Giving back

[Mnkinkcpl]

Anyone else volunteering, giving back or paying it forward this holiday season.


Today I'm delivering thanksgiving meals, my list has fifty stops. Then tomorrow I'll be helping prep for meals on Thursday.

In couple of weeks Anne and I will be helping sort toys at the Salvation Army. And Anne has knitted twenty pairs of mittens.

All in All not much but we try and do it every year.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

Twenty meals delivered, my next round starts in about an hour.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

Ended up delivering 53 meals.

 

[Diosax]

I don't do anything particularly special for the holidays but will be buying some stuff donate for unsheltered people

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

I don't do anything particularly special for the holidays but will be buying some stuff donate for unsheltered people

Great every bit helps.

 

[BSwett060]

My adult kids asked me for gift ideas for me. I don’t need any gifts, so I asked the three of them to make a donation to a needy family/child in their communities. I’ll be doing the same.

 

[Cindy027]

I don’t do much but I read about 100 books a year so at this time of year I donate them to a free library.

 

[Mrtenant]

Glad to see this thread. Do something, because doing nothing is heartbreaking. There are people in need everywhere. Sometimes they are right in front of you and you don't even know it. I know people with full time jobs that are homeless. What the hell?

If you are stuck on where to do anything, donate to a food pantry. Not a food bank, but a food pantry. Food pantries are the front line for giving away food to those in need. I know. I operate one.

Bless you all.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

My adult kids asked me for gift ideas for me. I don’t need any gifts, so I asked the three of them to make a donation to a needy family/child in their communities. I’ll be doing the same.

That's a great idea.

I was actually feeling bad a few days ago. This is the first winter since 2005 that I'm not doing snow removal for seniors. Seeing a older couple out shoveling brought it home for me.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

I don’t do much but I read about 100 books a year so at this time of year I donate them to a free library.

What a nice thing to do

 

[Diosax]

Glad to see this thread. Do something, because doing nothing is hearbreaking. There are people in need everywhere. Sometimes they are right in front of you and you don't even know it. I know people with full time jobs that are homeless. What the hell?

It's so heart breaking!

If you are stuck on where to do anything, donate to a food pantry. Not a food bank, but a food pantry. Food pantries are the front line for giving away food to those in need. I know. I operate one.

Bless you all.

Agree!! Donating to grassroots organizations rather than big nonprofits!

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

Glad to see this thread. Do something, because doing nothing is hearbreaking. There are people in need everywhere. Sometimes they are right in front of you and you don't even know it. I know people with full time jobs that are homeless. What the hell?

If you are stuck on where to do anything, donate to a food pantry. Not a food bank, but a food pantry. Food pantries are the front line for giving away food to those in need. I know. I operate one.

Bless you all.

For Thanksgiving I deliver holiday meals, this year they had college students as helpers which made me smile seeing younger folks helping out. My helper was Jamie, she brought all 53 loaded boxes to the door.

 

[BSwett060]

I don’t do much but I read about 100 books a year so at this time of year I donate them to a free library.

That’s great, Cindy!

 

[Mrtenant]

For Thanksgiving I deliver holiday meals, this year they had college students as helpers which made me smile seeing younger folks helping out. My helper was Jamie, she brought all 53 loaded boxes to the door.

Outstanding. Really. Kudos to you and all your people. It is a great goodness.

People think its large numbers that really matter or count. In my experience, local, boots on the ground, operations like this are highly effective not only in helping those in need, but also in building community. A "know your neighbors" kind of thing. I rather like the idea of helping people in my home town. It makes sense to me.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

If you can afford it please drop something in the red kettles for the salvation army, locally they are almost $200,000 behind their goal.

Another way to help us go through your closet and pick out a couple of those winter coats you haven't worn in years and donate it.

Anne loves garage/rummage/tag sales and picks up blankets and quilts and we donate them to local shelters. When she tells the sellers what she is going to do with them she gets many for free.

I know this is the time of the year when most people think about giving and donations but many of the groups that survive on your generosity need help all year long.

As Mrtenant suggested food pantries can use donations all year round.

 

[jeff_is_smiling]

During the holidays, I enjoy secretly paying the bill for couples at restaurants. Specifically, if I see a couple where one is in uniform - military, police, or fire. I bring the server over and tell them to bring me that couple's bill. I usually add an extra amount for some dessert and a nice tip. I tell the server to inform them their bill was paid as a thank you for their service, but not who paid. That way they can imagine that every single person in the restaurant could have paid their bill.

I've often found the servers get as much out of the gesture as I do. They definitely remember that it happened. Unfortunately, it happens on occasion in the Starbucks drive-thru, but not in restaurants...

 

[CarlyAnn]

I volunteer at a few animal shelters all year round. They are needy little people to me and it gives me a chance to interact with my love of cat poop.

As far as Senior citizens go, I pick up prescriptions for a number of people in my neighborhood who have issues getting out themselves. We had to set it up at the pharmacies so I’m able to do it.

On the weekends I visit a couple of nursing homes and assisted care facilities to visit with people who don‘t have anyone to sit with them. I stop off at the Dollar Store and pick up some things for them. It isn’t much but they love to get any kind of gift.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

During the holidays, I enjoy secretly paying the bill for couples at restaurants. Specifically, if I see a couple where one is in uniform - military, police, or fire. I bring the server over and tell them to bring me that couple's bill. I usually add an extra amount for some dessert and a nice tip. I tell the server to inform them their bill was paid as a thank you for their service, but not who paid. That way they can imagine that every single person in the restaurant could have paid their bill.

I've often found the servers get as much out of the gesture as I do. They definitely remember that it happened. Unfortunately, it happens on occasion in the Starbucks drive-thru, but not in restaurants...

Last spring our Great Dane had a stroke while on our upper floor, I was over a hour away at work, Anne had to call the fire station and those great people came over and carried our 180 pound dog out to her car, then they went with her to the vet and helped get him inside.

Unfortunately he didn't recover.

About a week later I saw them in the grocery store and thanked them and paid for their groceries. I have also made them a butcher block cutting board which I will be dropping off at the fire station next week.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

I volunteer at a few animal shelters all year round. They are needy little people to me and it gives me a chance to interact with my love of cat poop.

As far as Senior citizens go, I pick up prescriptions for a number of people in my neighborhood who have issues getting out themselves. We had to set it up at the pharmacies so I’m able to do it.

On the weekends I visit a couple of nursing homes and assisted care facilities to visit with people who don‘t have anyone to sit with them. I stop off at the Dollar Store and pick up some things for them. It isn’t much but they love to get any kind of gift.

Wow! That's a lot to take on. Thank you!

 

[CarlyAnn]

Wow! That's a lot to take on. Thank you!

I think I do it as much for myself as I do it for them. I sometimes get chills just seeing the look on their faces, even the cats and dogs faces.

Or maybe I just have the flu.

 

[beachbaby179]

This year, due to unemployment, I'm scaling back. But in the past I've enjoyed "adopting" a local family for Christmas, doing the Angel tree thing, donating to food pantries and Meals on Wheels, and one year I perused GoFundMe and found a little boy in my area who needed a wheelchair. He got one.

I have several Lit friends with whom I exchange holiday gifts, and in the past few years, those gifts have been to a charity of their choice. We don't really need anything. But lots of folks do.

Do what you can, however small you think it is. To the recipient it's huge.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

I think I do it as much for myself as I do it for them. I sometimes get chills just seeing the look on their faces, even the cats and dogs faces.

Or maybe I just have the flu.

I definitely do it for me, I love how helping others makes me feel.

 

[Anastasia1999]

A city centre church opens its doors to the homeless for the month of January and I help out there making sandwiches and serving hot food and tea and being available to play a game of cards or just to listen/ have a good old chin wag.

Love all your stories

 

[sixfoot4]

I volunteer at a few animal shelters all year round. They are needy little people to me and it gives me a chance to interact with my love of cat poop.

As far as Senior citizens go, I pick up prescriptions for a number of people in my neighborhood who have issues getting out themselves. We had to set it up at the pharmacies so I’m able to do it.

On the weekends I visit a couple of nursing homes and assisted care facilities to visit with people who don‘t have anyone to sit with them. I stop off at the Dollar Store and pick up some things for them. It isn’t much but they love to get any kind of gift.

What a lovely person you are.

 

[CarlyAnn]

What a lovely person you are.

Why thank you sir. Nice to hear