Perfectly Practical #87 - Give to Your Community

"He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor." ~ Proverbs 22:9

For me, this is often the most fun and most comfortable way to give.  You can give anonymously or publicly, in a huge way or in a small way - all are significant. 

This is where you shape your community on a broader scale.  You can really play to your strengths to make a difference.

If you are blessed with organizing skills:

 - Organize a fundraiser for a local charity
 - Offer to organize your church's food pantry or clothes closet
 - Create an efficient filing system for paperwork for a local charity
 - Design a schedule for volunteers at a local charity

If you are blessed with talent:

 - Play or sing at a nursing home
 - Conduct an art or cooking class at an adult learning center or after school program
 - Knit or crochet blankets or booties for new babies at a pregnancy crisis center or the hospital

If you are blessed with time:

 - Listen to readers at your local adult literacy center
 - Volunteer to answer phones at your local art museum
 - Serve food to the homeless at a local mission
 - Become a mentor for the Boys & Girls Club

If you are blessed with trash, er, um, random items:

 - Take old newspapers to the animal shelter
 - Send expired coupons to soldiers overseas
 - Bring all manner of cardboard tubing to after school charities
 - Carry your unwanted clothes, household goods, and toys to Goodwill

If you are blessed with abundance:

 - Take food to your local fire/police station
 - Bring food/treats to your local animal shelter
 - Give teddy bears or coloring books and crayons to your local EMTs or hospitals (they keep them to comfort children in distress)
 - Donate food to the food pantry
 - Blankets, coats, and personal items can are all much appreciated by women's shelters and homeless shelters
 - Baby items can be taken to pregnancy crisis centers
 - Energy strips, drinks, bars, etc. can be sent to soldiers in action

Everyone is blessed with the ability to perform random acts of kindness:

 - Civility never goes out of style - open a door for someone
 - Write a note to brighten someone's day
 - Give a compliment
 - Smile at a stranger
 - Bring an elderly neighbor's newspaper up to the door for them

This is the last in the series of 30 Day Giving Challenges. You can read the first part on giving to your church here, the second post on giving to your family here, the third part on giving to your friends here, and the fourth post on giving to your school here.

This is part of We Are That Family's Works for Me Wednesday and the 30 Day Giving Challenge.