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!
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.
Since you might not get to see your close friends much in the next few days due to family gatherings, shopping for gifts, and getting over colds, invite them over for a holiday potluck. Spending time with friends is a great pick-me-up and now is a good time to show your gratitude for the people in your life. To make it even more fun, choose a theme for your party, such as tacky Christmas sweaters.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.”
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.
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| https://www.folkartsrajasthan.org/ |
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.
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.
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.”
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| https://www.heifer.org/ |
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!
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.
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)
