Donating from the Home

posted in: Main | 0

If you are anything like me, after living anywhere for even a negligible amount of time, the amount of stuff that accumulates can be overwhelming. Not only is my house full of ephemera (or tatt my husband calls it), it also houses some useful stuff that is never going to be of use to me.

I have a wardrobe full of clothes that I will “slim back into” (yeah right!) and formal dresses, which are just too expensive to throw away (despite not being in fashion since the early 1990’s). I have the obligatory exercise bike which, after discovering I didn’t fit into any of said clothes, I ordered with the best intentions along with a bucket-load of free supplements from the internet. Both the bike and the supplements remain untouched, except for the clothes I hang off the handlebars.

Furniture, books, bags of cables, jewelry that either, I do not actually like, or never wear (because I never wear jewelry), shoes, and the twenty-five coats I definitely need, all clamor to take up precious space in my abode.

Latin text books jostle with old board games and that statue of a slightly disgruntled dog that Aunt Emma gave to me, that I secretly hate. I hadn’t seen my cat, husband, or toddler for a fortnight and was pretty sure they hadn’t gone to the pub. So, the other day I finally decided that enough was enough.

One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure. I didn’t just want to take everything to the dump, as this seemed like a horrible waste and an admission of my own poor buying choices. It wasn’t that the stuff was bad, but it just wasn’t being used. I wanted my stuff to be reused, re-loved and in an ideal world actually help someone.

So, one cold and frosty morning, I fished out my phone (hidden by a collection of antique plates) and rang my local charity shop (it was a proper local one in this instance, supporting a nearby hospice, rather than some far-off mass-market affair, where you barely know where the money goes to). I paid for a man and his van and delivered said valuable assets to the shop. In exchange I had a calming, enriching space in my house, a happy husband and a slightly less happy cat whose “hard won” collection of socks under the sofa had also been purged in the process.

The lovely ladies running the shop, were delighted and apparently as they later told me when I saw one of them, chaperoning their effervescent grandchild, at a school fete, my stuff had managed to raise quite a sum.

Pleased with my success and charitable endeavors, I immediately went out and went shopping to celebrate. After all my house was looking a bit bare.

The old phrase is true, charity really does begin at home.

Climate Change and Where You Can Help

posted in: Main | 0

Climatic change is one of the greatest risks that the world is facing today and the case isn’t getting any better soon unless everyone intervenes. With nature controlling more than 70% of the state of the climate, human interaction with nature must, therefore, be adjusted to enable positive climatic change. The change, therefore, may require a lot to be done but you can always start by putting the basics in place that can will help improve the climatic conditions. Some of the areas that may not require a lot of skills but can positively help improve climate change include but not limited to:

1. Advocate for the adoption of eco-friendly sources of energy and reduced pollution.

Some of the sources of energy that are being used are the major threats to the good climatic condition that is expected especially in industries and locomotives. The campaigns for the adoption of eco-friendly sources of energy can, therefore, be done to ensure few harmful gases are emitted to the atmosphere hence reduced pollution. Taking such an initiative as a volunteer within your locality can take the climatic change to a better position and what you basically need to know are the alternatives and the availability of such sources of energy.

2. Educate and practice the importance of landscape restoration.

Taking the first line initiative as an individual or a group on the restoration of the landscape can positively truckle the climatic change that is being experienced. Major activities that will take control of the flooding, soil erosion and degradation of land calls for additional vegetation on the land. Taking advantage of the grass cover and ensuring every unused land is covered with grass can be a solution to some of the major changes

3. Massive tree planting campaigns.

Setting up initiatives within the community that will encourage tree planning can help in climate change. The role and contribution of trees when it comes to climatic change is very significant and motivating the society on such will automatically give positive results. This can be done through partnership to ensure supply of the trees that are drought-resistant and are able to survive harsh conditions.

4. Educate on practical risks in the long run climatic change.

Make it clear through practical and current matters that are already affecting lives negatively to help bring out the clear risks that are involved. Let the whole society understand why they need to care and ensure climate change is controlled including having volunteer sessions in schools, churches and to the community as a whole.

Don’t sit back and relax yet there is an area you can stand out as an individual or a group to restore the degrading climatic conditions. The time you take with the people around you talking about ways of restoring climate change is never in vain for with climate change everybody has something to offer. If you don’t believe us, listen to our good friend Bill Nye:

Charities to Support

posted in: Main | 0

Charity is an organization set up to voluntary provide practical help and raise money for those in need. Although, the care of the needy is usually not left for the private charity only, any other well wishers can freely volunteer. Every year, the number of devastating natural disasters has risen to very high levels, which might lead one to think of where to send an helpful hand. Many factors determine a good charity. For example, how the charity spends the money being donated by the well wishers.

Kids Alive International – A great charity to support.

 

Some of the best charities to donate include:

1) The Red Cross: This is one of the volunteer relief organization with high spending rates of the donations offered. A larger portion of the donation is funded to the blood donation programs during disasters such as accidents, war or natural calamities. A little donation is also taken to the domestic disaster relief or refugees.

2) Kids Alive International: this is a Christian based organization which seeks to help the orphans around the world. They have gained a lot of trust from their well wishers due to the high score rate of how they spend the funds being donated. Most of the funds goes towards services which benefits the rescued orphans.

3) Good Scholarship Organizations: As we well know, education is the key to a successful future. It is the right that every child to get quality education. But in some cases, a certain kid might be a genius but, the parents seem to be poor hence they cannot afford a quality education for their little ones. In this case, the school can help such kids to be connected with a good scholarship organization. The Scholarship organization can decide to pay for the particular students, school fees in the school they are already in, or transfer them to a better school and still pay their fee. Mostly, this organization is helpful for the the children who are talented and willing but are living in the orphanage.

4) Direct Relief International: This organization aims in providing medical assistance to world wide victims of needy people or natural disasters victims. This organization works hand in hand with the local partners to ensure that health care provides good medication to any disaster victims. It has also aimed on reducing the HIV/AIDS transmission by distributing a lot of home HIV test kit, which gives a quicker result.

Generally, it feels good having a great sense of humor to donate to the needy. However, if you may feel that a certain organization that you are donating in is not spending the donations quite well, you can as well donate on a personal level. For example, instead of donating to a scholarship organization, you can as well take one needy student and offer at a personal level, the education they deserve.

4 Places to Volunteer in your Community

posted in: Main | 0

Though voluntary work calls for a great heat and willingness to give back to the society, it’s one of the best ways to develop your ability and keep your society strong. To come out as a volunteer isn’t limited to any age but majorly controlled by ability and passion to voluntarily support a specific area. You can choose to volunteer your whole life or part of your time to a specific cause in the society that will directly benefit the society or help build your resume. There have been gaps when it comes to getting started with volunteer work and here are some of the places to volunteer in the community that will fully support your dream.

1. Local Libraries

Setting aside your time to volunteer and support in the local library can be one of those great moves you can make. With the resources available in most of the community-based libraries, this gives you an established foundation to extend your knowledge and develop the love for books, especially in the young age. You get to be active in the society as the working around library calls for sensitization, marketing and encouraging them all to love books.

2. Rescue organization such as the Red Cross

Occurrences of disaster can’t be limited to time and places hence experience to volunteer with Red Cross can add to your skills of disaster management. Apart from offering the donations to support different people across, the Red Cross also offers different chances for volunteer work. You can, therefore, take your passion to the Red Cross and turn the way services are delivered making it possible to touch lives directly.

3. Retirement Homes

Creating your time to volunteer in a retirement home especially the youth comes with a lot of wisdom. This can be a new way to remind the retirees of their past exiting life and create new fun with them. Being a stage that awaits almost everyone in life, volunteering within such an environment gives you a better understanding of the old age. You get to share their old stories about the general history and career development which is very important when realigning to venture into a career.

4. Volunteer at a National Park

Offering your volunteer services at a national park gives you the new view of how to deal with natural resources and animals. You can easily create a good relationship with the already existing staff who can help develop and streamline your career life. You can understand better ways of caring for different animals and nature in general.

You don’t have to volunteer only if you have special skills in a specific field, but this is a better way of developing new skills. Volunteer services have translated to a transformed and strong society as different people are will to support those who are in need.