Ten Ways to Help Others This Summer

The summer months are usually mostly about fun and spending time outside and socializing. It doesn't hurt too much though to find some time to do some good deeds too. If you put some thought into it you can even find ways to do good deeds without spending a dime.

Volunteer

Signing up to volunteer at a hospital or school won't cost you any money but will benefit society tremendously. I have volunteered in a hospital Emergency Room. It really does feel rewarding to help others, especially when people are in crisis.

Summer is a great time to sign up to volunteer at a school. You can get ready to start volunteering in the fall by contacting a school now and saying that you'd like to volunteer. Many schools have lost a lot of funding due to the financial crisis and are desperate for volunteers.

There are many places that need volunteers, like stores including the Salvation Army, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. Also, some libraries need volunteers too, especially now that budget cuts are diminishing staff at many libraries.

Give Blood

Donating blood saves lives. In the summer months, when people are traveling and busy having fun, blood donations can drop to low levels. So contact the Red Cross or a local hospital and find out the date of the next blood drive.

Giving blood is an extreme good deed! It doesn't take much time. Most blood drives, such as all the ones I've participated in from the Red Cross, are very well run.

To get information about Red Cross blood drives go HERE.

Use Your Talents

If there is a crisis in the world (such as the BP oil spill or earthquake) it is an opportunity to use talents to publicize how to help others. If you are a writer you can publish articles about how to help out after the disaster. If you are an artist you could design t-shirts or other items to sell to raise funds to help those impacted by the disaster.

We all have talents. It is very special to use one's skills to help those whose lives have suddenly been impacted by disaster.

Give Up a Vice

We all have those little vices that cost us money. One way to ease back from the vice is to decide to quit it and donate money that would have been spent on it to charity. Figure out how much the Starbucks costs for the summer, or how much cigarettes cost, or how much is spent on junk food and for the summer months forego the vice and donate the money to a charity you admire.

Get Ready to Raise Funds for UNICEF at Halloween

It is a fun project for a family or individual to raise funds for UNICEF. Find some time during the summer to go to the UNICEF website and order the free supplies and money boxes to be used on Halloween day. Discuss the project now with family or friends and by Halloween you will be ready to participate.

UNICEF has been in existence a long time and helps children worldwide. To learn more about how to get involved in raising funds for UNICEF on Halloween go HERE.

Start a Penny Jar

A penny jar is an old fashioned way to save. It is also a way to accumulate cash to help others. If you start a penny jar at some point during the summer, by the holidays you might have enough money in it to make a donation to a charity.

Send Package to Soldier

Many regions of America are enduring a heat wave now. That's nothing compared to the temperatures soldiers are facing in Afghanistan. So a good deed would be to send a package to a soldier. Some helpful items to include in the package are baby wipes (to clean off sand from face), snacks such as nuts, raisins, dried apricots, or chips, books, DVDs, music, and whatever other items you have around the house that a soldier might enjoy.

For more information about sending a package to a soldier to go to the website AnySoldier.com HERE

Donate to Food Pantry

The next time you see a 2 for 1 sale get some items for free and donate them to a food pantry. Also, go through your own larder and see if you have more food than you will actually use before it goes bad. Sometimes people stock up during sales and then never get around to using the items. Donate any excess food you know won't be used in a timely manner.

Another way to donate to a food pantry is to ask everyone you know to bring extra produce from the garden to you. Each time you collect enough, bring it to the local food pantry to help others.

Donate Books & Magazines to Nursing Homes

Many people just throw out used books and magazines. That is a shame and bad for the environment too. It is fun to recycle old reading material by donating it somewhere. Nursing homes have residents who would love to see a pile of magazines in the community room.

Thrift shops also often accept magazines and books. Donating books to the thrift shop will give someone a chance to get a good book at cheap cost, and the funds raised will go to the charity the thrift shop supports.

Set a Goal to Donate to a College

I recently read an article about a woman who left millions to a college. She had worked as a secretary and accumulated great wealth via buying some shares of stock from the medical company where she worked.

Maybe you could find some time this summer to think about a goal you'd like to achieve later in life to help others. Once a goal is described in writing sometimes it is easier to focus on achieving it. So find some time to describe in writing a goal and put the document in a place where you can easily find it to look at for motivation. You could also add information to a will about a certain amount of your finances you will want donated to a certain college for scholarships.

I think the woman who donated her money to help provide scholarships is quite inspirational. To read more about how Grace Groner donated $7 million dollars to a college go HERE.

Sources:

NBC

Citizen Times

Red Cross