I'm organizing a Trick-or-Treating for canned goods group this Halloween.
This means calling a local food bank (probably Second Harvest Gleaners) and finding out what foods they may need the most, sending out fliers to the neighborhood we're planning to visit and making them aware that we're coming and finding some people who would be interested in helping out.
I'm really excited for this opportunity to help out. I've always loved trick or treating as a child and dressing up in costume and I can do these things now AND do something good for my community!
Having faith in myself is becoming a small issue, as I really want this to work out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed :) I will keep updating with all of the details when I have them!
I got this idea when I came across this blog, So What Can I Do?. It not only has a list of things you can do this season, but it also has resources for anyone to help anywhere with anything! I know that I'd really like to be able to do more hands-on work with my community (as in volunteer work and the like) and sometimes... my mind draws a blank. Check it out.
If you have any experience in this sort of thing, or even any advice, I'd be more than happy to hear it!
Did you know Stephan Fry has a charity foundation for Bipolar Disorder? I have the link on my side bar, it's called Equilibrium, check it out :)
That just made my day!
I got a letter today from my friend Caitlyn who is far away in Japan right now- how exciting! She gave me an excellent suggestion about making some lists to help involve my readers (and it'll probably help to narrow down my scattered thoughts!).
So, here's a list from me:
Alex and I were at the grocery store the other day waiting to check out when we noticed an older woman decked out head to toe in Harley Motorcycle leathers. Skull cap, long braid with leather covering it, heavy leather jacket, chaps and boots- she looked like a classic biker broad.
I shouldn't be quick so judge here, as my father is a biker and I've had many people in and out of my life who were bikers and wore very similar outfits and were lovely people all around, but for some reason, my first impression was that she was as mean as she looked.
The woman in front the biker woman had a baby on her hip as she was scanning her items on the self - check out and looked a bit frazzled... though, I didn't notice this until our friend in chaps bent down and picked up the items at the very bottom of the cart, that the mother would not have easily gotten with a moody baby attached to her, and placed them by the scanner for her.
It was at that point that I felt extremely stupid.
Doesn't it suck to be judged by your appearance? I'm the type of person who doesn't like to leave my home without mascara (at least)! I've always believed in looking nice where ever I go... But what if "looking nice" is different from person to person? Who was I to judge that biker woman for wearing leathers and having a gruff appearance? If I know anything about bikers (thanks dad!) I know that they're usually pretty damn proud of their bike and anything that has to do with their bike (e.g., their chaps, their leather jackets, etc.).
I remember my dad telling me a story about an old friend of his who was literally turned away from a church he'd wanted to attend when he showed up looking like a biker. I'm not sure if this meant he was in leathers, but I can imagine this meant NOT clean-cut Ralph Lauren polo shirts, cleanly shaven and short, trimmed hair... because I don't think my dad knows anyone like that! :) Ok, ok, that was me exaggerating slightly, but my point is that he looked different and that wasn't excepted- it was judged.
I don't have a picture of my dad and the matching leather jackets he and my mom have with a giant cross on the back, but I did find this picture online:
I think my dad might actually have a few of those stickers on his helmet too :)
I'm just trying to say here is that we all need to be given a chance. I shouldn't have judged that lady and that pastor shouldn't have judged my dad's friend. It's simple.
I was going to close this with The Golden Rule, but everyone knows it already! (Or at least they should!) So, I found some similar sayings all from different religious backgrounds that I'd really like to share :)
"The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful."
-Chapter 49, Tao Teh Ching (Taoism)
"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." (Islam)
"One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires." -Brihaspati, Mahabharata (Hinduism)
"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself" -Confucius
"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." -Leviticus 19:18
Just some food for thought.
Again, I fail at updating everyday. I'm thinking about making this a weekly post and reviewing the weekly "good deeds".
Truthfully, I almost gave up on this project. I'm going through a rough transformation in my life right now and I started beating myself up for not holding myself accountable for doing the good things I want so badly to do. Obviously, I've decided to endure- though, Alex had a lot to do with that. I've never known anyone in my life who has so much faith in me.
I don't know how many times I pass someone on my way to work standing on the corner holding a sign saying, "Will work for food", or "No job, need food or money". I am unfamiliar with this. I've seen it in pictures and I think I may have seen someone doing this once when I was very little, but... I see these people every day.
What really HURTS me is that I can't decide if I BELIEVE them. I've heard of all the horror stories of college students claiming they're jobless and have kids to feed when in reality they're BEGGING for money for a Playstation 3... so when I see a man carrying a cardboard sign on the corner of 54th and Clyde Park asking for food and/or money it is REALLY unfortunate that the first thing that runs through my mind is that they're faking it.
So, how can I overcome this? What if I saw someone who LOOKED like a beggar begging outside of the restaurant I work at and felt so bad I offer them some food... then saw that same begger dressed nicely, looking very much NOT like a beggar? Should I still offer food and money? Should I continue to ignore them? I remember having a teacher who said he preferred going out and buying someone a sandwich over handing over cash. And some people are more comfortable donating their money to a reputable charity because they KNOW the money is then being used for the right reasons.
Use your logic. There are charities for the homeless. Homeless people more or less know this. I'm not saying DON'T give your change to a beggar, because certainly you COULD be helping them out, but I strongly feel like by donating to a place like Mel Trotter is the option that will do the most good. Plus, if the charity organizations have the money we can finally start getting people off the streets in general.
I'm sure some people feel differently and I'd love to see other opinions on this!
For something that has been a problem for many, many years, I never realized how homelessness/beggars are becoming so prevalent here in Grand Rapids, Mi. Think about these things the next time you see someone asking for money :)
I tend to check my email as soon as I wake up in the morning. I'm obsessive and I'm ok with it :) Lately, all I've been getting are notifications from Facebook so I was surprised to get an email that wasn't related to my Facebook- let alone about my 365 days of love blog!
I'm kind of skeptical when I get emails from people I don't know, but I really had to check this out. Donating to charity without spending a dime myself? I was intrigued and thought this would be a great thing to blog about to see if I can get other people to take advantage of this.
Hotels Combined, a search engine that searches over 900,000 hotel deals worldwide for the best price possible, works on a word-of-mouth basis, donating what they save on advertising to charity! In order to do this, Hotels Combined is currently donating money to one of three charities when you mention them on your blog or become a fan on Facebook.
Mention them on your blog will earn your desired charity $20.
Becoming a fan of Hotels Combined will earn your charity $5.
Tweet about them on Twitter, and they'll donate $10 to your desired charity.
It gives you three options to donate to, WWF, Make-A-Wish, and World Vision. I immediately became a fan on their Facebook page and asked to donate to World Vision.
By mentioning Hotels Combined in this post, I'll be donating $20 to WWF :)
What gets me is that this is FREE! You have no reason not to check it out! That money really does add up.
I'd love to hear from anyone who might read my blog- to hear about what you do to help others, to hear what I could do myself, or just to chat :)
I really didn't mean to take this long to update!
For the past two weeks, Alex and I have been kind of busy! Alex is planning a a Bachelor party for his best friend, We had a family reunion, Alex had a couple 4am shifts on a few Saturdays too!
As for the good deeds for the last two weeks, Alex got really excited when a purchase at a gas station turned into "Proceeds are donated to So and So" the other day on his way to work. Speaking of donating to someone in need, we also made sure we ordered pizza at the Pizza Hut by our apartment on the day they were donating 20% of the proceeds to someone who had broken her neck and was thought to never walk again. She full recovered and the money was to help her pay off her hospital bills. It was good to be able to help out with that :)
There are several churches in our neighborhood that are having food drives right now. I was thinking about buying some non-perishables and dropping them off today or tomorrow. I'm really into the idea of donating when and what you can. I remember after my apartment burned down in December, the Red Cross donated some money to everyone in our apartment (probably even the whole building). My family helped me out as much as they could too, money and clothes and anything else they had to give. People at my work donated money for me as well, and the company matched that number and I just thought that was the most amazing thing! I had hardly been there a few months and it really humbled me. Some people helped out with clothes and food and bathroom supplies!
I lost everything and walked away with more than enough to take care of myself. That was such a good feeling that I want to make sure I can make someone else feel that way. I no longer just throw things away if they no longer fit, or if I no longer want them. We have a Goodwill within walking distance here! It's one of the most well known places to donate to!
Here are some links to GREAT places here in Grand Rapids, Mi to donate to:
