It's time to give back!
So I've been neglecting the ol' blog but all my mind had been able to think about when it comes to blog topics is how frustrated I was with my husband's work and how they still hadn't told him when he was coming home for Christmas as of last Friday. I doubt anyone wants to read a months worth of complaining, moody, hot mess. I get tired of it! While most people do their 'giving' around the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas), there really is no reason why you can't do it year round. Glamour magazine puts out this pretty nifty (yes, I said nifty) list: 31 Days of Giving. 
Yes, it's meant for the holiday months but since I'm such a whiny procrastinator, I'm doing it now as I'm sure we can all find some things on here that we can do for others. Heck, why not spread it out over a year so you do all of them? Ease back on those daily Starbuck visits and put it toward something....helpful.
- Help get PJs to kids in shelters so they won't have to sleep in their clothes by giving just $10 at www.pajamaprogram.org.
- Mentor a struggling student online at www.icouldbe.org. Studies suggest that a little boost can double a kid's chance of going to college.
- Donate books you've already read to your library.
- End homelessness through soccer: $10 to www.streetsoccerusa.org helps a homeless person meet challenges on and off the field.
- Fight malnutrition. A $1 gift to www.vitaminangels.org will provide much-needed vitamin supplements to children in places like Honduras and Haiti.
- Tend a garden. $5 to www.dinnergarden.org buys seeds for enough veggies to feed a struggling family of 7.
- Do some pro bono work. Whether you're in marketing or IT, www.taprootfoundations.org can match you with a non-profit in your community that needs your skills.
- Get lifesaving malaria medication to 10 children by donating $25 to www.savethechildren.org
- Click and give...at www.care2.org, every click you make prompts a sponsor to make a donation that will fight breast cancer, global warming and more.
- ...or surf and give. Use GoodSearch to find what you're looking for online, and every search will send money to the cause of your choice.
- Regift. Turn gift cards you'll never use into donations to your favorite charity at www.plasticjungle.com.
- Provide solar power. $50 to www.goodgifts.org will send and African village a solar lamp, stove and water heater.
- Prevent a disease. A $50 donation will allow www.doctorswithoutborders.org to vaccinate 50 people against meningitis, polio and other diseases.
- Send a free holiday card to a soldier abroad via www.redcross.org/email/saf
- Have a potluck with your friends instead of going out - give the $35 you save to www.strength.org to feed a child for a month.
- Keep someones lights on. Even $5 at www.smallcanbebig.org makes a difference to a family who needs help with bills due to illness or domestic violence.
- Inspire a leader. A donation to the Binti Pamoja Center (their center means "daughters united" in Swahili) helps a girl in a Kenyan slum pay for school and learn how to be a community leader.
- Keep girls on the team. Giving to Robin Roberts GoGirlGo! Fund www.womenssportsfoundation.org will help girls displaced by Hurricane Katrina stay in sports.
- Help those helping others. $150 to www.homebasedcarealliance.org will supply medicine plus sterile gloves and a bicycle to a caregiver for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Reach out to the new kid. $35 buys a winter coat for a resettled refugee in the US at www.theirc.org
- Feed 4 children in Tanzania a healthy breakfast for just $1 at www.gocampaign.org, a non-profit run with the help of kids from the US.
- Warm toes. $5 to www.hannahssocks.org buys seven pairs for a homeless person.
- Play trivia. At www.freekibbles.com, every answer - right or wrong - sends 10 pieces of dog food to an animal shelter in need.
- Help women recover after childbirth. www.fistulafoundation.org helps train doctors to care for the 2 to 3 million women who have injuries from prolonged or obstructed labor.
- Stock a refrigerator. Just $1 to www.feedingamerica.org will provide nine pounds of groceries to a hungry family in the US.
- Knit. Send squares to www.warmupamerica.org; they'll be made into afghans and given to battered women's shelters.
- Give peace to survivors of sexual trauma. $47 to the International Medical Corps (www.imcworldwide.org) delivers medical and mental health care to refugees who have suffered sexual violence.
- Turn your wedding into a charitable event. At www.idofoundation.org, you can link your registry to your favorite cause. Each purchase triggers a donation from a retailer.
- Starve a landfill. Make this a "no wrapping paper" year.
- Keep a woman safe. At www.madre.org, $30 buys a cell phone for a rural Afghan woman; if threatened by violence, she can make a lifesaving call.
- Give the gift of opportunity. At www.worldvisionmicro.org, you can make a microloan to help a woman in a developing country get her own small business up and running.
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