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My Theme/Motto this year will be “Someone Needs Me”. This can be used for any type of
Community Service project.
I know we all want to provide for those less fortunate. Compassion is what makes us human. The cost often stops us from helping. Times are hard for many. Donations are down.
Have you found a way to contribute to your favorite cause other than writing a check or signing up with your credit card? I would love to hear about it.
There are a lot of ways to support causes that include donating your time and expertise or soliciting money from others.
Monetary donations really allow the non-profits and charitable organizations to operate under their plan and mission. Most non-profits rely on money and have systems set to make money become the means to help those they are trying to provide for. They know how best to turn monetary donations into food for the hungry, blankets in winter, or payment of utility bills.
Some ideas for community service that will make a difference for some very needy people during this holiday season.
Support the Homeless by Giving Food Gift Cards
Homelessness is a problem that faces more than 610,000 Americans on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness, according to information provided by the National Coalition for the Homeless , although the exact number is
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difficult to determine.
People find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons. Some have physical or mental problems but nobody to help them out. Others have left abusive households. Many once had a place to live but fell upon hard economic times.
The primary cause of homelessness is lack of affordable housing . According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. Simply put, many homeless people want to better themselves and put forth great efforts to do so, but they are up against tough odds.
Regardless of how they became homeless, the fact remains that the homeless can benefit from the kindness of strangers. Many people get annoyed when a homeless person asks for a handout, but everyone needs and deserves to eat. By giving a homeless person a food gift card, you can ensure your contribution is being used to provide a fellow human being with a basic necessity – and a bit of hope that someone in the world cares.
Admittedly, it is not always easy to decipher whether or not a person who appears homeless is actually a person in need or just a person who hustles for other purposes. To clear your conscious of "What if they don't spend the money on food?” you can go the extra step and buy meal or food certificates to feed the homeless.
Dining establishments such as McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Panera, Pizza Hut, and Dunkin Donuts, among others, all sell gift cards, and some are available for just $1. Another option is to purchase gift cards from a supermarket. Some grocery stores offer gift cards for as little as $5.
The next time you patronize a dining establishment or a grocery store or if you are just passing one, stop in and purchase some gift cards in the amount that you can afford. Then, the next time you see a homeless person or a homeless family on the street, hand them a food gift card. A simple meal is a heartfelt gesture that can brighten the day of someone going through a tough time.
In the Grand Rapids area a donation to Mel Trotter Mission or God’s Kitchen would help feed many of the homeless. I’m sure there are local missions for the homeless in your area.
Donate Your Out-of-Prescription Eyeglasses
Donating your old eyeglasses can save someone in a developing nation from unemployment.
With the cost of glasses equaling a year’s salary in some countries, donated eyeglasses are the only feasible way to bring sight to many visually impaired. These recycled eyeglasses can be the difference between a blacksmith continuing his work or closing up shop, or the factor that enables a woman to support herself by doing embroidery rather than becoming destitute.
Medical missions often call their eye care facilities "joy clinics" because of the happiness that eyeglass donations bring. Imagine the feeling of being a boy who constantly did poorly in school because he couldn't see the words in his books all of a sudden having reading make sense because he received the gift of recycled glasses.
Yet while some mothers in poor, rural areas have never even clearly seen the faces of their children, more than four million pairs of unused eyeglasses go into the garbage in North America each year.
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The good news is that you can make a huge difference in someone's life simply by donating your unworn eyeglasses and spreading the word to others. Groups such as the Lions Club can recycle eyeglasses for as little as 8 cents each. But they cannot do it without your help.
Donate your old eyeglasses and sunglasses to help people with eyesight difficulties worldwide. (Sunglasses can be non-prescription. They are needed in countries near the equator to help protect people's eyes from sun damage.)
The Lions Club has drop boxes in many convenient locations.
To find a LensCrafters , Pearle Vision , Sears Optical , Target Optical , Sunglass Hut , or other facility that collects old eyeglasses for the group OneSight , you can search by zip code on the organization’s site for the location most convenient to you. My local ophthalmologists’ office has a donation bin at the building entrance.
Items also can be sent in padded envelopes or boxes to:
New Eyes for the Needy
549 Millburn Avenue
P.O. Box 332
Short Hills, NJ 07078
E-mail ten friends who wear glasses to see if they have old pairs that could be recycled for people with eyesight problems. Collect them for donation.
Check with lost and found departments in hotels, health clubs, stores, police stations, and mortuaries for unclaimed glasses that could be donated.
Also, consider sponsoring an eyeglasses collection drive at your workplace or house of worship.
Furniture Donation Tips: Help Needy Families
Furniture donation is especially critical for low income families who are forced to make difficult choices between buying food, furniture, prescription drugs, children's clothes, or school supplies.
If you have furniture or household items that no longer fit your lifestyle, but are still useable, there are literally millions of people who could use your furniture donation.
When you donate furniture and household items, they not only get a second chance, they can also give the recipients a feeling of security, comfort, and home. Your furniture donation, for example, can help formerly homeless people who are transitioning to housing, the working poor who don't have enough income left over after paying for necessities, elderly people on fixed incomes, abused women who leave their situation and seek new shelter, families who have lost possessions or their homes to fire or other disasters, struggling college students, refugees from war-torn countries who resettle in the United States, low income elderly transitioning out of a nursing home to an apartment, and people who have lost their jobs.
Your sofa donation may mean a child does not have to sleep on the floor; a kitchen table and chairs may mean a family can eat together; a desk gives a child a place to do homework; a blender means an elderly person can better prepare meals. Your furniture donation is not only good for people; donated furniture also stays out of our overflowing landfills. Learn how you can make a difference with your furniture donation today.
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Some organizations will pick up donated furniture and household items, while others ask you to drop them off.
It may be inconvenient or even impossible for you to transport your donated furniture (not everyone has an appropriate vehicle or the help necessary to move such items), and it is also true that some worthy organizations do not always have the extra funds and/or volunteer power to make pickups. If you want to donate furniture to an organization that cannot pick up your donation, you may want to ask family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers for assistance. Perhaps they will have furniture to donate as well!
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Contact the National Furniture Bank Association to see if there is a local affiliate near you. The National
Furniture Bank Association is a network of facilities throughout the United States that collect and distribute used furniture and household items to people in need.
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Charities that typically provide pickup service for donated furniture and household items (as well as drop-off points) include The Salvation Army, LOVE Inc., Big Brothers, Big Sisters , and Vietnam Vets of
America (small furniture only) often have trucks that are scheduled to pick up in different locations.
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Contact churches in your area. Many either have furniture donation programs for needy individuals and families or know of people who can use furniture and household items.
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Consider donating furniture to a homeless shelter, a battered women's shelter, or to a refugee resettlement program. You can find telephone numbers for these organizations in your local phone book
(women's shelters will have a phone number but no address for security reasons), or contact your local
United Way for information on groups in your area.
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If you have durable medical equipment (shower chairs, walkers, toilet seats, etc.) that once belonged to a family member or is no longer in use consider donating it to a local 501C3 nonprofit Area Agency on
Aging. It will go to help low income elderly who cannot afford that item.
Please be courteous. Most nonprofits are not equipped to clean dirty upholstery or repair broken furniture or household items, so please only donate items that are usable, unless directed otherwise.
Clothing Donation
Clothing donations are needed by many of the estimated 3.5 million people homeless people, 1.35 million of whom are children, living in the United States. But the need doesn't end there: the National Center for Children in Poverty notes that about 32.4 million children living in low-income families and 16.1 million living in poor families—and their parents— could also benefit from donated clothes. As the number of families losing their homes rises, so does the need for donated clothing.
Clothing donations to qualified charitable organizations are tax deductible.
For tax deduction purposes, Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army publish guidelines for the valuation of donated items, including clothing and shoes.
Clothing-donation needs include: school clothes, coats and other cold-weather accessories, professional clothing for employment interviews, and shoes, which wear out quickly and must be replaced often, especially among growing children.
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Donated clothes are critical for mothers and young children who must flee their homes because of domestic violence or abuse. Often these women and children leave under dangerous circumstances with only the clothes on their backs.
Clothes donations are also especially needed by homeless veterans. Approximately 13 percent of homeless adults are veterans, with more joining their ranks from the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars.
Clothing donations should be clean, undamaged, and reasonably wrinkle-free. Clothing can be folded and packed in sturdy boxes or bags; avoid hangers. Items that come in pairs (shoes, gloves, socks) should be kept together (shoe laces can be tied together, gloves and socks can be stuffed inside each other). Pockets should be emptied and any belts should be securely fastened to their appropriate items.
Get a tax deduction by donating clothes that do not fit anymore:
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The Salvation Army, LOVE Inc., Vietnam Veterans of America , and the Military Order of the Purple
Heart will pick up clothing, shoes, and household items from most locations in the United States. If you don't have a lot of items, you may want to ask friends, neighbors, and coworkers if they would like to make a clothing and shoe donation as well. The Salvation Army has drop-off locations for your clothing donations and other items. Some Big Brother Big Sister facilities accept donated clothing and shoes as well. (Fill in your zip code to contact the facilities near you to see if they take donations.) It is possible that area missions and women’s shelters may also take donations.
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Check with schools and day care centers in your area. Many of these facilities have family centers that collect clothing and shoes for students who are in need.
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If you live or work in an area where you have access to homeless people, you can offer clothing and shoes to them personally.
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Donate Your Old Shoes , Give Your Sole , and Soles4Souls are nonprofits that collect gently used shoes for children and adults in need.
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If you have clothing suitable for women who have special needs, see Hand-Me-Down Used Clothing for
Women .
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Many churches take donations or have donation bins located on their property.
Your clothing donation can make a big difference in the lives of children and adults in need. For tax purposes, you should keep a list of the clothing you donate. Donation centers usually give you a tax receipt, but if you mail your clothing or shoe donation to a charity, also send a self-addressed, stamped envelope so it can send you a receipt. Shipping costs are tax deductible as well.
What other ideas can you think of?? There are too many to list.
Wendy L. Lynema
2105 43 rd St, SE Apt. A-2
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
(616) 560-3666 bubblesaux126@yahoo.com
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