Topics for talk March

[pattrose]

Ways To Make a Difference

There are so many different ways to volunteer. I don't volunteer as much as I used to because I'm not as healthy. So now I help out mostly by donating to worthy causes. I give monthly to my food bank near our house. We also give to St. Jude's Hospital monthly. Two more, and then I'm done. I give monthly to PBS and to the library near us. I hope that it helps. I used to volunteer at the food bank, but it got harder and harder to do. I believe that the donations make a difference, even if I feel like I'm letting them down.

Comments

[fairyniamh]

It helps. Everything counts, no matter what. It's the heart that counts.

[pattrose]

I was hoping so.

[kazzy_cee]

I'm sure the money makes a real difference, and you have to look after yourself too.

[pattrose]

Thank you. I miss my volunteering days.

[kitarella_imagines]

I am the same as you. I did lots of volunteering when younger but now days I rarely leave the house so I'm limited to donations and signing petitions.

I've signed soooo many petitions that my name must be on a list somewhere as a person to keep an eye on! 😅

[pattrose]

I've been signing petitions too. How funny. As long as it's for a good cause, I sign it.

[kitarella_imagines]

Oh yes I probably sign about 3 per day. If there is a list anywhere of which petitions I've signed it must be in the thousands over the years! 😅I'm probably being surveilled by MI5 as a Suspicious Person. But I can't get out to demonstrations so I fight with my keyboard, viva la revolucion!

[pattrose]

Exactly. We do what we can with what we have. Happy Monday.

[kitarella_imagines]

Happy Monday to you 💓

[switchbladeeyes]

Donations definitely make a difference!

[pattrose]

I think so too. It's the best I can do right now.

[dreamersdare]

I think the thing to remember is that everything helps. Whatever resource you're donating - whether it's time, money, expertise - is all things these organisations can use to further their work. You do make a difference ♥

[pattrose]

Thank you.

[galadhir]

I'm the same. With the fibro, I know I am not reliable to volunteer to do anything physical, but I think that money helps. So many places seem to need it atm!

[pattrose]

Isn't that the truth?

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Both volunteering and donating are good ways to make a difference. As you noted, volunteering gets harder with poor health, and also many folks are too broke for donating. So here are a few other ideas...

* If you can talk and you like people, then you can visit or phone people who have a hard time getting out. This is a good way to keep extroverts from completely losing their minds when they have few or no opportunities for activities. Some charities or churches organize this sort of thing, but you can just as well do it on your own for folks you know, like when they have a new baby or a serious injury keeps them inactive for a while.

* Native plants are adapted to each locale, so they need little or no care. You can buy a packet or bag of wildflower seeds once and have the active ingredient to make many seed bombs because you only need a pinch of seeds per seed bomb. Just toss or drop one in overgrown areas like an empty lot or where plants are growing tall beside a fence. At home, natives make great "throw and grow" garden options, plus you can enjoy the wildlife they attract.

* The most effective activism method I've found is plain old storytelling. It's the one with the highest number of people telling me "I did the thing." So if you're good at that, pick your favorite worthy cause and tell stories that show people what a better future for it could look like. If you're not personally a storyteller, you can make a difference with related actions such as giving prompts in crowdfunding events or recommending hopeful books that you've read. bookclub_dw lets members volunteer to host a month, where you get to propose several titles for readers to vote which they wish to read.

Re: Thoughts

[pattrose]

These are all good ideas and suggestions.
Thanks.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm happy I could help. I have a lot of friends with different limitations, so we often talk about different ways to achieve the same general end.