You Have the Power!

Anonymously grant a wish on someone’s Amazon wish list. How simple is that? And how sweet is that?

Extend an Invitation to Life’s Rich Banquet

If you see a uniformed soldier or veteran in a restaurant, arrange to pay for their meal. Anonymously is perfect unless you want to thank them personally and “enlist” a new friend into your life!

Help from Behind the Wheel

Be a volunteer instructor in AARP’s Smart Driver course (aarp.org/drive), which allows older drivers to brush up on their behind-the-wheel skills. Next time you want to give back, just put it in drive.

Be More Thoughtful

You know your coworker works really hard and can come in a bit bedraggled at the end of an arduous week. Why not walk up to her, say, “Good Morning!,” and hand her a vitamin-rich protein smoothie or fresh hand-pressed juice?

Pay It Forward

https://pifnow.org/

Stop for a moment and think of someone who needs a gesture of kindness. Perhaps it is something kind that someone once said to you. With gratitude for what was given, reach out and give back. It can be a simple gesture, like sending a card, or calling someone who is sick and saying you care. You may well recall the movie or book, but if you want ideas and to connect to other kindly folks, go to payitforwardfoundation.org. Pay It Forward is all about people, from all walks of life, giving to others and making a positive difference. At last count there were more than 500,000 people in 60 countries around the world participating.

Click to Give

There are many websites that are click-to-give. Just by clicking, you can help send food or money to countries and causes that need them. One of them is greatergood.com. It just takes a few keystrokes to make someone’s life better.

Games That Give

Even online gaming can be philanthropic- try out Games That Give, at gamesthatgive.net/play. This website donates approximately 70% of their advertising revenue to charitable causes. Everyone wins here.

From Growing Up Homeless to Helping the Homeless

NFL player James Jones knows it’s better to give than to receive. “Being homeless made me a better man,” says James Jones, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders since 2014. “And while I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through that, I wouldn’t change anything as far as how I grew up.” Having slept in shelters and on park benches for the first 15 years of his life, Jones’ success as an athlete defies stereotypes about homelessness and poverty.

He has taken his challenging experiences to heart. Since being drafted to the NFL in 2007, he has volunteered for many community organizations, and in 2008, started his own with his wife, Tamika. The Love Jones 4 Kids foundation (lovejones4kids.com) provides funding for school supplies, football camps, and pep talks to underprivileged children, many of them living in the same conditions that Jones did growing up.

“People are used to hearing about a homeless person or kid and don’t think it’s possible to be a professional football player. But down on your luck doesn’;t mean down and out.” Touchdown!

Conscious Kindness

    When I lived in the Panhandle District, I would occasionally wonder to myself from whence the name came from. It is actually a skinny strip of land at the end of San Francisco’s spectacular Golden Gate Park, like a handle on a skillet or big pan. But with so many down and out, there is a good bit of panhandling. In fact, it sometimes seems overwhelming, especially when, on any given day I might be asked for money over a dozen times. I noticed that after 9/11, it became especially grim, as there was a scary economic downturn that accompanied all the other chaos. So I developed a system of my own: I always keep change in the little pocket of my driver’s side door handle. And I prioritize giving it to moms with kids, children, and amputees- anyone who really seems in need of help right now. When I’ve been driving an author around on tour or out-of-town visitors, they have been startled when I mutter, “Oh, an amputee; let me see what I have on me.” I explain my seeming rudeness by explaining that this is my personalized system for giving to panhandlers, and that I was almost an amputee. A few years back, I was hit and run by a drunk driver, which terribly injured my leg. My doctor suggested amputating-but I managed to talk him out of that idea. I had to learn to walk again. It took a looong time and caused a lot of pain. So I always think, “That could have been me!” and I want to help. Many a vet who served their country come back without a limb. This really is the least I can do and wanting to do more is one of the reasons behind this book.

A Mission of Importance

    When I lived in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco, I drove for a food bank for AIDS patients in my rusted-out little care I had brought all the way from West Virginia. I had arrived in the mid-eighties which we may all remember as the height of the AIDS crisis. One early morning, I was walking to the Church Street MUNI station and there was the food bank, with giant pink letters announcing itself as a place to lend a hand for the AIDS crisis. I went in and within two minutes had a shift and assignments for the week. Everyone in there seemed extremely cool to me. They were not grim at all, but seemed to have a mission of importance. It seemed such a small way to help during that scary time. I learned that regardless of what you can give, large or small, it is important to give of yourself. And it all does add up! Feeding America is the largest hunger relief organization in the United States and they need you. Please visit feedingamerica.org to find your local food bank or hunger organization. Get involved- you’ll make a difference and you’ll make friends along the way. I sure did, and they remain my friends to this day.

Help from Behind the Wheel

    Be a volunteer instructor in AARP’s Smart Driver course (aarp.org/drive), which allows older drivers to brush up on their behind-the-wheel skills. Next time you want to give back, just put it in drive.

Show Someone You Care

    Collect or buy some items to make a care package for someone, such as a soldier serving overseas or a child in need you have found through an agency. I have two shelves in my closet where I stash stuff I know will make a difference in someone’s day. I picked up this wonderful habit from my mom and the ladies at her church. They have the knack of knowing just what people want.

Your Goals Will Grow You

    Make a list of short-term goals you would like to achieve by the end of the year, month, or even week. As you accomplish your goals, give gratitude for the effort, inspiration, people, and other factors that helped you along the way. My goal is to see how I can give more to those around me, near and far. I would love to hear your inspirations!

The Keys to Kindness

 If you are like me, you can end up with so many old keys you end up looking like a janitor! Find out how you can unlock some goodness with keysforkindness.com. Donate your old keys to help fight Multiple Sclerosis. 

No Strings Attached

    Write down the things that someone has given you, no strings attached, for which you are grateful. It can be an old sofa, some sound advice, a spare mask or hand sanitizer, or a lift to the airport. Now list ten things you would like to give someone yourself, and see how many of those things you can cross off a week. 

    Examples:

    *Drive a friend to the airport

    *Carry groceries for an elder to their car

    *Babysit for a relative

    *Buy a friend a cup of coffee

    *Volunteer at a soup kitchen or covid clinic

Share Your Hair

    Do you have long hair, or don't mind growing it out for a good cause? Donate to Locks of Love, a group of truly contributing to the good of others. Visit their website at locksoflove.org for more information. I recently read of a five-year-old girl who gave her hair to a fellow kindergartner going through chemo. With kids like her in the world, our future is bright!

Reimagine and Reuse Every Chance You Get

    In addition to recycling, you should also strive to reuse. When wrapping presents, use old maps or even newspapers- or open up a paper grocery bag, flip it over, and have your kids customize the paper with their artwork. You can also keep and reuse gift bags and tissue paper you were once given. This will save you money on buying gift-wrap while helping the environment save a few more trees.

Be a Good in Your Hood

    Pick up and recycle or compost loose garbage as you walk. Sidewalks are meant for safe walking, not weaving through someone else's abandoned bottles and crumpled up take-out bags. Take pride in the area you live and help contribute to keeping it clean and safe. One person helping can win-ire many others to do the same. I vowed to do this 15 yeas ago while living in the Lower Haight in San Francisco. By the end of each week, I usually had a big bag to take to the HANC recycling Center. In the last couple of years, I had gotten some puzzled glances and even laughter when I am dressed up for a meeting while walking down the street and picking up garbage, empty bottles, and have-you-not. I will occasionally say, "This is my service to the earth. Recycling is my religion." And it is. I have the planet's back!

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.