(Newswire.net — May 23, 2017) — If you have a little extra money coming in each month it’s always good to give to charity. Most of us do, and all of us should. But what if you don’t have the money? Well, in most cases your time is more valuable than your money. With a little effort and a little extra time on your part, you can do a world of good for those in need.
Here are a few examples of how you can help:
Offer Your Services or Skill
Charities are organizations and they function just like any other organization would. They need websites, they need content; they need people knocking on doors, answering phones, printing leaflets.
If you run a company that can help in this regard, then offer discount, or go the extra mile. A client of mine, PsPrint recently did something similar with a local charity and I have also worked for charities myself. As an SEO expert and copywriter, my skills are in great demand and rather than letting them spending hundreds of dollars on a paid contractor, I have helped out by offering charities a couple hours of my time here and there.
This isn’t always practical of course. I work very long hours and don’t always have the time and you may be in a similar position, but if you can’t spare an hour, spare a tweet. Give them a shout-out, ask associates to see if they can help. Post about them on Facebook or offer them a discount.
Give Blood
If you are healthy and between the ages of 18 and 65 then you can safely give blood several times a year. It takes a few minutes of your time, but that blood can be used to save lives. The problem that many of us have and the reason so few donate, is because there is a severe disconnect between the patient and the donor.
If someone was dying in front of you and you were asked to give a vial of blood to save their life, you wouldn’t hesitate. When it takes place in a clinical setting, you never see the good it’s doing and you don’t even know if it is being used, so it’s a different story. But in reality, that blood can and will save lives and that’s what you should be thinking about.
Care for Animals
Animal lovers will not think twice about adopting a puppy on TV. They pay a few dollars, get letters and other feedback and they feel good about themsleves. But these letters and pictures cost money, as do the adverts. And the truth of the matter is that very little of your money is actually going to help them.
So, instead of donating a few dollars, think about adopting for real. You can save cats and dogs from kill shelters and give them a life. You could even just take them for a few weeks or months, until you are able to find them a home. It’s better that they are in your home living, then in a shelter being readied for the needle.
In the UK, rehoming charities like Parrt will never put a healthy animal down, so those animals will stay alive. However, they are short on space and funds. So, adopt, leave them a donation, tell your friends and give them all the support they need to continue doing their great work.
Be Careful How you Donate
Many of us are happy to chop off our hair and send to charities that can use it. But many of those charities will throw that hair away because they get so many donations. On the flip side, there are private companies that will pay up to $5,000 for that hair. So, look to sell it instead and then donate the money. The charity won’t think twice about throwing overstocked hair in the bin, but they won’t do the same with $5,000.
The same goes for clothes. Many of the clothes you donate are sold by the kilo, and often for very little. It doesn’t matter if there are new or designer clothes in there, they all end up in the same place and the charity gets very little. Instead, donate to a charity shop that will sell them for a profit, or sell them yourself on an auction site and then donate the profit.