Day 320: How to Give While Camping
Aug 21st
Happy Campers! My Son and Husband Soaking in the Great Outdoors
Are you a camper? Do you enjoy sleeping under the stars, breathing in the clean air, and the quiet of the great outdoors?
Can you still give without internet access?
Day 320: Give 320
Share your Marshmallows!
After giving for 320 days of giving I have become a bit of an expert at finding ways to give in all kinds of situations. Camping was a new one this weekend. This was the summer to introduce our son to the art of camping. Sleeping in a tent, building a camp fire, roasting marshmallows and burning Jiffy Pop popcorn. You even get to go to bed without a bath and have a bad sleep! Oh the luxuries of camping.
But how do you give in the great outdoors. How do you find a way to do a Random Act of Kindness, A Small Act or Pay it Forward?
Here are the ways 365give gave back this weekend while camping.
1) Pick up all you garbage: Leave not a speck behind for the birds, fish and trees to ingest.
2) Pick up garbage you find that isn’t yours (especially cigarette butts they will never bio-degrade!)
3) Recycle: If recycling bins are not provided “pack it out” with you and recycle at home.
4) Share: When camping you tend to be up close and personal to many other campers. We shared our bag of marshmallows and firewood with the campsite next to us filled with students.
5) Appreciate / Teach: By taking our son camping we had the opportunity to teach him about the beauty we live in and why we need to take such good care of the living creature we inhabit- the planet.
As much as there are so many ways to instantly “give” by tweeting, liking, texting and online donations it is always good and possible to find easy ways to give in your life every day – even while camping.
Do you have a “giving” camping story you woudl like to share with 365give? Leave a comment, tweet (@365give) or send us an email changetheworld@365give.ca.
Time Commitment: 1 night camping
Cost: Cheaper than a hotel! Giving was free!
319: Top Ways to Give to the Horn of Africa – It’s Not Going Away
Aug 20th
I have never repeated a post before but it is a desperate situation that is only getting worse every day. The Horn of Africa needs us all to dig deep to give. I got an email from Plan Canada this week stating a simple but clear message:
“It’s not that food is running out – it has run out. What we are now running out of is time.”
Give 319: Day 319
The numbers are stagering:
Nearly 12 million people are at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa,including 500,000 children who “are suffering from imminent, life-threatening severe malnutrition,” according to UNICEF. 1.6 million additional children under five years old are severely malnourished.
“The United Nations has declared a famine in Somalia, where a nightmarish situation is spreading to Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda by the hour.” quoted from World Vision.
We need to stand together to help today. Every day that goes by is more suffering and death to so many. How will you give today and help save lives. We all live on the same planet – we need to help each other.
Today the tragedy is in The Horn of Africa. Everyone is suffering. Hunger, malnutrition, starvation, disease – the list goes on and keeps growing with every day that passes.
Here are the 365give top 3 ways to help bring relief to The Horn of Africa before millions of people die.
1) Sign the ONE petition to get our politicians on their feet and doing something dramatic to help. The cost is nothing but you can use your voice to help make a difference. I signed and was number 53,423 towards a 100,000 signature goal.
2) The Government of Canada is matching donations until September 16, 2011. Here are a few suggestions how you can double your donation through Canadian Disaster Relief organizations: World Vision/ Unicef (text Food to Unicef 864233 to give a $10.00 donation) / Red Cross / Save the Children / Plan Canada / World Concern
My $20.00 donation is now worth $40.00!
3) Tweet, Facebook, You Tube share and blog! Spread the word every day. Get the world to stand up and take notice in any and every way you know how to mobilize the world to give.
You don’t have to give money to create change but you do have to do something. Can you really just sit back and watch millions of people die in conditions out of their control and live with yourself?
Send us a note (changetheworld@365give.ca) Tw
Time Commitment: 3 minutes to donate
Cost: Another $20.00 donation now a $40.00
Day 318: What Will You Do Today to Give on World Humanitarian Day?
Aug 19th
Did you know today is World humanitarian Day? What would you pitch to the Secretary General of the United Nations to change the world?
Day 318: Give 318
“World Humanitarian Day is a celebration of people helping people. Every day humanitarian aid workers help millions of people around the world. The day recognizes the sacrifices and contributions of those who risk their lives to give others help and hope. It is also about inspiring the spirit of aid work in everyone.”
I know what my pitch would be.
We need to dedicated to a movement of humanitarianism every day. The need doesn’t happen just one day a year but every day.
I have proved it. It can be done. After 318 days of giving I can say we can all give every day.
In honour of this day I am providing humanitarian services right here on the North Shore of Vancouver. There is “need” every where in our world even in your own back yard. My “humanitarian act” for this special day is to help Mothers. Mothers that need help just to get by and provide their babies with the basic needs they can’t always afford. Cloths, a crib, a stroller, blankets – the list goes on.
I had not only one but two car loads of these items that I was donating. Just 5 minutes from my house I drove to give a 16 year old Mother (due very soon), a new crib, baby cloths and maternity wear. The second drop was to a nurse that volunteered at a local drop in centre for Mothers. I filled her front porch with bags of items she could give away.
I didn’t do this alone. It was a collaboration of efforts. The items were given to me by friends and a local consignment store I shop at (The Secret Closet) and together we made a big difference to so many.
My other collaborator was a gentleman I had never met. This falls into the Random Acts of Kindness category which I love. When delivering the crib I had to take all the items up to the top of a 3 story apartment building (no elevator in site!). Out of no where comes a gentleman offering an extra set of hands to help me carry the car load of items I had up all the stairs. It truly made my day.
You don’t have to travel to Africa to be a humanitarian. There are opportunities to give in every place in the world. You just have dig deep in your heart to help. We can all find a few extra minutes in our day to help another human being.
What will you do today?
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Cost: 0 everything was donated
What Are you Saying?