Finding support and help: how your community can make a difference?

Zeeshan Ali
May 8, 2016
3 min read

As spring approaches, it’s time to shed our coats and mittens and to get outside to enjoy the beautiful world we all share. It can also be a great time to give back to your community. Here are a few ideas for how you can get involved and make a difference in someone's life: SPRING CLEANING Spring cleaning can be a great way for you to simplify, reduce the clutter and make a difference in somebody else’s life. As you get rid of clothes, toys, books and furniture, think about donating them. • If you’re passionate about animals, you could make dog toys of all those t-shirts you never wear for your local animal shelter. Other things to donate to a shelter include newspaper (to be shredded as bedding), toilet paper and paper towel tubes (they’re great chew toys for puppies), scraps of fabric (cats love beds made from soft scraps) and of course leashes, bowls and pet food. • If you have of old toys and books you would like to get rid of, consider donating them to your local YMCA or hospital. Hospitals in particular are always looking for donations to cheer up their waiting rooms. • Have furniture that you’d like out of your house? Consider donating it to a local charity that helps people transitioning out of homelessness – then you know your stuff is going to a good home. • Don’t have time to take your items to a donation site? Some charities will pick them up. PARTICIPATE IN AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUILD As the weather gets warm, get a group of friends together and donate a Saturday morning to help with a local organization to promote affordable housing. If you’ve always wondered about how to build a house’s frame or hang drywall, this is a great way to learn. For those less interested in construction, there are always painting and landscaping opportunities. Habitat for Humanity is an organization dedicated to helping families secure safe and affordable housing; houses are built or renovated over the course of many weeks, and you can choose what sort of project you would like to help with. A really neat thing about Habitat is that you get to work with the family who will move into the house you’re working on. VolunteerMatch is great resource to help you find other local volunteer opportunities. This is a fun and easy way to earn community service hours for school or the National Honor Society. ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP We all wish that we lived in a cleaner world. Grab a group of friends, bring some latex gloves and trash bags, head to your local park or beach and make it happen! Just by picking up the trash in your community, you can lead by example and encourage others to clean up. Maybe you’ll even inspire some to think twice before littering. If you’re tapped into social media, document and share your clean-up and make people think about how they interact with their local environment. • Be sure to separate things that can be recycled (e.g. bottles and cans) from other trash so that you can properly dispose of what you collect. RAISE MONEY FOR A WORTHY CAUSE If there’s a cause that you’re passionate about, fundraising on its behalf is a great way to promote and support it. Things to keep in mind when selecting an organization include making sure they have 501(c) (3) status, a tax-exempt status that reflects the organization’s legitimacy, researching how much of donated money goes toward supporting the charity’s mission and performing due-diligence on making sure that the organization is listening to community it serves. Charity Navigator is a great resource, and let's you see how the money you donate is allocated within the organization. The wealth of information available to us thanks to the internet makes it easier now than ever before to make sure you’re choosing the best way to support a cause that’s important to you. Some tried and true ways to raise funds include letter-writing campaigns, a bake sale at your school, appealing to the people of the internet via GoFundMe or similar sites, doing yard-work around your community and getting sponsored for running a 5k. Many organizations have ideas for how to raise funds, so reach out if you’re stuck. GET CREATIVE These are just a few suggestions for ways to support your community and those in need this spring. We would love to hear other ideas you have about ways to engage with your community and make a difference. Here at Broadreach, we are committed to improving the communities we touch and are always looking for ways to positively impact others.