For Services Rendered

Send a letter to someone in local law enforcement, the Coast Guard, or serving overseas that gives thanks for their hard work and dedication to our country. It’s simple and will be greatly appreciated. Go to LetsSayThanks.com for inspiration.

Service

“To Be of Use,” Marge Piercy’s marvelous poem, suggests something of the human condition- that we all long to be useful, to help, to work together toward a common goal. This is surely the best part of the human spirit. Meditate upon this:

What is my true purpose? What am I here to do in this life?

I recommend that you contemplate this question deeply and for a very long time-days, weeks, months, and years, even. Let the answer speak through your service to others.

Service

“To Be of Use,” Marge Piercy’s marvelous poem, suggests something of the human condition- that we all long to be useful, to help, to work together toward a common goal. This is surely the best part of the human spirit. Meditate upon this:

  What is my true purpose? What am I here to do in this life?

  I recommend that you contemplate this question deeply and for a very long time-days, weeks, months, and years, even. Let the answer speak through your service to others.

To Be of Service

    “To Be of Use,” Marge Piercy’s marvelous poem, suggests something of the human condition-that we all long to be useful, to help, to work together toward a common goal. This is surely the best part of the human spirit. Meditate upon this: 

    What is my true purpose? What am I here to do in this life? 

    I recommend that you contemplate this question deeply and for a very long time-days, weeks, months, and years, even. Let the answer speak through your service to others.

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 inspire many others to do the same. I vowed to do this 15 years 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 have 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 what-have-you. I will occasionally say, “This is my service to the earth. Recycling is my religion.” And it is. I have the planet’s back!

Lend an Ear

    Counselors can contribute enormously to our troops when they return from their service term. I honestly think my ex-Marine dad had PTSD. Post-traumatic stress was not even acknowledged until long after the Vietnam War, and only through the hard work of many activists. Therapists and mental health professionals can really help our military veterans by volunteering their own services through the organization Give an Hour (giveanhour.org) and this is extremely helpful to families of vets. Listening can change lives for the better in a big way.

Show a Little Tenderness

    Let public workers know that they are doing a good job. (See July 15, and try using a few minutes of your extra half hour to write thank-you notes to your local police station. I imagine it happens very rarely.) When you see a fire truck, ambulance, school bus, or police car, go ahead and thank the workers inside for their hard work. Whether internally thought or externally voiced, this appreciation goes a long way.

Service

    “To Be of Use,” Marge Piercy’s marvelous poem, suggests something of the human condition- that we all long to be useful, to help, to work together toward a common goal. This is surely the best part of the human spirit. Meditate upon this: 

    What is my true purpose? What am I here to do in this life?

    I recommend that you contemplate this question deeply and for a very long time-days, weeks, months, and years, even. Let the answer speak through your service to others.

For Services Rendered

    Send a letter to someone in local law enforcement, the Coast Guard, or serving overseas that gives thanks for their hard work and dedication to our country. It's simple and will be greatly appreciated. Go to LetsSayThanks.com for inspiration.

Be a Fixer-Upper (Plus Weeding is Good Therapy)

    Assist seniors near you with tasks like raking, shoveling, or doing minor home repairs through Volunteers of America's Safety of Seniors Handyman Program (voa.org). I pull my 98-year-old neighbor's weeds and it is a good exercise for me, it benefits the neighborhood, and she appreciates the weekly attention she and her yard enjoy!

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!

Thank-You Power

     Upon learning about the Veteran's History Project, I was reminded that our servicemen and women are doing just that: service. And they should be thanked for it. Many of these noble souls are very far away on active duty and receive little mail to their camp or barrack. Take a few moments to acknowledge their contribution and offer a friendly hello back home in the USA. You can learn all about Operation Write Home at operationwritehome.gov. I have heard of great pen pal relationships that result from this gesture of gratitude.

Only Connect

     Be a mentor to someone. Everyone needs help to achieve their dreams and goals in life. Mentorship is an excellent way of providing needed help, encouragement, and guidance. Look for opportunities to mentor people at virtuefirst.org/virtues/service.

Veg Out! Healthy Food For All is Essential

All families and growing children should have easy access to healthy food. 

 

Have you hear of “food deserts?” I certainly never did until reading last year in the New York Times about entire swaths of urban areas with nothing but corner stores filled with processed packages foods and no produce whatsoever.  I started paying attention and it is true.

There is something you can do about it, by making a donation of www.WholesomeWavge.org who will provide fresh fruits and veggies to these underserved communities.  How great is that? Actually, it is even better, as Wholesome Wave obtains their organic produce from small and mid-sized farmers.

Cookies Taste a Lot Like Love: #OperationGratitude

Thousands of miles away and MRE's to eat, how much would you love homemade cookies?

 

I learned about his from my mom whose church regularly sends cards letters and care packages overseas to the armed forces. My mom and her fellow church ladies bake some of the best cookies in the world so they gather up all kinds of goodies and treats and send them overseas where the taste of “down home” surely brings many smiles of satisfaction. Those who are less gifted in the baking department, such as ME, can make $15 donation to Operation Gratitude, which pays for one care package for one serviceperson. Operation Gratitude has end over a million of these kindness kits around the world!

Rewire Your Brain To Be More Positive

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that there is a lot of  negativity in the world right now. All the more reason to develop your ability to reframe. 

 

Neuropsychiatrist David Amen, MD, posits that thoughts carry physical properties and that the properties of negative thoughts can be detrimental to your leading a healthy, happy life. To overturn these negative effects, he prescribes thinking more positively, maintaining that by doing so, you can change the way your brain works and in turn change your life for the better

Love Lifts You Up: Donate Your Extra Miles So Military Families Can See Each Other

If you have frequent flier miles you are not planning to use, give them to service members who have been injured in the line of duty and need to be flown to get proper medical treatment. This can also enable family members to visit.  Check out fisherhouse.org to discover all you need to know about Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles Program.

 Love has an enormous power to heal so sharing your unused miles stretches YOUR love a mighty long way! www.FisherHouse.org

Assist at a Local Fisher House

Please contact your area Fisher House manager:  Current Houses
NEW! Find local opportunities on our new Volunteer Opportunities page.

At our Fisher Houses, volunteer opportunities include: bringing in meals and snacks for residents, helping with general housekeeping chores, organizing goods drives such as paper product drives, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, etc.  Also, there are often young mothers and fathers in the homes who may feel overwhelmed, our volunteers offer babysitting service and help play with the children to give the parents a break and some quiet time.

During the holidays we often have volunteers who will help with decorating, children toy drives, and gifts for those staying at the home through the holidays.  

Some Fisher Houses have a ‘wish list’ of items that the manager would like to add and/or replace in the house.  These wish lists have included large items such as children’s back yard play sets, barbeque grills, laptop computers for each room, outdoor tables and chairs, as well as smaller items such as books, DVDs, and small appliances.

We also welcome volunteers to tend to the gardens surrounding the house.  Although the homes and landscape are maintained by the military base and the Veterans Administration, both are limited in offering enhancements to the landscape.  Our volunteers often step in and plant the seasonal flowers and shrubbery to make the homes an even more inviting environment.

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