New Year’s Eve

Make a number of envelopes with “Emergency Midnight Kisses” written on the front and put in a few Hershey’s kisses inside. Scatter these around town or the shindig you are at and bring a smile to many faces as you ring in the New Year.

Terrific for Terra

https://refreshglass.com/

If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don’t have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles. Cheers!

Have a Gratitude Circle

Instead of just another holiday party, have friends over and state what you are grateful for in the world and about each other. Take note!

Reach Out

The holidays can be an intensely lonely time. I remember when I first arrived in San Francisco and really had nowhere to go. Kindly folks invited me to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I made new friends, ate marvelous dinners, and was so grateful. I try to do the same now that I have a home I can share. Look around and see whom you can invite over. This is a lovely tradition among my group of friends and is, I truly believe, what the holidays are really supposed to be about.

Re-Gifting 101

PHOTO: MARTIN TOGNOLA

Now that you and your family have celebrated, eaten to your heart’s content, and opened presents, ask if everyone likes their gifts and if they will use them. If there is something that doesn’t fit or isn’t useful, donate it. I remember when people were shocked that FLOTUS Nancy Reagan re-gifted but I think was just ahead of the curve!

If your heart and wallet have different ideas about making monetary donations, it is time to summon your inner re-gifter. An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. For help selecting a charitable organization, visit the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance at give.org. You can also contact the government office responsible for registering charities in your state. A little research upfront will make sure your donation is put to good use. If the process of selecting a charity seems daunting, remember that you benefit from giving as well.

Involving your children in the selection of a charity teaches valuable lessons. You have the opportunity to make a difference. Some charitable gifts are tax-deductible if made to a qualified organization. But be sure your organization meets IRS guidelines, as there may be different tax breaks when you donate certain assets to charity.

Happy Hanukkah!

The Jewish Festival of Lights begins this time of year and has a marvelous tradition of giving, known as tzedakah. When translated into English, tzedakah means charity-giving to those in need. Derived from the Hebrew word tzade-dalet-qof, meaning righteous or fair, this practice of giving is both a generous act and a just one in the Jewish religion. In Jewish literature, the sages have said that this performance of duty is equal to all other commandments combined. Tzedakah is what grants us forgiveness for our sins.

Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered to be of greater merit than others. Maimonides organized the different tzedakah into a hierarchical list. From the least to most meritorious they are:

*Giving begrudgingly

*Giving less than you should, but giving cheerfully

*Giving after being asked

*Giving before being asked

*Giving when you are unaware of the recipient’s identity, but the recipient is aware of yours

*Giving when you are aware of the recipient’s identity, yet you remain anonymous

*Giving when neither party is aware of the other’s identity

*Enabling the recipient to become self reliant

Make Time to Make Memories

“Tis the season to...spend more time with those you love! 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

https://theoceancleanup.com/about/

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.

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.”

Support Diversity in Education

https://www.folkartsrajasthan.org/about

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.”

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.