It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Giving back is essential to the psyche and contributes to the overall well being of living in a healthy state of mind and living a quality of life.
Give your loved ones a sentimental gift this year.
Gifts don’t always mean material possessions or commodities on display.
Gifts can signify an event, an act of kindness, a contribution to the environment, or an adoption to another member of your family home structure.
During the holidays, do something unordinary and nontraditional. Give back in ways you have never done before such as a charitable activity with your friends and family.
Giving back often reminds the psyche of life’s obtained treasures, whether through relationships, achievements, or material goods; and to be satisfied with one’s fortunes.
Remember, it’s the season for giving!
Here are three eccentric ways to give back during the holiday season:
1. Give an Orphan A Home- Adopt an Elephant
A truly unique gift for someone you love.
Register your significant other, family member, or friend as a parent.
Give an orphan baby elephant hope this Christmas. Adopt an elephant today for $50 through The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
2. Support A Global Movement of Sustainability – Donate Clothes To H&M
Support H&M’s Bring It On campaign! By 2020, H&M is projected to collect 25,000 tonnes of clothes.
As Americans, we are accustomed to the mentality of always striving for “more,” yet, we often don’t value what we have and always want the next best thing. This is not quite unpleasant as a matter of fact but we must also learn to not waste time, food, and our belongings.
Instead of throwing out old clothes, (since it’s too cold for garage sales) either donate to the Salvation Army or give back to the global movement with H&M, whom recycles and reuses all of their fabric. H&M is continually focused on sustainability on a global level. You can rid your closet of old clothes, ripped, stained items you no longer wish to possess. Each fabric gets recycled and reprocessed. Join the movement!
3. Empower the Women of Uganda –The Sabo Project
This is the perfect stocking stuffer!
By purchasing a Kitenge $8 pouch from Uganda, 100% of the proceeds go back to the tailors and women of Uganda. The Sabo Project provides employment and reliable wages to Ugandan artisans and supports the development of education in a school in Arua, Uganda called Little Angels Primary and Nursery School. The Sabo pouch proceeds go towards tailors, literacy workshops, health education, school electricity, materials for schools, and eye exams for all, to name a few.
Lastly, if you can’t muster up the courage to do any of the above three, then you can still choose to be kind. Do a random act of kindness. This one may not be so unorthodox but being kind never goes out of style. As humans, we are creatures that embody empathy, universal love and give love freely. Continue this chain of free-spirited, and pure love by doing an act of kindness. That can be leaving an extra tip to the waiter/waitress with a handwritten note, or helping someone on the street as you pass by. It doesn’t take much to give back every day and especially during the holidays.
Make it count for the rare animals under extinction, the children who don’t have clothes on their backs, the women who don’t have jobs in rural Uganda, or the children who lack the funds for safe institutions for education, do it for them. Give back today.