You are here: Home / Archives for Philanthropy

Volunteering: Choosing One Cause

Volunteers

Image by vastateparksstaff via Flickr

Causes define the world. Worthy ideals, vital support systems: there are endless quests to choose and endless paths to take. And you… wish to experience them all. Volunteering is not a burden. Instead you consider it a value — wanting to offer your time, energy and passion to those who need it most.

Choosing just one venture seems impossible, however. You find yourself struggling to decide which cause is most important to you. Sympathy demands that you sample them all — and you do, dedicating yourself to a different philosophy each day.

The result is disastrous.

Those wishing to volunteer must refrain from over-extending themselves. Wanting to offer aid to every issue is understandable; maintaining the necessary patience, scheduling and energy for it, however, is impossible. Individuals will devote themselves to traveling between venues more than offering support.

It’s necessary to select one idea first. Volunteers — like yourself — should choose the cause that most appeals, giving all free time to it (instead of dividing their hours into useless little pieces). Narrowing the focus offers greater rewards: with individuals able to offer their complete attentions and skills.

And charities need this more than anything. Only an estimated 15 percent of the population offer their services to causes each year. This leaves many organizations without the necessary support — lacking the ability to accomplish what they need. Volunteers must therefore be fully functioning: rather than bounding from idea to idea and achieving little.

Choose one cause and reap the benefits.

 

Filed Under: General, Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Donating Expertly

Habitat For Humanity volunteers constructing a...

Image via Wikipedia

If you are not an actual expert at donating things to charitable organizations, don’t worry about it. This is far from rocket science, and the not-for-profit organization is probably going to be happy to tell you what they need, if you only ask. Generally, since the economic downturn has hurt a lot of charitable groups, they can use all of the help that they can get. While 10 bucks may not seem like much (one or two fewer delivery pizzas), it might end up really making somebody’s day. Since most charities help a lot of people, giving what you can might not even require that you give them any money. Of course, it is a truly rare person or entity that declines such a gift, though.

Maybe you want to donate, but you are strapped down to your last dollar. Nobody ever said that you should feed the hungry while your own belly rumbles and your kitchen shelves gather dust. That would be downright foolish, if extremely generous of you. Maybe you have the skills to help Habitat for Humanity build some houses — they could probably use the help, especially if you are a skilled trades person. Even if all you can do is bring donuts, haul supplies and plant flowers, you can still help out and make somebody’s day a little bit brighter.

However, you might be in a good spot to provide some financial help to someone who is in need. If so, good for you! It’s nice to have enough that you can provide for your own family, and help out other people who have far less than you do. If so, you have got a lot of options for what you can actually give. Naturally, a check will always work, and cash will do in a pinch (especially if you can only give a small sum). And in some cases, a prepaid credit card might even be the best to give.

Filed Under: Housing Projects, Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , , ,

Anyone Can Help Someone In Need

Charity is one of the greatest attributes of human kind. It is also one of the distinguishing characteristics that separate us from animals. Our ability to think about another’s well-being is a gift given to us to look after each other when disaster falls on us. In the wild, animals don’t organize rescue teams for those in distress and do not use support groups to help people cope with disaster. We are amazing creatures, because we give support to each other when we hit bad times.

Don’t be an animal and use your ability to think for others and give to those who need help. How can we call ourselves humans if we don’t act on our emotional response to help others. You might be in a hard spot, but you are doing better than most people in world. Look around you, look at your house and all the things that you have, most people go without these things daily. Don’t give away all your stuff to help others, but just realize that you are in a position to help others. If everyone could give just a little bit it would help a lot of people.

You don’t have to give away your stuff to help other people and you don’t even have to give away your food either. Most of the time charities and churches just need good people to work with them to feed and clothe people. Your time is the most valuable thing that anyone could have, because there are so few people willing to give it. Be one of the few people that actually try to make a difference in the suffering that they see and donate your time. If you cannot give you time then please donate something you don’t need that can benefit someone else more.

Filed Under: Emergency Aid, General Tagged With: , , , ,

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat For Humanity volunteers constructing a...

Image via Wikipedia

Habitat for Humanity has built hundreds of thousands of homes for people in need of shelter. They have made homelessness their enemy and they are winning the fight. They cannot do it alone they need your help they need you to donate building materials or your time. You can also donate other things like couches, chairs, and clothing to help the people that need them the most. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that utilizes volunteers to build affordable simple shelters. The program is christened based, but anyone from all walks of life and any race can join in the fight against homelessness.

The homes or shelters are not a hand out; they are not given out for free. The family and the charity pick a mortgage that has easy payments for the family to pay off. The family pays for the materials and not the labor, anything that is donated to a project will save a family money. If the family needs help with a mortgage then Habitat will step in and pay for that month. All cash that Habitat spends needs to come back in order to pay for more shelter for more families in need of it.

Habitat for Humanity also sells cheap furniture that was donated to pay for parts of their program. Anything from fake plants to washers and dryers can be donated to any of the retail Habitat for Humanity sites. Donate your unwanted clothing they always need clothes to help out the people that are really down and rely on clothes to keep them warm.  Building supplies from trusses to 2x4s and even gardening supplies are always taken in for the cause. The one resource that Habitat for Humanity needs the most is man power. Without your volunteering efforts this program cannot function and strive to help others. You are the most important tool to make any of these projects a reality and the people that are in need will be the most grateful for you.

Filed Under: Community Clean-Ups, Natural Disasters Tagged With: , , , ,