Be an Anonymous Gifter

    Have you ever heard of the Bolinas Free Box? This institution began 30 years ago by accident. As the story goes, a young couple was departing the shores of Bolinas, California, and dumped some boxes of extra belongings behind at the community center as they left. The rather nice assortment of clothes, books, and household utensils drew some interested residents to have a look. By the end of the day, several other people had brought free stuff down to share. The Free Box took up residence in a shed between the health food store and the community center and has been providing all comers with all kinds of free fare ever since. The era of the free box was born.

Blanket the World With Love

Do you remember Linus of the venerated Peanuts cartoon? His love for his blanket shows how universal that love for just the right soft cloth can be. My mom and aunts are amazing quilters. They can seemingly take anything and make a gorgeous, collectible quilt from it. Even if you, like me, lack that “quilting gene,” you can blanket the world with your love and good intentions by collecting them for donation. I put a call out and got a ton of nice comforters to donate to Project Linus, at projectlinus.org. This nurturing organization sends cozy quilts and oh-so-warm blankets to kids in shelters, hospices, hospitals, and wherever the cloaking comfort of love might be needed. My mom recently made a quilt of some of my crazy outfits from the eighties, so I can only hope that the beneficiaries of Project Linus have a good sense of humor and a love of neon colors!

Help Those Who Help Themselves

    Empower an entrepreneur with a loan through Kiva. You can give as little as $25 to small business owners in developing countries to help eliminate poverty. Throughout the life of the loan, you will receive updates on the progress of the project and will be paid by the borrower with Kiva Credit- which you can use to fund another project. Through Kiva.org, I have bought some really lovely pillows, baskets, and bangle bracelets made in India by creative, hard-working women.

Sharing Your Strength

    When I worked on the Random Acts Of Kindness project, we looked around for places to donate profits from the books and Share Our Strength came highly recommended. It remains an organization I deem to be a real good in the world. Did you know one in five children live in a home that struggles to put food on the table? Join SOS’s campaign nokidhungry.org so we can take care of those who need it most.

Be a Kid For a Day

    Remember the good ol’ days when you had more art projects than responsibilities? You can still embrace your inner child by spending the day with a young relative or your own child while playing games, making crafts, and encouraging activity.  You may reawaken talents and interests you had long since forgotten and introduce your child to new ones along the way. Paint a picture together, read storybooks aloud, play dress up and talk with them. This will create a stronger bond between you two that will last a lifetime and make for great memories. Time is the most precious resource and spending it with a young person will have lasting, positive results on their life.

Help Those Who Help Themselves

     Empower an entrepreneur with a loan through Kiva. You can give as little as $25 to small business owners in developing countries to help climate poverty. Thought the life of the loan, you will receive updates on the progress of the project and will be paid by the borrower with Kiva Credit- which you can use to fund another project. Through Kiva.org, I have bought some really lovely pillows, baskets, and bangle bracelets made in India by creative, hard-working women.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"

        -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Thanks to Selma, a new generation of moviegoers is learning about the man who fought civil rights, justice, and dignity for African Americans. Along with Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, and other activists, Dr. King appealed to the best within us all. Find a project in your community or register your own project through mlkday.gov. Many presidents share a legal holiday in February, but courageous Dr. King gets his own day.