Charity Begins At Home: Tips for Giving Back Over The Holidays
These days, Christmas is one of the most commercialized times of the year. Although it’s supposed to be about loving one another and being kind to one another, a lot of the time we focus mostly on buying gifts and gorging ourselves on food. And that definitely isn’t a totally bad thing to do! It’s great to enjoy your time with your family and give yourself a well deserved midwinter break. But there are also some ways that you could use Christmas a time to give back and to reach out to people who aren’t as fortunate as yourself. Here are some tips on how to do it…
Buy Gifts For Those Less Fortunate
During the festive period, a lot of charities set up schemes where you can buy Christmas gifts for families who are less fortunate than others. You could buy and wrap gifts for disadvantaged children, or you could make up food packages of non perishable goods like tinned food, rice, tomato puree and pasta. Remember that a lot of shelters require toiletries like shower gel, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sponges, shampoo, razors, shaving foam and feminine hygiene products for women.
Donate Your Time On Christmas Day
Not all of us have families that we can spend time with on Christmas Day. Sometimes due to friction within families, bereavements, or even a simple matter of distance, people find themselves without plans on Christmas Day. If that’s the case with you, then look at volunteering opportunities in your local area. You could help to serve Christmas dinners at a homeless shelter or a women’s shelter, or help out at your local church’s Christmas festivities. Your time is often even more valuable and appreciated than your money.
Use Your Skills To Help Others
A lot of us have a great deal of education that we don’t always use in our day to day jobs. If you’re able to, you could use this education to help others. If you’re adept at using computers, talk to your local library about helping to run computer classes, or even volunteer to help out there at other times. For instance, if someone is looking into getting legal help so they can get the social security payments that their family needs, you could help them look up lawyers like David Chermol online, who they might not otherwise have been able to get in contact with. If you’re good at marketing, talk to a charity about how you can help them to get their message out there more effectively.
Instill A Sense Of Charity In Your Kids
There’s nothing in the world that’s more important than passing on a sense of awareness about what’s going on around them to the next generation. If you have kids or nieces and nephews, get them involved in your volunteering this Christmas. Teach them kindness and generosity, and ensure that if you go to a Christmas dinner for elderly people or homeless people, that they learn to speak to people less well off than themselves with thoughtfulness and a caring attitude.
