Think Globally

    Start a conversation with someone of a different culture, religion, or political view, while actively listening and responding. Becoming aware of someone else’s standpoints and personal journeys may enlighten how you think. Nowadays, people of different vantage points need to realize that we may worship differently but we are people all the same. Be accepting and show it. This time of year, so many different cultures celebrate the turn of the year in ways unique to their traditions. Why not find out more about these festivities and even attend some? It’s a small world, after all, right?

Make Time to Make Memories

Tis the season to...spend more time with those you love! Restrictions are being lifted and people are starting to travel to reunite with friends and family for the holidays, so if you've been nice for the past two years, it's time to get back into the yuletide spirit to the fullest! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or browsing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!

If Something Really Worries You, Do Something About It

Millions of tons of plastic waste litter the world’s oceans, converging together in rotating currents called gyres and blanketing the water’s surface. On average, these gyres now hold six times more plastic than plankton by dry weight. Fortunately, 19-year-old Boyan Slat, founder and president of the Ocean Cleanup (theoceancleanup.com), wanted to invent “a method to clean up almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 10 years, using currents.” The youthful environmentalist and entrepreneur presented this revolutionary idea at a TEDx Talk in the Netherlands and was recently named one of Intel’s 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide.

The Red Cross Can Use More than Your Blood!

    For some people, health, time, and logistical restraints mean donating blood isn’t possible. But blood donation isn’t the only way to support organizations like the Red Cross. Along with financial donations, the Red Cross also accepts airline miles and credit card rewards. Easily transferable from your computer, these sorts of donations don’t cost you anything but can still make a difference.

Sign Up to Be Santa’s Helper

    Go to your local Post Office around Christmastime and pick one of the letters to Santa that they get every year. Buy and send the gift to the child who asked for it so the gift arrives before December 25.

Actions Really Are Louder than Words

Pay attention to the body language of others around you. If you notice someone with droopy posture or a frown, offer assistance if they need it. That someone could be having a bad day, and one person noticing could make a big difference.

Love Your Local Public Library

Libraries are just as much a community hub as any coffee house or breakfast joint. Your patronage will make a difference! Nowadays, libraries host events, offer free classes, and are a place we can go for some nice quiet time with a book or magazine. To me, they are as holy as shrines.

Be a Hospice Volunteer

Jollytologist Allen Klein shares this beautiful story:

  When I was a hospice volunteer, one of the patients I was assigned to look after was an elderly woman who loved classical music. For many years, she, her son, and her daughter had season symphony tickets. But she was way too ill to use them now. Her prognosis was only a few weeks left to live.

  I discussed the situation with the hospice team and how we might get her to a concert. Perhaps we could put her in a wheelchair or even on a gurney and have her at the back of the theater. But in her condition, we realized that that would not work.

  Then I had an idea. I called the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the leading schools in the country, and asked if they had a student who might volunteer to play something for a dying woman. A few days later, they sent over a very talented young woman, a violinist, who gave a private performance for the patient and her family.

  I wasn’t at the apartment at the time but from what the daughter told me the next day, it was glorious. She said that after the intimate living room recital, her mother told her, “In all my years of going to the symphony, that was the best concert I have ever attended.”

Ring Your Bells

    Ring bells and help raise money for people in need. The Red Kettle Christmas Campaign enables the Salvation Army to provide food, toys and clothing to over six million people during the Christmas season and helps more than 34 million Americans recovering from all kinds of personal disasters nationwide. The Red Kettle campaign, first started in San Francisco in 1891, has traditionally been the Salvation Army’s most prominent fund-raiser.” For more information and to find out where you can volunteer, go to ringbells.org.

Make Merry

Santa Claus came early to a Pennsylvania retailer recently. In December 2014, an anonymous man walked into a store and told the manager he wanted to donate $50,000 to help pay off customer layaway accounts. “We made him say it twice,” said store manager Steve Meyers. “When we started telling customers, they thought it might be a joke.” The donor, who asked to be known as Santa B.,arrived just in time, as unfulfilled layaway orders were set to be cancelled that day. “He just wanted to bring Christmas cheer to everyone,” Meyers said. “He was in and out, kind of like Santa Claus.”

Save the Planet, One Tree at a Time

    Buy an artificial Christmas tree. People love my blue and silver disco tree which I got at a yard sale a few years ago. It is very festive! On average, over 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year-those are trees we could be saving and using for oxygen, housing material, and paper products rather than as decoration for a small amount of time. When you purchase an artificial tree, you will save money within the first few years and they look just as nice without the mess of pine needles! For more information on the history of the Christmas tree, go to urbanext.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm.

Human Rights Day

    Today presents an opportunity to celebrate human rights and advocate for equal human rights everywhere. As much as we like to think that the world is all sunshine and rainbows, that is not the truth; we should not be blind or ignorant of the truth. Today, make yourself aware of the injustices going on the world by doing some research on the prejudices and hate that many people experience from others. Do what you can to help promote human rights today and everyday. To keep up on all the latest, check out hrw.org.

Support Diversity in Education

    New York-based Folk Arts Rajasthan (folkartrajasthan.org) and India-based Lok Kala Sagar (LKSS)-meaning “local folk arts society”- are nonprofit organizations joined since 2005 by a shared vision of a thriving and just future for The Merasi people and their unique musical culture. The Merasi of northwestern India carry a powerful legacy of 38 generations but they also carry the burden of the still-enduring caste system. To reclaim an identity as storytellers, the Merasi of Jaisalmer have shed the derogatory caste label Manganiyar, meaning beggars. The name Merasi, instead means musicians, and is a symbol of self-determination. The FAR-LKSS collaborative approach recognizes that education, preserving this intangible cultural heritage, and achieving social justice for a continually marginalized people are mutually dependent goals. In the face of obstinate hierarchical norms, FAR and LKSS are together nurturing a generation of ambitious and capable youth with their programs. Significantly, two FAR scholarship girls, Sitara and Mobeena Khan, participated in a 2014 US-based international science conference, after their project won awards at both local and state level in Rajasthan. In February 2015, a troupe of Merasi youth traveled to Mumbai to play in the prestigious Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and exchange cultural activities with students at a variety of schools.

Charity Rocks!

When Jaime Finkel, assistant to music manager Scott Rodger, began working at Maverick in Beverly Hills, she noticed there was a lot of unclaimed “merch” in the office. The newly-founded company, which is composed of nine of music’s top managers-who collectively manage more than two dozen of the planet’s biggest artists, including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, and U2-is at the forefront of major changes taking place in the music industry today. Instead of throwing away the excess and unwanted tour products and unsolicited gifts, Jaime initiated a Merch Box. Every month, she selects an organization to donate these items to. It seems like a natural match since for every celebrity and wanna-be star in Hollywood there is a person in need, but no one had thought to do this before. It’s as simple as setting up a bin in your office lunchroom and creating a sign that reads “For Charity.”

Random Acts of Roses

    Use your flower power: go to the local discount store and pick up some small vases. Add a ribbon, some freshly picked flowers, and deliver the arrangements to elders at a local community center, nurses in the ER, or anywhere you know people can use little random acts of roses.

People Are Resources, Too

    Make plans to go to a local nursing home and visit an elderly resident who hasn’t gotten a visitor lately. Receiving extra one-on-one attention can be very rewarding for the resident and you’ll be surprised how interesting their life is once you start talking to them. Especially with the holiday’s coming, think of those who might not have family nearby who would love good company at this time of year. Nine times out of ten, you will end up receiving much more than you give to these elders, who have wisdom, stories, advice, and love to offer.

A Golden Ticket

    Not many things will ruin your day quite like getting pulled over by the police. But when police in Lowell, Michigan, recently stopped 50 drivers for minor violations, the surprised motorists wound up getting their Christmas wishes instead of traffic tickets. Officer Scot VanSolkema chatted with the not-so-happy drivers, asking what they or their kids wanted for Christmas. Unbeknownst to anyone else, his buddies waited in a nearby shop, listening via radio before rushing to buy, wrap, and deliver whatever the drivers had named, including toys, an Xbox, and a high-definition TV. Said one happy driver: “This just turned my bad day into a good one.”

Giving a Gift of Sustainability

    Have a friend or loved one that wants something unique for Christmas? Visit heifer.org to view and purchase some of the most helpful and generous gifts that can be given- but they don’t fit in a box and they won’t arrive on your friend’s doorstep. Heifer International is an organization that works with communities to end hunger and poverty by providing sustainable agriculture and animals to families in need. You can “purchase” a goat for $120, a flock of geeses for $20, or a hope basket for $50, or browse the website for other options. These gifts are priceless (figuratively) and won’t go unappreciated or unused. Think about the positive impact you can make on a family-a world difference, actually!

Operation Christmas Child

    Make Christmas special for boys and girls around the world by packing a shoebox with new toys, school supplies, and socks. Go to samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box for more information on how to pack a box. You can choose the gender and age group for your donation, and you can even track the box to see where it ends up! For even more packing ideas, check out: faithfulprovisions.com/2012/10/01/101-operation-christmas-child-shoebox-ideas.

Have a Do-It-Yourself Christmas, so Start Crafting Now!

    Make your Christmas presents this year. It’s more personal and you will save money. From a tin of homemade fudge to a colorful knitted scarf, your family and friends are sure to appreciate your hard work and thoughtfulness. You can also think bigger! Knit, sew, and quilt your way to a better world with the organizations below:

• The Mother Bear Project gives hand-knit and crocheted bears to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations so they know that they are loved. (motherbearproject.org)
• Socks For Soldiers knits socks for those on active duty serving in the Middle East. (socksforsoldiersinc.com)
• Stitching Up the World knits, crochets, and sews items to donate to chemotherapy patients, Special Olympic athletes, and others in New Hampshire. (candiawomansgroup.org/stitching/index.html)
• Threads of Love provides clothing, blankets, and other handmade articles for premature and sick infants. Threads of Love has chapters in the United States, Canada and London, England. (threadsoflove.org)
• Tiny Stitches is based in Gwinnett County, Georgia and provides basic layettes to disadvantaged newborns in north Georgia. They also provide burial ensembles to families who lose an infant. (tinystitches.org)
  

World AIDS Day

    HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has become one of the world’s most serious health and developmental challenges. In the United States alone, 1.7 million people are estimated to have the HIV virus. According to aids.gov, 33.4 million people are living with the HIV/AIDS virus globally and more than 25 million deaths resulted in the virus worldwide since the first reported cases in 1981. Educate yourself and your family about this epidemic, promote safe behaviour, and consider volunteering some of your time toward helping those infected. AmfAR’s “Countdown to a Cure for AIDS” is a research initiative aimed at finding a broadly applicable cure for HIV by 2020. “Countdown to a Cure” is designed to intensify amfAR’s (amFar.org) cure-focused HIV research program with plans to strategically invest $100 million in cure research over the next six years.