LETS SHIFT OUR FOCUS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND GIVE MORE
This holiday season is quickly approaching and pretty soon we will be lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. There are a few things that many of us love to do around the holidays such as bake, decorate, holiday shopping, going to see Christmas light displays, spend time with friends and family. The one thing that many forget to do that is so important is be grateful for what they have and bless others as a result. May I encourage you this year to shift your focus to a more joyful life and prioritize giving back to others. This can be done in so many ways with money, donations or even time. A few ideas to get you started would be......
Ways to give back
Donate your time - many places in your local are in need of volunteers to help with holiday dinners for the less fortunate, and many other holiday charity activities. In my local area there is a great place in Toledo Ohio for people to volunteer and give back and that would be the cherry street mission who gives back to our local homeless in the community all year round. They host holiday dinners where they can use a lot of extra hands in preparation for these meals.
Donate items - no better time to donate to food pantries and charities than the holiday season when they are providing numerous holiday meals and drives to for many that are in need. A few suggestions would be places like a local shelter or food bank. Another way to donate items is the shoebox ministry from Samaritans purse where you pack a shoebox full of various items for a child overseas. Another great ministry that I love is Angel Tree which is a ministry to give back to the children of prisoners. This has always been a ministry that I love and respect, because I myself have a loved on in prison and I believe very strongly in prison ministries.
Donate money - there are so many ways to give back financially even on a very small level. You can donate to many local charities financially or choose some larger charities you believe in. May I suggest a few great charities that I believe do great work that I love to support financially.
Charities that I choose to donate to financially
Portal 220 teen center - this is a local teen center in a small town in Ohio. My friend Julie actually created this teen center as an outreach to the teens in her local community to offer a fun safe hangout after school. I value teen ministries especially because I believe in showing love and offering guidance to teens especially. The teen years are such a critical time where many make choices and decisions that will Impact their lives forever.
Samaritan's purse shoebox ministries
The cherry street mission helping the homeless in my own community everyday
These are just a few suggestions of charities that I recommend. I encourage you to investigate a bit further before donating your money to any charities to find out if they are both legitimate and a ministry you believe in yourself.Remember as you are rushing around this holiday season to take time for you, to seek more joy in the holiday season and to share that joy with others. Donating and supporting a charity or volunteering for a ministry is a great way to give back and spread that joy. What are your thoughts on this? What charities or ministries do you love to support and why?
