10 Ways to help your community in 30 minutes or less
From waking up early to put in a first load of laundry to working all day and driving the mom taxi all afternoon, most women have little time to think about volunteering for community projects. But busy schedules do not mean we have to write off community involvement completely. In thirty minutes or less, anyone can make a difference in the community.
Check out the following ideas for ways to help your community in the midst of your everyday activities.
- Take a garbage bag while walking through the neighborhood. Pick up any litter along the way. As a by-product, you can get some exercise built into your day.
- Shop with locally owned businesses, saving time and money. Many locally owned businesses offer services like free gift-wrapping and delivery. And a percentage of your sales taxes go directly to the local community.
- Find positive aspects of your community share with other people. A positive image encourages residents to shop locally, increases the chance new businesses will open in the area and promotes growth.
- Attend a local festival or other event. Many have free admission and activities. Most festivals are actually fundraisers for non-profit organizations who make their money through sponsorships. Since sponsors look at attendance numbers to decide how much to give, your family can add to the number and help increase what businesses give next year.
- Write a letter to local elected officials encouraging them for making good decisions for the community. People work harder when they know they are appreciated. And elected officials seldom hear enough encouraging words.
- Put a potted plant on your front porch. When your home looks spruced up, it makes the whole neighborhood and the community to look better as well.
- Take left over dinner to an elderly neighbor. If you have a family of four, cook enough dinner for five one night and deliver a plate to the widow next door. Your delivery helps you to get to know your neighbors better. And police promote knowing your neighbors as the best way to fight neighborhood crime.
- Look for opportunities to give in your community. Many schools collect items, such as like canned foods, old coats, toys and eyeglasses, for less fortunate families.
- Vote. While the Presidential election comes around only once every four years, elections happen every year. Check out the candidates for local and state elections.
- Encourage your employer to sponsor local events, join a civic organization or allow employees to volunteer during work hours. Many businesses have volunteer programs to reward employees for volunteering. Local news media often cover large volunteer events and having employee representation gives businesses extra publicity.
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By doing our part to contribute to the community, we add people to our circle of influence and gain opportunities to build relationships with our neighbours. We also demonstrate what it means to be a good citizen to our children.
If those 10 points in this article and the many great suggestions in the responses don’t move you to action than what will? Being in the Fish & Game Association in Calgary, I helped clean up a portion of the banks of the Bow River every spring. It made a great difference and was good fun too.
Being a regular blood donor was also a rewarding service to our community.
Now, to Nora in Saint Paul, I’d say: Have you checked the Yellow Pages of the phone book? In mine I found it under “Social Service Organizations”. All the best, and God bless….
I live in Saint Paul and I would like to volunteer in a womans shelter. Any Ideas where I could look ? Phone numbers would be helpful! Thank you and God Bless you.
Hi
Greetings ..The Holy spirit spoke to me about giving to children that are in need
I trust Him for provision this article just revived me in a way I cannot express
I am currently busy with a project named Rich out and Touch we collecting school
Uniforms like shoes,lunch boxes,Shirts ect and God is touching His people to
Donate all this things in a mighty way So will like to encourage that we give to
Our communities as we can if you cannot give to 100 then give to 1 make the difference
Give and it shall be given to you 1 good measures 2 pressed down 3 shaken together. 4 and running over God bless you
Hi blase,
We are a Canadian ministry but the vast majority of our audience is from the United States so we do provide information that accommodates Canada and the U.S.A.
Power to Change Editorial team
I thought Power to Change was Canadian and the article talks about Presidential elections and your “state”. hmmm.
thank you this could help me out
Thanks for the great ideas I’m a kid and I pretty much have everything I need. But I saw the thing on television and I starting feeling that I need to help out in my community. There’s this center of hope right in downtown and I’m thinking I shout start working there on my days off from basketball. I also think that people need more Goodd and it makes makes e r some whatu mad because kids say mom there’s no food but they have a full Cabenet cause of food and and its a totally different connotation. Because those kids actually do but some are dead serious I just feel like I need to do mY part to help who agrees.?
it makes a difference when it’s clean than when it’sdirty. It fels like your in a new world
Yea maybe I should think about that I am going home tomorrow and maybe I could talk to my pastor at church and maybe I should get the church started on the night time look out. I am glade that u wrote back Jamie thanks i will do that this week.
That is a great suggestion carrie. You should talk to some people in your church and see how something like that could work.
we could create a night time watch in your city to make sure that people and their property’s are safe from harms way.
Our church puts food hampers together at Christmas for the less fortunate
Have a neighbor with a eyesore yard, offer to weed maybe spruce it up. Give it a try. You will feel good at the end of the day! No.. then fix up your yard!
Great ideas everyone! Thanks for taking the time to visit our site and add your comments to this post.
you can make food for the homless
you can make money and donate old clotes or toys and help homeless.
this helps alot of people
You could start a fundraiser and collect money for the childrens mirical network.
*Make your yard a habitat by putting up feeders and houses for animals.
*Make a Wherigo for nature or historical visiting areas to encourage tourism.
*Take note of small things that need improvement, such as cracked sidewalks and missing street signs, and notify the proper officials. Little things can have a huge effect on the aesthetic appeal of a community.
*Ask family owned grocery stores and restaurants to offer more locally grown foods
*If your local shelter is not a no kill shelter offer to find places for pets at a rescue center or foster home instead. You can also fund raise to cover the cost of boarding and adoption to give pets a better chance of finding homes.
*Give old books, movies, and cd to your local library. (Ask the librarian if they have a list of wanted material. Most bookstores sell used books very cheap.)
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Recycling old materials, products, and equipment is helping the community. New products containing recycled ingredients are very attractive.
Help by tutoring people on subjects such as spelling so they can learn stray isnt spelled staray.
help by creating care packages to local homeless.
help by getting starays off the street