How to Help Your Community
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DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Do you have a special interest in the plight of the homeless, families in crisis, crime within the community, animals, immigrants, tourism, etc. You get the idea, think about what really interests you or concerns you and focus on that. Although you might want to help everyone, that just isn't practical and you will be better off deciding what one or two areas you will focus on to help your community. - 2
DECIDE IF YOU HAVE TIME OR MONEY YOU WANT TO HELP THE COMMUNITY WITH, AND HOW MUCH OF EITHER YOU CAN AFFORD. These days few of us have very much extra time but we have even less money, so it might be easier to set aside a few hours a week in order to help. - 3
VOLUNTEER. One of the easiest ways to help your community is to volunteer your time with any number of local community programs, community organizations, or community services. Volunteer work is rewarding and every city or town have need for volunteers. You could work at a soup kitchen, the local animal shelter, neighborhood watch, or the local literacy program. If you have carpentry skills, or even just the desire, you can work on home improvement projects for volunteer programs like Habitat for Humanity. The possibilities are almost endless. You can find volunteer opportunities by either contacting the agency or charity you are interested in working for yourself, or by contacting the local United Way or Chamber of Commerce and asking them about needy organizations or families. - 4
DONATE YOUR MONEY OR PERSONAL PROPERTY. Most of the same organizations that can use volunteers, can also use donations of cash or personal property. Donate your used books to your local library. Donate your personal property to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, Veterans' organization, or other charitable organization that can use it. If your not sure who will take your things, just call around to community programs to see if they need donations. If a charity is a 501 (c)(3) organization under the tax code, then you can also take a tax deduction for your donation of money or personal property. Again, you are not only helping your community, but also getting the satisfaction of contributing some assistance and a tax break. How great is that?
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