The world is full of people who could use some help. Some have no family to lean on and this holiday season and it is not one full of much joy. and happiness. Loneliness and physical need run rampant in this country and we as a country need to do better. If you have family, food, shelter and clothing, you can count yourself lucky. Many do not even have the basics of life.
Giving back to others has many rewards. When you have all you need, reaching out to others can be a blessing in your life. There are so many things that you can do to help and bless someone elses life.
Here are ways you can give back this holiday season.
- You can combine your varied exercise programs with a great cause during this holiday season. There are many different races that are run all around the country that you can participate in, but the New York Road Runners’ Jingle Bell Jog 5K offers avid runners the fantastic opportunity to raise some money for various different youth programs that will benefit nearly 250,000 children all across this country. This year’s race is marked for December 14, so write this in your calendar and dust off your running shoes.
- Pay Away the Layaway is a wonderful non-profit organization that will help to pay off layaway balances for various families in need. By donating, you will pay off balances on gifts for needy children—everything from games, toys, and books to backpacks, clothes, and coats. There is no better way to give back for this holiday season than by actively helping those in need provide their families with the things they need, as well as gifts that will seem like a holiday miracle for them and their children.
- Throughout the country, there are so many people alone in nursing homes who do not have any family that will visit them during the holiday season, and that can without a doubt be a terribly lonely and isolated feeling. The Holiday Project is a fantastic organization that “brings the spirit of a holiday to those who otherwise might not have a celebration.” They will organize different visits to people that are alone in nursing homes.
- Almost everyone knows about the amazing charitable work Make-A-Wish Foundation that does miracles every year. They have a travel wish program that they grant and they need more than 2.8 billion miles or 50,000 round-trip tickets. There is no more of a simple way to donate your miles. If you’ve saved up your frequent flier miles, you can donate them to their Wishes in Flight program where they don’t expire and are used to “help grant a life-changing wish experience.”
- When you have parents in prison, it’s hard to guarantee your holidays will be that happy. Its a guarantee they will be sad for children. They may not receive any gifts at all with their parent or parents in jail. Well, you can help this often-overlooked population, Angel Tree is an organization that provides presents to these needy and lonely children. And you can help through your donations as a small way to guarantee some light and happiness to these children, who through no fault of their own, have parents in jails and prisons.
- You can support the armed forces in their yearly holiday celebrations tby donating to the Christmas Spirit Foundation. This wonderful organization provides beautiful, free, farm-grown Christmas trees to different members of the United States Armed Forces and their families. In 2018, they provided an astounding 16,500 free trees to military families all across this country.
- It’s always such a sad day when sick and injured children have to spend their time in the hospital during the year, but it’s especially sad during the holidays when they can’t spend time at home with their loved ones. Child’s Play is a great organization that works to provide children in pediatric hospitals essential, fun distractions in the form of new video game consoles and games.
Its not hard to do good this holiday season. Give more then you receive and you will be blessed and feel like you are doing something to help in the world today. Try these suggestions and feel great doing it. There are so many other ways besides these that you can also do. Pick one, two or even three to give back to. Include your children in this so they can see the needs in the world and also see how blessed they are with what they have. Give back and be blessed this holiday season and help year round to meet the unending needs in this world.