Little did I know Tuesday was #GivingTuesday but when I found that out it had me wishing I had this post ready only two days earlier. But alas, that did not happen.
Regardless, today I’m kicking off 5 days of holiday gift guides but we’re kicking it off with the best – Five Gifts That Give Back.
I’ve been feeling so blessed this year and I want to give back. So while I know that I still need to be mindful of my own financial situation, I want to give however I can and in more ways than just one. I started brainstorming and here’s what I came up with.
1. Donate food and/or old clothes.
This time of year there’s plenty of food drives and coat donations so these should be fairly easy to track down. My gym had a food drive beforeThanksgiving so I cleaned out my cabinets and gave a bag of food. I’ve also started a pile of clothes that I don’t wear or don’t make me feel confident. Why keep something you won’t wear when there’s someone out there who could use it?
2. Volunteer
Besides just giving food, you could give your time at a food pantry or by ringing a bell with the Salvation Army.
3. Holiday Giving Tree
Whether at your church, doctor’s office or somewhere else, there are many giving trees that give us an opportunity to help give a child a present they otherwise may have get Christmas morning.
4. Retailers that give back
Not just the TOMS Marketplace but there are many retailers that give back with your purchase, especially online. Find one and get your holiday shopping done while knowing you’re giving back.
5. Run a race for a cause
Like my Santa run on Sunday, so many races give back to charities. Find one, have fun running it and know that at the same time, you’re giving to a good cause.
Now it’s your turn, take a moment to realize how blessed you are and find a way to give back.
What are your favorite ways to give back?
Any other ideas on how to give back for the holiday?
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I have a Fitbit fitness tracker … and I’ve found several different websites that connect to it and let me earn charitable donations for my activity. It’s so easy to just connect and then hopefully help out a little. Most of them have other “connections” too (if you don’t have a Fitbit)
http://weightlessproject.org/
https://everymove.org/me/
http://earndit.com/login
I just did a bunch of cleaning/rearranging and donated a TON of stuff. I know you can have a garage sale or list on local classifieds, but I’m too lazy for that and hope that my donations help out.
There are so many reasons and ways to give back this time of year (or any time of year for that matter). I love that you start you gift guide with giving back. Even if you don’t have $ to buy or give you can donate your time (#2). This is truly what we should all take time to do this holiday season.