A Holiday Gift of Self

…that lasts throughout the year!

It’s getting closer to the Big Day, even as credit continues to dry up, jobs go away by the thousands, and ideas for alternative gift-giving are increasingly making the rounds. So today I’m going to promote an idea that will hopefully begin to catch on all over the country for Christmases present and future.

It’s called volunteering. Now, many families volunteer their services at Thanksgiving every year, preparing and serving T-day feasts to shut-ins via Meals On Wheels, at senior centers or at the city soup kitchen. Of course many others donate goods, like food and clothing, blankets and winter coats, etc. during the holidays. But not so much at Christmas, and I’ve always wondered why.

Sure, there’s not much call for volunteers at most charity operations on Christmas Day proper, but on most other days all year long there is a shortage of volunteers to do the work. Things like sorting and boxing donated food to be distributed to needy families and food banks, the preparation and serving of regular meals through all the agencies and charities that feed the hungry, manning the check-out at the church or secular thrift store, spending a few hours sitting with a disabled child or adult so their primary caregivers can have a much-needed time out, maintaining trails in parks and forests, even repairing and building homes with Habitat for Humanity. There are ongoing projects in most cities and counties all over the nation that would love nothing better than to have more volunteers than they need during day-to-day operations, at all times of year. I’ll include some source links at the bottom that should help readers in search of projects to volunteer for.

Even when there’s little money, the gift of self and time is worth a great deal. For Christmas gift-giving your family could produce some hand-made cards to exchange with each other, promising a certain amount of hours to a chosen charity, in the recipient’s name. For instance, a teenager could gift Grandma with 30 or 40 hours (or more) over the next year of volunteer work at her senior center, at her favorite nursing home, or at her church’s supported children’s home. A husband could gift a wife with X number of hours promised to help divvy up the food donations to the food bank, and deliveries for Meals on Wheels – in HER name.

All the gift-giver need do is choose a charity, find out when their need for volunteers is great (and coincides with when hours may be available), and request that the charity log the hours “in the name of” whoever the gift is given to. Most will readily accommodate this wish, and even include the in-name donations on their list included in the annual report.

There could be days when everyone in the family could be busily engaged in their chosen charities, arriving home to each other exhausted in the best and most satisfying of ways. Each appreciating anew – long after the holidays are over – the true value of the gifts. The giving of gifts is a display of selfless spirit (or, it’s supposed to be), so including needy strangers in the process just expands the selflessness. Plus, it does a lot of good for those many who are in need. But beware, volunteering can be addictive and lead to ever greater commitments of time and energy volunteered.

Links:

Volunteer USA Foundation
World Volunteer Web: Not just for Christmas
Volunteering your time this Christmas
Don’t wait till Christmas to volunteer
Food on Foot: Volunteers Wanted
VolunteerMatch: Find a Place

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