Lend A Hand

This month I talked about getting involved and getting others involved. It is the everyday little positive actions we take that make the biggest differences in the world. A letter, an email, a petition or a group meeting with like minded citizens can all change the world and make it a better place to live.

Next month we’ll be narrowing out focus to the topic of environment. I’ll be discussing some frightening statistics, some books and websites that will give you more information and most importantly what we can all do to help the environment, save the planet and protect the world we live in.

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Service projects are a great way to get involved and make a difference while still sticking to your own schedule. Here are five ideas for service projects that will help make this a greener world.

1. Encourage others to start a compost bin or pile – Compost doesn’t have to be complicated. There are several styles of bins (ironically most are plastic) available for purchase but all you really need is a corner of your yard to throw your vegetable peels, dry leaves, and newspapers into a pile. As long as you don’t have any meat or dairy products in the compost pile, you shouldn’t have to worry about pests or odors.
2. Coordinate a beach clean-up party – Get a bunch of people (who can get a bunch of people, etc.) and a bunch of garbage bags and head down to the local beach in need of TLC.
3. Plant flowers outside a school or senior center – Every institutional-looking building can benefit from a little cheerful and colorful landscaping. Check with the person in charge first before digging holes in their yard.
4. Start a community garden- If there is a vacant or blank plot of land in your area you can get together with other Eco-conscious people and start a community garden. Be sure to get the proper permits first. In the end you can donate the vegetables you grow to needy families and shelters in the area.
5. Encourage local business to recycle – Make up some brochures detailing the negative effects that business waste has on the environment. Visit businesses and discuss the possibility of them recycling some of their plastic, metal, paper, and glass items. You can offer to help them set up a recycling center in the company. Perhaps you can talk to the local recycling center and see if they have or are willing to set up a program to help local businesses recycle. 

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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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While writing to your representatives is a good way to let them know your opinions and concerns, writing to the editor of your local newspaper is an excellent way to let a whole group of other citizens, as well as influential journalists, what you think.

However if you want your letter to be published there are some details that you’ll want to pay attention to. First you’ll want to check the submission guidelines of the publication you want to write to. You should be able to find this information on the publication’s website but you may have to call the paper.

Next you’ll want to write your letter about something discussed in the paper recently. Letters concerning relevant issues are more likely to make it to print.

Phrase your letter as if you were discussing this topic directly with the editor. Avoid ranting or grandiose statements and speaking to a group of readers. Additionally it’s not polite to insult of attack others in your letter.

It is important to keep your letter relatively short, between 200 or 300 words unless guidelines state otherwise, and to the point you are trying to make.

Finally, be sure to proofread and spell check your letter for any errors. Include your contact information including real name, phone number, home and email addresses. Check to see how the publication prefers to accept submissions – through email or regular mail. If you do send an email, use cut and paste instead of trying to send an attachment with an email. Most editors refuse to open emails with attachments due to virus concerns.

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If you enjoy writing or social networking on the Internet, setting up a webpage to earn money for your cause might be a fun way for you to get involved.

Google offers free blog hosting at Blogger.com. Setting up a Blogger blog is very simple and perfect for beginning bloggers. The site offers a step-by-step wizard and pre-made widgets so all you have to do is add some written content about your cause and you’ll have a completely set up blog that you can keep updated or leave alone and let it raise money.

Squidoo.comallows you to create a specific type of blog called a lens. A lens is made very similarly to a Blogger blog but is part of the Squidoo network, which is very search engine friendly and designed to earn money for charities (Squidoo will send your raised donations directly to the charitable organization)

Hubpages, where you create hubs, are very much like Squidoo lenses but are less professional looking and not as set up for non profit contributions. The advantage to hubs are the traffic that they direct to your hub so you are guaranteed a certain amount of people will see your page.

In all these cases, money-making widgets are ready made to drag and drop into the page. All you need to focus on is writing good content explaining what your cause is all about.

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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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Local politics are the ones that affect your life the most. Your city government decides how much funding your schools get, how high your property taxes are, how many police officers are out on the street and how often they patrol your street. Local politics are where you have the most influence and reap the most benefits. Luckily they are also the easiest to get up front involved in. Obviously your chances of getting an appointment with your Mayor is substantially better than getting to sit down face to face with the President. Don’t neglect using this influence to bring about favorable change.

But before that, you can start by writing letters, sending emails, making phone calls and letting the people in charge know what is botheing you and what you want done. You know, we’re all here to make some kind of difference. Don’t pass up your chance to make yours.

Next you can start a simple free blog or webpage on Blogger or Squidooletting others know about your issue or issues while earning money for your cause. Through this blog you can start a grassroots movement if the issue is a particularly controversial or sticky one.

If you don’t have any specific concern as of yet but you are still interested in local goings on, you can start by attending city hall meetings or school board meetings. Read your local news online or subscribe to area newspapers (many newspapers now have websites as well). You can also watch the news on televisions but I find it so sensationalized that very little actual news is reported.

If you open your ears and your eyes, it won’t be long before you start noticing things that need improvement. Even if it is only a school playgrounds being vandalized – get involved and don’t be afraid to care.

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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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Getting involved is all about trying to change something you know needs changing. There are a variety of ways to do this and if maybe one way doesn’t work you’ll have many other ways to choose from.

The important thing to remember is that normal citizens just like you have made major differences in our society over the ages. You can make a difference with enough effort and faith in what you’re doing.

Here are some of the most common ways to get involved in a cause.

1. Join a related organization – you can find nonprofit and grassroots organizations online by searching for the cause you’re interested in.
2. Start a grassroots movement for your change. Get together with others who are interested in the same cause you are. The more people working for change the more difference you can make sooner.
3. Start a petition – in some cities/states you can get a measure put on a ballot to be voted on if you collect enough signatures on a petition. Check your local laws. Even if this isn’t the case, sending a petition with a few hundred signatures to a representative urges them to do something.
4. Write letters to your local representatives. By writing letters or sending emails discussing your concerns as well are your ideas for change, your representatives will know what issues concern you and how to gain your support.
5. Throw an event to get the word out about your cause. Knowledge is power and informing the public about your particular passion is one way to gather more support.
6. Start a blog or website – A simple blog or web page talking about your cause and why you feel it’s so important is another excellent way to get the word and gather support.

These are just some simple ways to get involved and hopefully make a difference in the world. Throughout the month, I’ll be talking about these activities in greater detail.

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