"I'm helping at a food pantry in Washington D.C sorting out meals from each other to be delivered to individuals living with life-threatening diseases"
Thanks for all the entries!
Eddie now gets to choose between a Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts or UBurger $10 gift card.
Do you know of any other photo contests going on? Or a contest to do with volunteering? Post it in the comments.
Think. If you have a bike that's been sitting in your garage that no one in your family uses, a bike you have been meaning to get rid of or a bike on it's way from the dump-- now's the perfect opportunity to donate your bike to a good cause! Don't have it take up space or end up in a landfill-- donate & help your community.
The City of Boston has a Roll It Forward! Campaign going on. This project seeks to make cycling a more accessible transportation for low-income communities. The overall goal of the campaign is to collect, repair, & distribute 1,000 bikes to Boston's neighborhood by spring 2012.
Every bike recipient will be fitted with a helmet & be educated on proper bike safety. Bikes are needed for Boston residents of all ages, not just kids, so donate your bike today! Donate your old bike through December 10th at the following locations.
What do you think about this project? What do you enjoy most about having a bike and how do you believe families will benefit from the City of Boston's Roll Forward Campaign?
December 1 is World AIDS Day. Started in 1988, World AIDS Day is essentially about increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education about HIV/AIDS.
2010 Theme: Universal Access and Human Rights
Currently, there are 3.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009, some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2.6 million people became infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
These statistics may be hard to swallow and may not mean much, despite the large numbers-- one way to think about the epidemic is by listening to stories. HIV/AIDS is not a crime or a punishment. HIV/AIDS is a serious, yet preventable disease. December 1 is a great day to tear down the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and learn the facts.
How can you help?
Learn the facts and spread the word. Tell people about what you know and break down people's stereotypes and negative stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS
Wear a red ribbon. The red ribbon is an international symbol for HIV/AIDS awareness that is worn by people to show care, concern and support for people with HIV/AIDS.
If you are a Boston University student, support & sign up for Dance Marathon in the spring. (Check out their blog: http://budancemarathon.blogspot.com/) For the past eight years, Dance Marathon has been the largest annual fundraiser at BU. Dance Marathon is able to donate thousands of dollars each year to two organizations that assist children and their families who are combating pediatric HIV/AIDS and fund research efforts to find a cure! (I wish I could do this this year, but I will be in Sydney, Australia studying abroad. Dance for me!!)
Take AVERT (an international HIV and AIDS charity, based in the UK, working to avert HIV/AIDS worldwide, through education, treatment, & care) quizzes and games to test your knowledge about HIV/AIDS, sex, pregnancy & condoms.
This is an important day and it's important we all show our support. In what ways will you support people with HIV/AIDS?
Check out these cool ways to volunteer with animals in Boston. The one thing that I have learned from volunteering to work with animals in the past is to BE PATIENT. These organizations are inundated with applications because these volunteer positions are so popular and some of the volunteer positions require an orientation session or several training seminars. It's all worth it though because you get to help animals!
Volunteer at the New England Aquarium. My friend, Mary-Kate, volunteers at the New England Aquarium and she loves it! Volunteers do all sorts of things, like even scuba-dive in the tanks to help clean rocks and take care of the sea creatures.
Become a Museum of Science Butterfly Garden Volunteer. Volunteers in the Museum of Science Butterfly Garden (which if you have not been to the Museum of Science, I highly recommend you check out! It's a really cool place with tons of awesome exhibits.) answer questions on butterfly identification after receiving training. This helps educate and teach people about butterflies in Boston. Pretty cool.
Animal Rescue League of Boston. Volunteers at Animal Rescue League of Boston volunteer with direct animal care, animal socialization and general administrative support. No matter what your volunteer position if you volunteer with Animal Rescue League of Boston, you will be touching the lives of animals-- whether directly or indirectly.
MSPCA Boston Adoption Center cares for over 6,000 animals annually and are available 365 days a year. The organization relies on volunteers for everything from cat cuddling to cage cleaning.
Why do you love working with animals? Have you volunteered with these organizations or organizations like this? Tell me about your experience.
Send me photos of you volunteering and a sentence or two to describe what's going on in the picture. This picture could have been taken anywhere-- but I'd love to see some Boston photos. Be sure to send your name and the description along with the photo.
My favorite photo will be chosen Monday night (11/29/2010). Submissions must be in my email by 10:30pm on 11/29 to be eligible for the contest.
Winner's photo & volunteer story will be featured on my blog, and will receive a $10.00 gift card (Winner will have the choice between Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, UBurger gift card).
People often say you can't make a difference without spending money. But, as I've shown in my past posts, there are lots of ways to make a difference without spending a dime. Check out these 4 ways in particular that cost you nothing to help charities & the people they help:
Use the coupons you get for places like Shaws, CVS, Rite-Aid and Stop & Shop to get free food. (See the video below). If you don't need or like the particular item you get from the store, donate it to a local charity. What could be easier? Plus, it doesn't cost you anything.
If your hair is long enough and grows back fast, donate your hair to Locks of Love! Children lose their hair due to cancer treatments, alopecia, burns & other circumstances. It is Locks of Love mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.
Before you throw something away, visit Boston's Freecycle Network. This is a great website that helps the environment and people worldwide. Before tossing items (like an old fax machine, an old tennis shoe missing a pair, or an old picture frame)-- think to your self: Can someone use this? Simply join the Freecycle Network & post your item up and before no time-- someone is bound to want to use your item. You can even use FreeCycle to acquire something for yourself. Respond to a member's offer and you might just get it. Know, however, it's up to the giver to decide who receives the gifts and set up a pick up time to pass on the treasure.
Blog, Facebook, or Tweet about your favorite non-profit or charity. Word-of-mouth, especially via social networks and new media, is especially important because it lets people know about ways to volunteer and help different causes. People value the opinions of their friends and family and will value what you have to say and your advice about who to donate to or to volunteer with. Spread the word!
What ways do you help charities and non-profits for free?
