Archive for February, 2012

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Leap into the Unexpected this Leap Day!

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Today’s blog post originally appeared on the VolunteerSpot daily blog on February 28,2012. This post was written by  Jessica Young, a social media specialist at VolunteerSpot. Jessica also coaches volunteer leaders in getting the most out of social media and her organization’s free online tools.

Leap Day comes but once every four years – a day that does’t exist 75% of the time!  It is truly a GREAT opportunity to take action and do something out of the ordinary.

Do the Unexpected!

Involve your family and friends in random acts of kindness and LEAP into to the UNEXPECTED!  Here are 29 ideas for inspiration!

  1. Hand-deliver a muffin and hot cocoa to your child’s teacher Leap Day morning (click to find more teacher appreciation ideas).
  2. Secretly pay for the coffee for the person behind you in the drive-thru line.
  3. Deliver a vase of bright tulips to an elderly neighbor.
  4. Love Bomb the front office at your school with Thank You notes!
  5. Surprise your kids with a trip to the movies after school.
  6. Surprise your kids with a ‘picnic’ lunch during their lunch hour at school.
  7. Surprise your teenager with sushi for lunch, and bring enough for her two best friends as well!
  8. Walk to a neighborhood park with gloves and plastic bags, and do a quick clean sweep.
  9. Find a totally random non-profit online and make a one-time, quick-click donation.
  10. Take twenty minutes for yourself: walking, sitting on the porch, or just relaxing.
  11. Treat yourself to the unexpected – a movie in the middle of the day, trying out the new cafe you’ve been talking about, or checking out that book you’ve been meaning to read.
  12. Prepare dinner for a community member going through a tough time.
  13. Mail out a card to a friend you haven’t connected with in a long time.
  14. Sneakily pass a  local restaurant giftcard to the bank teller, grocery store clerk, or café barista who serves you on a regular basis.
  15. Call the local animal shelter, ask what they are in need of the most, buy and deliver it that day!
  16. Collect canned goods, gently used clothes, or books and make a family trip to donate them.
  17. Gather loose change in your house if you plan on being by a parking meter and fill up all the nearby meters as well.
  18. Purchase several boxes of granola bars and a bag of apples – when you happen to see homeless people out in your community, without judgement, dole out the snacks.
  19. Use social media to send out a thank you to the world – find a poem that expresses your thoughts and share it with your facebook friends.
  20. Use old school methods to connect with elderly parents/grandparents and friends who appreciate a real phone conversation!
  21. Bake a sweet treat with your kids and doorbell ditch a neighbor with the unexpected goodies.
  22. Celebrate an ‘unbirthday’ party with a handful of your children’s friends over for a playdate—bonus points if it REALLY is someone’s birthday!
  23. Surprise a co-worker with a handwritten note of appreciation, JUST because!
  24. Depending on your weather, beautify your family’s green space by raking, shoveling, weeding and planting.
  25. Offer to pick up groceries or run quick errands for a homebound neighbor.
  26. Capture a special moment of a new mom and child with your camera and frame as a kind surprise.
  27. Drop by the local fire station with a homemade cake and thank you notes!
  28. Break into a jammin’ kareoke session with your kids – hand out hairbrushes and wooden spoons and turn up your favorite old school tunes.
  29. Say hello to strangers you pass, hold doors for others, and smile!

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Volunteer, It Is What All The Cool Kids Are Doing!

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

There are so many posts about ideas to volunteer with kids, older generations, and as a family, but what about teenage volunteer ideas? Well, it is good that you are reading this post today! At HandsOn Network we know that it is to get discouraged from volunteering, if there are a limited amount of resources to help you make a service decision.

Adolescents can make a huge difference in their community and can benefit from service work, as well. No only will you learn the importance of giving back, but service work is also very helpful when looking for jobs or applying to college.

Are you interested in adding community service to your to-do list? Check out our list of tips and ideas to get your project started!

  1. Love summer camp, but you are too old to still be a camper? Become a counselor in training! It is great way to still go to camp and volunteer at the same time. Camp counselors make a positive impact in the camper’s lives every summer; don’t you remember your favorite counselor?
  2. Interested in the medicine field? Check out your local hospital for volunteer opportunities. Many hospitals will hire young volunteers to interact with patients such as reading books to patients or sitting with families in the waiting room. You may even be able to help the nurses in the nursery, etc. It is a great way to get some hands-on experience in the medical profession!
  3. Give back to those who have given so much: Help out at your local nursing home. Whether you are playing games, cleaning, cooking, or planning events you are sure to have a good time! You will not only give back, but you may also learn some valuable lessons working with senior citizens.
  4. Woof woof! Help out at your local animal shelter or veterinarian clinic. Interested in veterinary science? This is the perfect opportunity to get experience, while helping animals in your community. You will have so much fun; it will not even feel like volunteering!
  5. Help your old elementary school: Want to reconnect with your old teachers? Hold a book or school supplies drive at your old elementary school. This is a great way to get experience in the education field, by working with school children.
  6. Volunteer at your local nursery: Does your church, town hall, or place of work have a nursery? Check to see if they need any extra hands to help with the children. You can volunteer to read stories to the kids or even help clean up.
  7. Volunteer to be green: Have a green thumb? Gather your neighborhood and start a community garden. Have every person plant their favorite flowers, vegetables, or fruits. It will be a great asset to your community, and will also help the environment!
  8. Love to read? Libraries are always looking for eager volunteers. Check with your town’s library to find out their various needs and how could help them through volunteering. This is a great service project to put on your resume!
  9. Good cook? Make food for your local shelter or soup kitchen. Short on time? Start a food drive at your school. Donate your collected items to your neighborhood’s shelter.
  10. Artistic? Make coloring books for homeless children. There are many websites with coloring pages ready to be printed. Put together a few books and donate them to a children’s or family shelter.

Volunteering is the perfect excuse to utilize the skills that you may not be able to use every day. What better way to learn about yourself and the career path you would like to take than volunteering your skills?

Have a hunger for more projects like these? Check out generationOn to find more projects for teenagers!

How has volunteering helped you? We would love to hear your story in them comments section below!

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Benefits of the Service Leader Certificate Program

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Today’s post comes from Stephanie Manciagli, an AmeriCorps member of the HandsOn University team. Stephanie is the Resource Development Specialist for HandsOn University.

In Stephanie’s post, she reflects upon the positive experience she had with the HandsOn Service Leader Certificate Program.

I recently took the Service Leader Certificate Course online through HandsOn Network and had the most amazing experience!  The course was exactly what I had hoped for: a great instruction for planning service projects and leading teams.  I am usually not very tech-savvy so I was very pleased with the course’s easy-to-use format.

Upon registering through the Hands On website, I received a confirmation email within seconds that directed me to the course home page.  The home page has links to each course and its accompanying assessment. To start, all you have to do is click the “Course 101” tab, and it will open up a new page to start the course. When you are done with each course, I liked that I could exit out of the course and the original course home page was still up.

The courses are set up like a slide show.   On certain pages there is text to read, and in others there is a speaker elaborating on bullet point text. The format allows you to pace yourself through the course, by pausing after each slide. Tabs on the left of the screen allow you to pause, rewind, and fast forward at your will, which is great for taking notes or taking a break.  I also liked that the course tracks and saves your progress as you go, so if you [accidently] exit out of the course, you can resume where you left off when you open the course again. Another thing I liked was the assessment questions that followed each course.  Realizing that I had retained the information that I had just learned reinforced my excitement for learning the material and challenged me to do better in each course…………………..

Courses 101-103 taught me the skills I need to know to be a Service Leader.  I have volunteered in the past, and have been interested in taking on leadership positions, but always felt that I lacked the proper skills to excel in such a position.  This course taught me what I need to know, such as, how to inspire action, mobilize others to effect change, and manage a team.  The text gives both broad outlines and specific examples of how to plan a project from beginning to end, which is extremely helpful for someone like me, who has only served as a volunteer at service events, and never planned an event.  Even more than teaching me the skills I need to know, I found these courses inspiring.  Every month I write in my planner, “Volunteer somewhere!,” or “Plan a Service Project,” but never actually do it, due to one thing or another.  After taking this course, I feel motivated and prepared to make a difference, and know I will feel proud as I reintegrate service into my life.

The Service Leader Certificate Program is an excellent way to advance your volunteer skills. National Volunteer Week is coming up (April 15 through April 21)  this is the perfect time to advance your service knowledge and become a certified service leader!

Have you taken this course? How did you benefit?

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At the Book Fair: Scholastic Volunteers BE BIG

Friday, February 24th, 2012

This post comes from Maggie McGuire, Vice President of Kids and Parent Channels at Scholastic. Scholastic employees are always looking for ways to “Be Big” and taking action to make a difference in the community.

Maggie spent eight years in the educational arena as a Language Arts and Literature teacher (grades 7 to 10) and as a teacher trainer and curriculum development designer before working at Scholastic.

I had the great pleasure of participating in H. Newman School’s Read & Rise Book Fair and Family Night on Wednesday. It couldn’t have been a more inspiring night with families coming together to invest time in sharing and learning more about how they can support their child’s reading and learning life.

This is a personal passion of mine – one that has translated into a career spent focused on ways to inspire a love of and excitement for learning and to provide families with access to the information and books they need to be successful.

The event kicked off with a lively discussion amongst parents and family members talking about the incredibly important roles families have in shaping their child’s motivation to read and learn from the earliest ages.

Parents are a child’s first teacher.

Parents talked about sharing family stories from their childhood as one way to get kids involved in listening to stories, asking questions, learning how to participate in conversations and learning about their heritage – as well as sharing their own stories. We all acknowledged that the more families talk to their children, every day, and share in conversations with their children – whether at the family kitchen table or on the go, the more children will acquire the language, vocabulary, thinking and communication skills necessary to becoming literate.

Other parents shared the importance of reading every day with their kids. Whether it is a newspaper, magazine, comic book, novel or picture book – getting kids reading and making it a fun family ritual, and part of every day life, is what is important.

If kids love reading and learning – they’ll be on a path to success. Everyone felt very passionate about wanting to be a positive reading role model for their kids. One parent summed it up so well, “Readers are leaders! And that’s what we all want for our kids.”

Following that conversation, families came together to create original stories together and craft them into their very own books in a Klutz Build-A-Book workshop.

This is where all the things we talked about started to come to life with the kids. I had a great time working with two funny and intent boys who were putting together a whimsical story about characters who lived in “La La Land and Upside Down World”. Just their banter back and forth about what they were creating was a perfect example of how to build literacy, problem solving skills, and tap into imagination when we set out to create and tell stories.

By encouraging them with questions about what they were making and the characters they were building – they came up with a really great start to a very imaginative story.

Being a part of a community effort to support literacy is remarkably rewarding. Not only was I captivated by the school’s community of parents and kids, but it was wonderful to be part of a larger team of Scholastic employees who volunteered to set up the Fair, host the Build-A-Book workshop and help kids find and choose just the right books for their age and interest at the Book Fair. The kids were so excited to look through a large selection of books – they loved talking to each other about which ones they’d read, which ones had been on their wishlist, and all of them walked out with one in their hands. What a great way to end an evening focused on raising readers!

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The President Wants to Recognize You for Your Great Work!

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

For more than two decades, Points of Light honors and encourages organizations throughout the nation to celebrate National Volunteer Week, providing visibility, thematic focus and resources to enable them to commemorate this signature week of volunteer recognition,. National Volunteer Week is April 15-21, 2012.

During National Volunteer Week, we at Points of Light and HandsOn Network encourage people to recognize the outstanding impact of volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Created by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the President’s Volunteer Service Award program is a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. 

Recognizing and honoring volunteers sets a standard for service, encourages a sustained commitment to civic participation, and inspires others to make service a central part of their lives. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals, families, and groups that have achieved a certain standard – measured by the number of hours of service over a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime.

To date, the President’s Council has partnered with more than 80 leadership organizations and more than 28,000 certifying organizations to bestow more than 1.5 million awards to the Nation’s deserving volunteers.

Depending on which award package is ordered, award recipients can receive: An official President’s Volunteer Service Award lapel pin, a personalized certificate of achievement or a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States.

Any individual, family, or group can receive Presidential recognition for volunteer hours earned over a 12-month period or over the course of a lifetime at home or abroad. The following are the eligibility requirements for each age group: Kids, age 5-14, young adults, individuals age 15-25, and adults age 26 and up.

Criterion for the bronze presidential award include the completion of  50-74 service hours for kids, 100 to 174 hours for Young Adults, 100 to 249 hours for adults, and 200 to 499 hours for families and groups.

Criterion for the silver presidential award include the completion of 75 to 99 hours for Kids, 175 to 249 hours for Young Adults, 250 to 499 hours for adults, and 500 to 999 hours for families and groups.

Criterion for the gold presidential award include the completion of 100 hours or more for kids, 250 hours or more for young adults, 500 hours or more for adults, and 1000 hours or more for families and groups.

Additionally, volunteers of all ages with 4,000 or more service hours over a lifetime can receive the President’s Call to service award.

We hope that during National Volunteer Week and throughout the year, you choose to recognize and honor volunteers with the Presidential service award for their amazing service and impact on their communities.

 

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Celebrate Fat Tuesday by Volunteering!

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Get your king cake and your mask ready because today is Fat Tuesday! Even though this day is usually remembered as a day full of celebrations and preparing for Lent fasting, we can add another element to the mixture. Let’s make it a day to volunteer as well!

Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras is typically a celebration marked with rich foods that will prepare participants for the fast they will experience during the religious Lenten season. Traditional foods are consumed in celebration of the carnival such as fried pastries, breads, and eggs. Celebrations vary from state to state and country to country, but the overall message remains the same. It is a message of good will and celebration for the riches that we have been given.

Fat Tuesday is the perfect time to add volunteering to the celebration agenda! You can give thanks for the things that you have, by serving those who may be less fortunate than you. Here’s how:

  1. Is your town hosting a Mardi Gras parade? Help out by serving food, riding floats, or just getting out and meeting your neighbors!
  2. Serve food to parade goers. Who doesn’t love good ol’ New Orleans food, Jambalaya anyone?
  3. Make Mardi Gras masks with kids at your local daycare, shelter, or hospital. It’s easy! All you need is yellow, green, or purple construction paper, glitter, feathers, and an imagination. These masks will be a fun project for all ages!
  4. Teach youngsters about the history of New Orleans, Louisiana. Tell youth about New Orleans and why Mardi Gras is such a big celebration there. It is also important to teach kids about the progress that has been made since Hurricane Katrina.
  5. Serve your favorite fried foods to a soup kitchen. Share the Mardi Gras love with those who may not be able to celebrate it. Donate Mardi Gras themed foods to your local soup kitchen so that they may have a celebration too!
  6. Coordinate a Mardi Gras themed party at your local retirement home, shelter, school, or soup kitchen. Guests can wear Fat Tuesday themed outfits, play games, and eat some great Louisiana inspired food. Don’t forget that king cake!
  7. Make Mardi Gras themed bracelets with kids in local hospital care. String yellow, green, and purple beads together to make a bracelet in memory of Hurricane Katrina.
  8. Host a Mardi Gras themed pot-luck dinner with your friends, family, or neighbors. Have each guest donate money to your favorite cause. You can be merry and make a difference!
  9. Sign up to be a part of Meals on Wheels. Donate food and share that Fat Tuesday cheer with those who need it most.
  10. Do you have a musical talent? Volunteer your musical skills at a local retirement home for a Mardi Gras themed party.

There are so many ways that you can volunteer Fat Tuesday style! Today is a great day to not only enjoy all the festivities, but also a way to celebrate your community and its members by serving.

Are you volunteering today? What are you doing to spread the good in your community?

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Let’s Volunteer with Our Pets Today!

Monday, February 20th, 2012

Woof! February 20 is not only a day to celebrate our presidents, but also a day to give thanks to our pets because it is Pet Appreciation Day! I’m sure many of us can agree that our pets are truly man’s best friends, so why not show our love for them today?

Animals can put even the sourest person into a great mood, just by their presence. Whether your animal friend is a dog, a cat, or a hamster this is the perfect day to bring your pet out and share some good cheer with those who really need it. Why not show your appreciation for your pet’s love by taking them out to volunteer? Not only will you get to show your appreciation for your pet, but others will show their appreciation for everything your pet does for them as well!

“How can I get my furry friend involved in volunteering?” It is easy check out our suggestions below and share the animal love today!

  1. Pet therapy programs: Bring your furry friend to a nursing home, hospital, or classroom to share cheer and keep a lonely person company. The American Heart Association recently found that stress levels could be reduced for patients in long term care when accompanied by an animal. Animals provide comfort to someone who may be experiencing a stressful time. Organizations such as the Delta Society provide training for dogs that want to volunteer!
  2. Local pet shelters: Show your local homeless pets some love today! Volunteer at your local Humane Society or animal shelter. You will not only make these animals happy, but playing with the animals will be sure to put you in a good mood.
  3. Cleanup: Gather a team of volunteer pet lovers to clean up your neighborhood dog park. You can really show your dog just how you love him or her by providing a clean play area. By volunteering with other pet lovers, you may be able to make more friends for your furry ball of joy!
  4. Donate food: Check your local animal shelter to see what supplies they may need. Donate food, toys, etc. for your local shelter. Your donation will be greatly appreciated!
  5. Make a birdhouse: Today is not only a day to show appreciation for your four legged friends, but also your neighborhood pals. Make a birdhouse to hang outside your window. You won’t believe all the beautiful birds you will see!
  6. Check-up time: Make an appointment at your vet’s office, if your animal is due for a check up. It is always good to make sure your pet is in tiptop shape and up-to-date on his or her shots. If your cat or dog is not spayed or neutered, make sure to make an appointment.
  7.  Adopt: In the market for an animal to love? Visit the Humane Society or local animal shelter. You will find a needy animal that wants nothing more than to love you and be loved back. Adoption is a great way to show your animal love!

Volunteering for animals or with your own animal can be a very rewarding and entertaining experience. Check out generationOn for great volunteering ideas to do with both your kids and your animals! Check out the Humane Society or ASPCA to find a local shelter near you and to learn more about pet adoption!

How are you volunteering for animals today? Please share with us below! We’d love to hear about it.

 

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HandsOn Manila and the Ati Community of Boracay

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Today’s post comes from Brandon Kwong the Development & Marketing Coordinator for the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc.

Brandon was born and raised in the San Francisco area of California, and attended the University of California, Irvine—receiving a BA in Psychology & Social Behavior with minors in Educational Studies and Urban & Regional Planning. He now resides in Atlanta, GA where he works at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS) as the Development & Marketing Coordinator. At the time period of which this blog post describes, Brandon was an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) serving at CPACS.

This past October, under very unique circumstances, my friend and I had the chance to go overseas to the Philippines for a Volunteer Vacation through HandsOn Network/ HandsOn Manila. This incredible opportunity was especially astonishing for me; being a 4th generation Chinese American, I had never traveled to anywhere in Asia, let alone been outside of the United States. Our travels first began by flying into Manila (from Georgia to California, to Japan, then to the Philippines), arriving really late at night. Getting off the plane, we had no idea what to expect or where we were supposed to go—or who we were even supposed to meet for that matter. After stumbling around the airport for a bit, we were thankfully greeted by a few representatives from HandsOn Manila. While riding in the shuttle and looking out the windows, I was in complete awe of the surrounding cityscape. Even though all of the buildings, streets, highways, and bridges seemed nothing more than what I would have normally seen in a semi-congested US city, it was still quite surreal.

The next morning, we were greeted and picked up by Ms. Perrey Belen, our to-be guide for the rest of our trip in the Philippines. Perrey took us to the HandsOn Manila office, which was a very small yet humbling space. We were introduced to all of the services and volunteer opportunities that HandsOn Manila provides and coordinates. Despite their size, it was an incredible honor to work with such an established organization that truly provides the driving force for volunteer mobilization, utilizing corporate and civic engagement within Manila and the Philippines. While at HandsOn Manila, we also learned about the community we would be serving during our time in Boracay, a tourist island south of Manila that has been ranked as the 2011 World’s 4th Best Choice island to see.

The Ati community pertains to the indigenous people of Boracay, who have been forced to relocate from their original homes due to the high tourism of the island. Most of the Ati live in small makeshift communities in the back of the island, away from the main tourist areas. We were told that the Ati are not even allowed on the main tourist beaches because of their much darker complexion. The particular Ati community we volunteered at was organized by a small group of nuns, led by Sister Victoria. These nuns have a partnership with HandsOn Manila to have volunteers come in and help with their daycare and school. Sister Victoria explained to us that a while ago, the government had awarded land to the Ati community. However, they are still unable to occupy the land that was set appointed to them because of large resistance by claimants and private property owners.

Arriving in Boracay—first by plane, then boat, and finally by tricycle (a motorcycle with an attached covered side-carriage, and the primary mode of transportation around the island)—it was undeniably the most beautiful place I had ever seen; by the end of the trip, I was convinced I would probably never experience any such beautiful place again in my life. After getting off the tricycle, we quickly got settled and hopped on another tricycle where Perrey took us to meet the Ati we would be working with for the next couple of days.

We started off our first day with the Ati by going to the school/ daycare where the ages of kids ranged from about 4 to 10. During the day, many of the adults are away working, and the children are taken care of by the nuns and a few other Ati adults. We served the children breakfast, which had juice and a small piece of bread for each little one. HandsOn Manila had provided us with various coloring workbooks to give to the kids. It was a little bit difficult since the Ati children did not speak English at all. In fact, they don’t even speak Tagalog (the most commonly spoken Filipino language), but a completely different dialect, so they are unable to communicate with many of the Filipinos around Boracay. Fortunately, most of the kids were quick learners, and were good enough to teach the others in their own language.

After spending instructional time with the children, they were most excited to play with my friend and I while the Ati adults were beginning to prepare lunch in the back. Playing with the kids was honestly one of the most fun activities. In their culture, the Ati do not normally have any formal education system or any concepts of a school. The nuns first introduced the idea of a school, as well as introducing the children to wearing clothes. Thus, the kids were purely happiest when just playing around. Taking a break from the kids, my friend and I went to the back to help prepare and serve their lunch. Ati food primarily consists of a lot of soups and leafy greens with very minimal spices.

We left after serving all of the children and after trying a small bowl for the three of us, but we came back the next day with small gifts we had bought from the market—markers, erasers, and various stickers with numbers and the alphabet. This time around, we arrived in time to jump in and play with the kids in a few of their native games and help cook another meal for everyone. Overall, it was incredible learning about and experiencing the Ati culture. I can only hope the resettlement of the Ati community in Boracay becomes resolved soon between the government and property owners.

To learn more about HandsOn Manila visit: http://www.handsonmanila.org.ph/main/

To learn more about Volunteer Vacations visit: http://www.handsonmanila.org.ph/volunteervacations/

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Short on Time? 6 Quick Volunteer Ideas!

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I’ve always wanted to volunteer, but I don’t have the time,” or “I just don’t know where to start”?

Challenge your definition of volunteering and you might just discover that you are doing it already! A volunteer, to put simply, is someone who gives his or her time willingly and expects nothing in return.

Have you ever helped a friend write a letter or a job application? Have you helped at your child’s school with an outing, at a book sale to raise money, or a community sports event? Ever “paid it forward” and committed a random act of kindness like helping a stranger with his or her suitcase at the airport? These acts are all forms of volunteering. I bet you didn’t even notice the time it took out of your day!

If time is short but you want to get involved, lending a hand can become a way of life. Here are six quick and easy ways to volunteer and start making a difference.

• Multitask!

You have to go food shopping. Why not call an elderly neighbor, or someone who can’t get out, and do his or her shopping? How about picking up a few cans for your local food bank? You are going anyway!

• Like to chat?

Do you have 30 minutes to spare, maybe once a week, and access to Facebook? Check out . You could partner up with someone wanting to learn your language and maybe learn his or hers, too.

• Throw a swap party!

Grab your friends for an hour and have a swap party. Choose a theme (books, clothes, toys, etc.). You might come away with something you didn’t know you needed, and all of those unused items will be recycled as something someone didn’t know they needed. All the unclaimed items can be donated to the charity of your choice.

• Are you a gamer?

Did you know that you can play online games for free that donate to charities on your behalf? One example is Charitii – a charity-donating crossword Web site that raises money to provide clean water, food for the malnourished, and protection of the rainforest worldwide.

• Utilize your own connections

If there is a cause that really means something to you, you can help raise awareness of its work using your own network. You never know who might be listening who can help! Colleagues at work, friends and family, acquaintances that you find yourself chatting with – help spread the word by talking to people. If you have time free during your lunch hour, maybe that charity needs help writing e-mails or posters that need to be put up. Why not write to your newspaper to tell of the good work that the charity does?

• Do what you know!

If you can cook, you can help. If you can read, you can help. Are you a computer programmer? A nurse? There are countless ways of using your existing skills to benefit others. Cook someone a meal, advise on health matters, fix a computer for an elderly neighbor or underfunded organization. Become aware of the people around you and figure out how much time you can spare each month. Even half an hour can make a huge difference for those who could benefit from your skills.

These are just a few small ways of donating a little bit of your time to help others. They are all unique volunteer activities and there are hundreds of more options out there. Small acts of kindness count, and add up overtime!

How do you volunteer in short time periods? Let us know in the comments below!

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