The news is full of depressing stories, but there are still people in the world who choose to be a light in the midst of the darkness by sharing their blessings with the less fortunate. A few examples are some lottery winners who have been feeling generous. Instead of keeping their money to themselves or splurging it all on fast cars and big houses, they decided to donate a substantial portion of their winnings to humanitarian causes and philanthropic projects.
A special mention is due to Tom Crist, a Lotto Max draw winner of $40 million in Canada back in 2013. He gave $1.2 million to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in honor of his late wife who passed away from cancer. The rest of his winnings went to the foundation he established as well as other charitable organizations.
Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to win the lottery, but acts of generosity don’t need to be grand to make a difference. There are many ways to pay it forward and cheer up someone else’s day, a few of which are:
Asking for donations in lieu of gifts
You can pledge your birthday by asking for donations to a cause you support instead of sending you gifts. To make it easy for your network, you can do this online. In 2017, Facebook launched a feature that lets you create fundraisers for your birthday directly on the site or app. After you choose one out of the 750,000 US nonprofits on Facebook’s list, your friends will receive an invitation to donate in honor of your birthday.
Giving away your long-unworn clothes
Old clothes — damaged, discolored, and out of style — are easy to give away. However, there’s a good chance that you have nice clothes hiding in the back of our closet. You’ve kept them because you’re still hoping to lose weight or they hold sentimental value for you. But if you haven’t worn them in six months or more, it’s time to let them go. Not only will you have more free space and less clutter, but you’ll also extend your beloved clothes’ shelf life when someone else gets to enjoy wearing them.
Volunteering at a food bank near you
Aside from cash and kind, you can also donate time and effort. Volunteers keep the meal programs, food pantries, and soup kitchens all over the country running smoothly. So if you sign up for one, rest assured your presence will be highly valued. You’ll also get something special in return: a chance to meet new friends, interact with your community, and gain new skills.
Someone Cares Soup Kitchen Food Line
Putting together a care package
You can create a care package for a soldier, homeless person, foster kid, single mom. They can be someone you know, or be a complete stranger. It’s up to you to decide who your recipient will be. Once you’ve chosen who they are, you can look up online what items to put in the package, as well as how to send it out. For example, if you want to send a care package to a soldier, you can visit Support Our Troops for information.
Tipping a bigger amount than usual
Gratuities are common in the US, but you can raise the bar by giving more than what is expected. Instead of the customary 20% when dining out, why not make it 30% or 50% (or more, if you’re feeling it) especially if you received exceptional service from the server assigned to your table? If you happen to be a regular at that establishment, you may even get extra special treatment when you come back, so it’s a win-win for everyone.
Regardless of your status in life, you can always do something nice to restore someone else’s lost faith in humanity. Big or small, they all matter. You may never know just how much, but at the very least, they do count.
Photo Credits
Volunteer – pixabay creative commons
Soup Kitchen – Flickr – Some rights reserved by Kimco Realty
Guest Author Bio
Kate Sanders
Kate is an author and admin at Ippio.com, writing useful articles and HOW TOs on various topics. Particularly interested in topics such as Interior design, lifestyle, health, beauty, fashion, technology, and more.
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