Some of just don’t feel right if we’re not able to help out others less fortunate than us. But sometimes there are roadblocks in our way, such as lack of time or money. Other times, we just put it off until another time.
Below are three ways you can give back, each focusing on a different element of giving.
Donate Time
All sorts of charities and organizations need volunteers and would be ecstatic to have your help. Whether it’s dishing up food, delivering food, organizing donations, doing paperwork…your time can do wonders for these charities. Even an hour or two a month can make a difference. So if you’re short on cash, you can still donate your time.
Donate Stuff
This is one of our favorites. Over the years, we have donated so many unused items to charities. On top of that, I used to use my awesome couponing skills to score free and low cost health and beauty products, toys and food to donate. Plus our last 2 cars have been donated to the Children’s Cancer Association.
There is no item too large or small to be considered a valid donation. Even vehicles are taken by most charities. If you have ever wondered how to donate a boat, for example, then you may be surprised with how easy the process is. In fact, most of the transaction takes place online. Just find a boat-related organization that you like, select the charity you’d like the proceeds to go towards, and then offer your boat. The only thing difficult aspect of the process is narrowing down which charity you’d like to assist most.
If you have extra stuff sitting around that you know you’re not going to use, why not consider donating it to a charity in your area? Or maybe you had a garage/yard sale and still had stuff leftover…you can donate that too. Even your old blankets can be donated to pet shelters and make a sad little puppy a little more comfortable for his stay.
Donate Money
This is probably the easiest to do, if you have the money of course. Many charities have websites where you can just donate money in a couple of minutes. Great if you don’t have much time, but want to still help out.
Not sure how to go about donating money to charity online? You can do an online search for charities that you’re interested in or you can pop over to Unicef’s Mother’s Day page and really make an impact—it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Mother’s Day gift.
Once you find the charity that you’re wanting to donate to, their website should be pretty straightforward about how to donate.
How do you give back?
I mostly give time when I can, and stuff when I don’t need it anymore, or someone needs it more like me. Looking into sponsoring a kid for the next school year as well.
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Excellent ideas. Giving locally to local charities is one of our favorites. We have a stronger connection to those around us when we give time or money to locally oriented charitable groups.
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I think a lot of people overlook donating their time for charity. I know when I was younger and money was tighter, I would volunteer to help out instead of donating money. I felt even better doing this because I got to interact with those for whom the charity was for as opposed to just giving money.
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