tree seedlings.
20. Offer to collect plastic bags from your neighbors to bring to a local store that recycles plastic bags.
21. Put a notice in the paper asking for unwanted musical instruments. There are plenty of kids who want to learn to play who can’t afford them.
22. If you have long hair you can get it cut and donate the cuttings to Locks of Love – a wonderful organization that gives hair pieces to children suffering hair loss due to medical conditions.
23. Join CASA and help a child caught in the child welfare and family court system.
24. Hold a book drive for the local libraries. Many charities don’t like donated books while just as many libraries have a tough time finding funds to increase their selection.
25. Clean up the local park. Grab some trash bags, maybe some friends and just walk through a public park picking up litter as you go. Not only do you enjoy a lovely day in the park, you make the park more lovely for others.

Summer

1. If you know some specialized skill, offer it free once a week to someone you know that needs your service but can’t afford it.
2. Every evening after dinner take your family for a walk. Bring along small trash bags and pick up litter along your path.
3. If you own a pool you can throw a Pool Party as a reward for a group of kids who spent the morning cleaning up a community area.
4. Visit local entertainment spots – skate rinks, amusement parks, bowling alleys, movie cinemas – and ask for FREE coupons that you can give to kids that need to feel special and need to know they are important.
5. Shoot off an email to someone each day reminding them that they are appreciated.
6. Spend an hour volunteering for a local charity
7. Leave cookies and thank you notes for delivery people, mail carriers, sanitation people, etc.
8. Babysit for a single mom while she takes a much deserved break.
9. Surprise your neighbor by mowing their lawn while they are at work.
10. Join Habitat for Humanity and help build a home for a deserving family. Don’t worry if you don’t have any building skills, there is always plenty for everyone to do.
11. Help maintain the home of a sick or elderly neighbor – mow their lawn, paint, fix a leak, whatever needs to be done.
12. If you own an air compressor, you can spend a day one weekend offering “Free Air Pressure Check”. When cars stop, check their pressure and inflate if needed.
13. Give a tomato plant to someone who would enjoy it. One plant can provide as much as 5 pounds of fresh tomatoes. Make sure they place it in a sunny spot and keep it well watered.
14. Create a “Good Deed Patrol” – pay attention to people in your community who are doing good deeds. Then ask a local paper or radio station if they will give a small bit to say thank you to these people. Recognition may encourage further good deeds.
15. If you spot a good sale at the supermarket pick up a few dollars worth of items for the local food bank
16. Have a yard sale and donate your profits instead of keeping them.
17. Organize a neighborhood yard sale and work together to raise as much money as possible for one cause. This also serves to bring the community closer.
18. Offer to run errands for a sick or elderly neighbor.
19. Collect poster to decorate nursing homes and shelters.
20. Paint over graffiti in playgrounds, on schools, and on local businesses.
21. Grab your family or a couple of friends and head out to clean up a yard that’s horribly overgrown. Make sure to recycle all the yard waste.
22. Extend an invitation for family celebrations to someone you know is lonely. Make sure they sincerely feel wanted.
23. Commit to conserving energy and water. Hang clothes outside to dry and use rainwater for your lawn and garden.
24. Throw a block party. Invite everyone you know and all your neighbors.
25. Get together a group of kids and adults who like to work hard and work outside. Head over to a community center or playground and spend some time cleaning the grounds, planting flowers, fixing quipment and repainting what needs to be painted. Throw in some new equipment purchased with money raised during a group yard sale or bake sale and you have the makings of a great time and a good deed.

Autumn

1. Spend your lunch hour picking up litter. Ask other coworkers to help.
2. Send a thank you note or card to your local police or fire station.
3. Give your old cell phones to a homeless shelter or home for battered women.
4. Buy a large glass or clear plastic jar and have everyone in the family drop their loose change in it at the end of the day. Every 6 or 12 months donate the money to a charity you all agree on.
5. Get in touch with a local school and ask how you can help. You may be able to mentor a child, provide tutoring or monitor lunchtime or recess.
6. Offer to teach a free class on Making a Difference at a community college. Homework assignments can be doing good deeds. The final exam can be a large group project in the community
7. Offer to teach the same free class to an elementary, middle, or high school.
8. Purchase tulip and daffodil bulbs now when they are cheapest and plant them anywhere they will cheer people up.
9. The next time someone is rude or impatient with you, respond with a smile and a kind word. You may cheer up their day.
10. Volunteer to rear to children in your local hospital.
11. If you have office, computer or managerial skills you can offer them to an organization that needs them.
12. Collect socks and underwear for the homeless. These items are rarely donated and a pack of new underwear will only cost someone about 5 bucks.
13. Ask the manager at the local performing arts center to give free passes to an event to children in a group home or shelter.
14. Offer to weatherize someone’s house for the winter by installing insulation and weather stripping on doors and windows.
15. Secure the doormats to the floor of an elderly person’s home to prevent tripping
16. If you can paint, offer to create a mural for your local school, hospital, etc.
17. Offer to design the website for a local charity
18. Create a Squidoo lens to raise money for your charity/charities.
19. Offer to read to a visually impaired person or to borrow books on tape from the library for them and return them when due.
20. Design and maintain a website for your neighborhood.
21. Make it a habit to bring dinner to new neighbors their first evening in their new home. After such a busy day, they’ll be happy to have one less thing to think about.
22. Organize an ‘Autumn Fun Day’ for the community children.
23. Take your old magazines to a local senior center or homeless shelter.
24. Ask the manager at your local grocery store to provide gift certificates (excluding alcohol) to hand out to the homeless.
25. Send an ailing child a card or small gift. Visit www.makeachildsmile.org for more info.

Winter

1. Become a bone marrow donor. There’s great need and too few volunteers.
2. Become the email pen pal of someone in need. A child in a group home or detention center, a recovering addict in a halfway house or someone in a nursing home.
3. Donate your old computers to an elderly neighbor and spend a few hours teaching them how to use it. This will allow them to stay in touch with friends and family who live far away.
4. Teach a free class at your local YMCA/YWCA
5. Put together a group of people who are willing and able to refurbished and repair toys to be donated to needy children.
6. If you live in an area where the show sometimes covers the fire hydrants you can make brightly colored flags to help emergency teams find them if needed.
7. Take a bag of salt or ice melt to an elderly or disabled neighbor to help clear icy stairs and pathways.
8. Offer to help an elderly or disabled neighbor put up decorations for the holidays, write out and mail cards and enjoy freshly baked cookies
9. Create a school website for a local school to allow students to stay updated and communicate with each other.
10. Commit to buying products packaged in recyclable containers
11. Visit www.VolunteerMatch.org and/or www.unitedway.org for volunteer opportunities in your area.
12. If you can quilt, knit, or crochet you can make a blanket for a homeless of battered women’s shelter.
13. Start a collection of old towels and blankets for local animal shelters. Dry food, clay litter and rubber balls are usually appreciated also.
14. Make holiday cards for children who will be spending the holiday in the hospital.
15. Collect and donate gently used coats, hats, scarves and mittens to group homes and homeless shelters.
16. Bake goodies and make “sweet treat” baskets for your neighbors.
17. Host a night of holiday movies for the neighborhood children. Serve popcorn and hot cocoa to make the even complete.
18. If you can knit or crochet, make up a bunch of hats and pairs of mittens and donate them to a local head start, preschool or day care center. You children are constantly losing these items and care providers appreciate having extra pairs on hand for when the children go outside.
19. Purchase a turkey and all the trimmings for a holiday meal. Donate this meal to a food bank.
20. Purchase several small toys for a needy family that you know or to donate to toys for tots.
21. Make pinecone bird feeders and hang them from trees for the birds that stick around for the winter.
22. Make and donate fleece blankets to the neonatal unit at the local hospital
23. Shovel the snow on the steps and pathway of a disabled or elderly neighbor.
24. If you are good at building or fixing computers you can take discarded parts and rebuild for people unable to get a computer.
25. Always wear a smile. It brightens the day of everyone who sees you.

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For years I put off volunteering because I wasn’t sure what to expect, I didn’t know how many different opportunities there were, and I didn’t know how to get started. I’m sure others out there are putting off getting involved for similar reasons.

First of all organizations looking for volunteers are very flexible about working with your schedule. If you can only offer an hour or two every week, they’ll be more than grateful for any help. Too many people feel they are too busy for charity work leaving organizations desperate for volunteers.

Secondly there are literally hundreds if not thousands of volunteer opportunities doing all sorts of things. No longer does volunteering mean working in a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. You can help build a house, hang up clothing, do office work, help design websites, and on and on. In fact if you possess any sort of specialized skill it’s likely an organization out there could benefit from it.

Lastly, all you have to do to find more than enough volunteer opportunities is visit the United Way website and search for charities looking for help in your area. I live in a moderate-sized city in Rhode Island and there were over 480 opportunities within 10 miles from my house.

So make this the year that you get out there and get involved. Trust me when I say volunteering is its own reward.

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