I think most of us all have the thought that we want to give back but we just don’t know where to start. There are hundreds of adverts, thousands of charities, horror stories where people have been scammed and an unimaginable amount of suffering in the world. It’s not unusual to feel like you want to make a difference, however little and there are many ways to achieve that. Not just with money, but with your time, your social platforms and even your mind. Read on to find out the many ways you can help causes that are near and dear to your heart and for all the sceptical peeps out there.
A lot of people struggle with finding a way they can continuously give back and help the world around them, so I wanted to give you some options so you can see the many ways in which you can help. Some of which don’t even cost a dime.
MONEY: This is the obvious one. Non-profit’s depend on government funding which is constantly being cut so they get a lot of their money that helps keep their charity and cause afloat from donations. You can give a little or you can give a lot, never give more than you can afford and don’t feel guilt for not dropping a £20 note every time you see a worthy cause. Do what you can. That is all anyone can ask of you.
VOLUNTEER: This is one of my favourite ways to give back and, in my opinion, the most rewarding. There is nothing more precious or valuable than your time. I have volunteered with a variety of organisations with both children and adults and it takes no more than a few hours a week and is a great experience to boot. You can also volunteer at charity shops, schools, at fundraising events etc.
SOCIAL MEDIA: One of the easiest ways to help and give back is just by promoting your cause. Giving them a little more exposure so that maybe someone more affluent might see it and donate. I frequently post about worthy causes on my Insta-Stories. You can also tweet, post on facebook, snapchat etc. Beauty Blender, for instance, just yesterday, dedicated the entire day’s sales to Houston who as you know are experiencing a horrific flood at the moment. This brings me to my next one.
OPEN YOUR EYES: MAC Viva Glam is a well known lipstick where the proceeds go to the charity of a celebrity’s choice. There are plenty of companies who donate a percentage of profit to certain charities and bigger companies might do it with one specific product. There was even an advert for a toilet paper that stated for every pack sold they would plant 3 trees. There are ways to give back literally everywhere which require such little effort and hey you get a lipstick out of it too. I think this is a great way to start, if everything else is too overwhelming.
EVENTS: MacMillan’s Cancer Support frequently have coffee evenings and schools hold regular events to fundraise for different charities. There are fundraising events going on all the time, you just need to get involved.
SPONSORING: Moreover, marathons, sponsored silences or skydiving all count. You can sponsor a friend for their next charity event and that counts as giving back. Do be weary and only give money to someone you know and trust as this is a way pesky teens can scam you.
FUNDRAISING: You can, of course, host your own event or do your own activity and get some sponsors. This could be a fun way to get involved with a local cause. You can sell cakes, or sell products. There are an endless amount of ways to raise money.
AWARENESS: This one might sound a little stupid but if you have a cause in your head all the time and it frustrates you to no end that nobody talks about it then you need to talk about it. People need to know what is going on, because if they don’t know they can’t help. I feel this way about child pornography. We hear about child abuse but not pornography, who is helping them? Blake Lively did an emotional speech about it at the Variety event and what she says is powerful and completely world-shattering. To think that a life like that is someone’s reality and that they never had a hope is heartbreaking but my motto is if someone had to live through it the least I can do is listen. You an watch it below:
Women’s Aid
Refuge – Domestic Violence Charity
Mankind
Rainbow Trust – Helps Families with a Terminally Ill Child
Barnardo’s
Action For Children
Internet Watch Foundation
Thank you for reading, I hope you found this post helpful. I will have my August Favourites up tonight and if you can’t wait you can watch my YouTube video here. I hope you are having a great week so far and I would love to hear all about the causes that are near and dear to your heart and how you like to give back. Thank you again for reading this uncharacteristic post. Take care.