Huston: Ways to Give Back to Your Community

Thanks to Walgreens?for sponsoring my writing.? Help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here?to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote.

I?ve always wondered about the people who don?t give back to their community. I think many more people would be interested in giving back,?but perhaps they don?t know where to look for volunteer opportunities,?or they feel they don?t have time, or they don?t even have enough money. I thought that I?d like to help those people get some inspiration, perhaps even give them a gentle push, because I feel helping out others is one of the most important actions a human being can take. So, I?m going to tell you about my experience volunteering, and what you can do to help others, even if you don?t have much money, time, or energy.

When I lost my full-time job almost 2 years ago, one of the many things that worried me was the thought of how my volunteering and annual donations was going to be effected by my job loss. I found new volunteer jobs that were closer to home. I made sure we still bought one family membership at a local nonprofit, like The Detroit Zoo, The Henry Ford Museum, or The Detroit Institute of Arts. Not only is the pass a tax deduction, but?we use it often, for a day of family fun. I donate all sorts of things to charities, from new books to gently used toys, good clothes to older electronics and furniture. I even collect all of the free toothpaste, toothbrushes, mini lotions, shampoos, face cleaner samples, etc. that I receive all year and give them to homeless shelters or rape crisis centers, so people can make sure they have those items when they need them.?As someone who used to deliver rape kits to the children?s section?of emergency rooms, as I was told most rapes that come into the ER?s are children, you?d understand why I compulsively do?this. I still make sure to make it a point to give something during the holidays, because as a child and teenager, people gave me free Christmas presents, paid for my meals, or even paid for me to attend summer camp and other fun events.?I write blog posts like this one, or?write letters on behalf of charities all the time, sometimes without those charities even realizing I?m helping them out. I feel it is my duty to help other people in need, especially because?I have the time, the means, the brains, and the desire to do it.

I started volunteering when I was 12 years-old. My best friend and I loved children, and we were always babysitting or playing with younger neighborhood strays (kids whose moms went to work and left them unattended or with their older, bad sibling babysitters all day), so when we heard?her church was looking for help with their summer vacation bible school, we signed up. I LOVED it, and it gave me the courage to apply for my first job working with children when I was 15. I loved my Parks and Recreation, and I spent a total of 8 summers getting paid to work with emotionally impaired kids at various parks, playgrounds and summer camps. My friends all loved my job too, and they would come and play at my parks, even bringing their younger siblings and the kids they got paid to babysit. That volunteer job formed who I became as an adult?because?I?have a business degree in Public Administration with minors in?Recreation and Community Development, and I?ve spent years volunteering at a variety of nonprofits and organizations, or just doing good deeds to help others, like making a stranger smile or feel at ease.

Here I am hamming it up with my high school science project, my rooster Thor, who I made sure to donate to a semi-local farm. I also managed to get most of my classmates to donate their birds along with mine.

I didn?t stop volunteering my time once I started getting paid to love and play with children?I went above and beyond with the kids I worked with on the playgrounds. I realized many of them were growing up like I did?they had no money to go on field trips, no lunch to eat all day, and sadly, I had a few kids ages 4-8 who crossed major roads by themselves to get to my park. I created a system where good parents would?pack a little extra in their child?s lunch, and those kids would share with the ones who couldn?t go home to eat since their parent(s) were at work. I asked older kids to start walking younger kids back and forth to the parks, and at the age of 15, I discovered my gift of getting people to do things by going door to door asking businesses in the area to donate items like free ice cream, free mini golf, free toys, free paper to print flyers, and free supplies, space and water?so we could have car washes to raise money for big field trips. I know a made a difference in those kids lives, not only because you could see it in their eyes, but because as an adult, I ran into one of those kids and he told me, then he proceeded to go buy me lunch.

Now, I realize not everyone thinks of starting their kids volunteering early. But, I think this is the best time for people to learn how to give back, so my own step-daughter volunteered several summers?at her local library. There are so many places kids can?volunteer in middle school, and church is one of them. So?are recreation departments, libraries, schools, animal shelters and a variety of nonprofits, homeless shelters and food banks. You can even expose your children to the idea of helping others early on, by participating in charity events as a family like 5K Walk/Runs, buying t-shirts from nonprofits for you and your kids to wear to raise awareness,?volunteering in your children?s school, like I once did, or you can even build houses together like my friends B and A do. I loved hearing how my friend?s husband built a house with his co-worker, then just started doing it on his own, and then eventually asked his family to join him. Like my friend?s husband, if you volunteer, you can come home from your volunteer job?and tell your family what you did, showing them brochures, or photographs, if you work as?a?volunteer photographer like I do. I?ve actually read newsletter articles out loud to my stepson about the trips sick kids get to take because of the money and time I donate to a charity, which in turn helps my Autism Spectrum child understand?empathy easier. Doing just one good thing for one person in your community goes a long way, so why not let me know all of the things you do to help out your community?

Don?t forget to help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here?to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote.? I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.