20 Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season

Whether it be volunteering, giving money, or writing our servicemen a holiday card, there are endless ways we can give back.  Today I am sharing 20 Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season

20 Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season

Today in honor of you, my readers and on behalf of A Cedar Spoon, I am donating $50 to Kiva, one of my favorite organizations.  Kiva  is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Learn more about how it works.  I love that by giving money to Kiva I am empowering someone somewhere in the world to better their life by allowing them the opportunity to grow their business and create opportunity for themselves. 

The holidays are not just about food, family and gifts, it is also a time to reflect on how blessed we are to have the things we have: a roof over our head, hot food on the table, clothes on our back.  The holidays are a great time to think about others including those that might be less fortunate. Today I am sharing 20 Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season.

In my family we take time to do something for others at the holidays whether we buy a toy for a child in need, volunteer at a soup kitchen or bake for a neighbor. As my children get older I am excited to involve them in the process of giving back.  Hopefully you will find a few things on this list that you can do this year with your family!

Below are 20 ways that you and your family can give back this holiday season:

1. Giving of your time by volunteering at your favorite non-profit organization
2. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
3. Donate food to a food pantry
4. Give toys to children in need: (two examples: Angel Tree, Toys for Tots)
5. Write cards to servicemen
6. Send care packages to servicemen (Stop by military.com for ideas on how to send care packages)
7. Send a Christmas tree to servicemen (Christmas Spirit Foundation is an example of an organization that helps facilitate this)
8. Volunteer at a nursing home: bake for them or sing carols
9. Bake/cook for a neighbor or coworker in need
10. Donate coats
11. Save change throughout the year and donate to an organization at the end of the year
12. Clean your closet and donate clothes to Goodwill or other organization
13. Host a toy drive
14. Write cards to hospitalized or children that are terminally ill
15. Donate to a country that recently had a natural disaster (or an organization serving those countries)
16. Create and give a stocking to a foster children
17. Donate money: pick your favorite organization- a few of my favorite organizations to donate to include Kiva, Heifer, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, charity: water
18. Giving back virtually: Install browser for a cause through Chrome (Browse For A Cause is a service which allows you to support your favorite charity by browsing the internet.)
19. Play freerice (Freerice is a free online game and learning tool, that allows players to raise rice to fight world hunger while learning through educational, multiple-choice games. For every question the user answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme.)
20. Care2: Click to Donate (you click and the sponsors of the website donate)

What are your favorite ways to give back? I would love to hear about how you and/or your family and children give back to your community or the world around you.

Julia