Get Involved in Your Community This Summer

During the winter months, we are strongly encouraged to get involved in our community and participate in the “season of giving”, however, community involvement is welcomed and needed year round. Although there are a number of summer volunteer abroad programs, there are plenty of opportunities close to home. Whether you have a teenager who needs something to do this summer or you find that you have a little extra time on your hands, the summer season is the perfect time to volunteer and help out others in your community. Want to get started? Here are some ideas:

Garage Sales & Lemonade Stands

Summer wouldn’t be the same without a garage sale or a lemonade stand. Not only is it a great way to clean out the house and garage, but your proceeds (or a portion of them) can go to a charity of your choice. Want to boost your sales? Make a some signs that state where the proceeds will go (ie. local animal shelter, food shelf), you may find that many of your shoppers are eager to support you and even offer a monetary donation.

Don’t forget to get the kids involved, too. Kids love having lemonade stands, but rather than making it a strictly money making opportunity for them, let them pick a charity of their choice to donate a portion of their proceeds. For example, if your child loves animals, encourage him or her to use money to buy dog and cat food for the local animal shelter.

Get Outdoors

Once summer arrives, it’s likely that you’ll want to spend most of your time outdoors. While you’re enjoying the great outdoors, take the opportunity to help out around your community by picking up trash while you’re on a walk, help an elderly or disabled neighbor with yard work, volunteer to pull weeds at a community garden, or beautify your neighborhood with some potted flowers or an inspirational message written in chalk on the sidewalk in front of your house.

Giving Back to the Community

During the summertime, there are numerous events happening throughout your community that raise funds or awareness for various organizations. Whether you attend or volunteer at an event, you are giving back to your community. Ways to help out includes, but is not limited to, attending or volunteering at a blood drive, volunteering at sporting events (such as Special Olympics), or join the planning committee for a community event such as a marathon or wellness fair.

Ways for Your Teen to Get Involved

For many teens, summer is an “idle” time, leaving many parents frustrated. Rather than making your summer vacation a battle between you and your teen, encourage your son or daughter to get involved in the community. Whether he or she chooses to get an internship or joins you when you volunteer, not only will it fill the “boring” hours of the day, but it’s a great way to make connections in the community and it is important information to add to a college application.

The Benefits of Learning About Other Cultures

As far as we’ve come as nation, many Americans express fear, hatred, intolerance, or confusion towards other cultures. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, when someone has a fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners, he or she suffers from xenophobia. Sadly, xenophobia can lead to violence and discrimination.

America has been a “melting pot” since its inception, so for many Americans it may be surprising that such negative feelings towards other cultures can exist. Xenophobia can affect your neighbors, your family members, your friends, trusted officials in your community, and even you. Rather than fueling the harmful negativity, here are some benefits to learning about other cultures:

Reducing Xenophobia

When someone suffers from xenophobia, he or she likely feels hatred or fear towards strangers or foreigners because he or she is simply lacking accurate information about another culture. If more people took the chance to learn about different cultures, xenophobia could be less prevalent. For example, your neighbor may fear the Muslim family that just moved into the neighborhood. When you ask her why she’s so fearful and hateful, all of her feelings stem from what she perceives from the media. If your neighbor took the time to get to know the new family, she would most likely see that she shares some commonalities such as a love for gardening, cats, and reality television. One of the major problems of xenophobia is that many people are too “set” in their feelings that they aren’t willing to branch out and learn about other cultures.

Enhance Your Lifestyle

Think about some of your favorite cuisine. Without cultural influence, your daily food options would be pretty boring. Love the artistry of sushi or the rich, comforting flavors of Indian food? You can thank other cultures for the variety in your life. Not only can other cultures make for a more colorful dining experience, but learning about other cultures is interesting and can broaden your views on everything from food to clothing to religion and politics.

Learn How to Interact with Other Cultures

Some people, who are xenophobic, base their negative feelings off of how they perceive the actions of strangers. For instance, some Asian cultures do not use direct eye contact and many Americans may view that as a sign of disrespect, where in fact it is a way of showing respect. Cultural differences can cause a lot of misunderstandings and may lead to irrational feelings of hate and fear. You may gain a better understanding of nonverbal communication by simply taking the time to learn about another culture. However, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t assume that everyone of a certain culture is the same (as Americans are not all the same).

See the World Through Another Person’s Eyes

By taking the time to learn about someone’s cultural background, you may have a better understand of their life. For example, many people assume that refugees and immigrants come to the U.S. for “free” things, but in reality many of them are escaping a war torn country. Learning about another culture can open your mind, your heart, allow you to express empathy, and reevaluate your own life and culture.

National Public Health Awareness Week: Get Involved in Your Community

If you live in a small, quiet, and low-crime community, you may take your safety for granted. Millions of homes and neighborhoods across the U.S. are deemed dangerous, putting the health, safety, and overall well-being of residents at risk for personal injuries and even death. You may live a healthy lifestyle and reside in a safe home, but if your community is unsafe and unhealthy it can directly impact you.

The first week of April is National Public Health Awareness Week in which the American Public Health Association (APHA) raises awareness, educates and encourages communities to strive to live more safely and healthy. The APHA strives in making the United States the healthiest nation by the year 2030. While the goal is a challenge, it is attainable if everyone made small changes in their daily lives.

What Makes a Community Safe?

Focusing on community safety is much more than reducing the rate of crime. A safer community should have low rates of unintentional injuries, the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases. An unintentional injury, such as a fall or injury in a fire, can happen anywhere in a community and with proper prevention, the rate of incidence can be significantly decreased.

Hazardous Homes: While the home should be one of the safest places in a person’s life, a place of residence is often filled with hazards that lead to injury in death.

For instance, many Americans rent homes and entrust that the property they live in is safe. Unfortunately, in many homes the property is not maintained or up-to-date with safety regulations. According to Mike Sawaya, Denver personal injury attorney at The Sawaya Law Firm, property owners are responsible for maintaining the property in a reasonably safe condition, or at least giving adequate warning of any danger. When a home is not properly maintained, the rates of unintentional injuries can increase.

The Solution: Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that the property is safe (regardless of the age of the property or the income level of the renters). While some landlords fail to regard safety, tenants (and potential tenants) should choose the property carefully and avoid renting any places that may have health hazards such as radon, lead paint, tripping/falling hazards, or any indication of fire hazards.

Unsafe Neighborhoods: Gun violence is a problem of epidemic proportions in neighborhoods across the United States and it takes about as many lives each year as vehicle crashes. According to the Gun Violence Archives, there were 53,037 incidents involving a gun, resulting in 13,384 deaths and 26,973 injuries. Although a majority of gun use is intentional (with 2,335 incidents due to home invasion and 1,286 due to defensive use), 1,954 gun incidences were a result of an accidental shooting.

The Solution: If you want to make your community or neighborhood safer from gun violence, there are some things you can do. First, don’t own a gun, but if you do, make sure you know how to use it safely, store it responsibly, and keep it away from others (especially children). Write to Congress and ask them to vote for safety measures to prevent gun violence. Contact the National Crime Prevention Council and find out how you can get involved in or start a Neighborhood Watch in your neighborhood.

If you become an active member in your community or neighborhood, you can help to reduce rate of preventable accidents and your participation can help make your community a safer and healthier place to live.

How To Get Involved and Raise Awareness About Cancer

During an individual’s lifetime, there’s a great chance that he or she will be affected by cancer, either being diagnosed with or knowing someone who has. According to the latest facts and figures from the American Cancer Society, there are an estimated 1,658,370 new cancer cases diagnosed and 589,430 cancer deaths throughout the U.S. in 2015. Although cancer research has made promising strides, there’s still no cure for cancer and raising awareness about all types of cancers remains as important as before.

Whether you are a cancer survivor, lost someone close to you to cancer, or just want to help educate others about cancer, there are ways to get involved:

Why Cancer Awareness is Important

Although many of us may be surrounded by cancer and are very aware of how it affects others, surprisingly, some individuals aren’t as educated or aware. For instance, while you may know about prevention of certain cancers and early detection or what signs to look for, others may not take action about their health until they’ve received a delayed cancer diagnosis; that’s one of the many reasons why education and awareness is important. Simply put, cancer awareness can help save lives and may increase the rate of survival.

Raise Awareness, Get Involved

While educating and raising awareness within your own circle of family and friends can help the ones you love, your involvement can make a greater impact. Here are few ideas to raise awareness and show your support:

Hashtag it Up on World Cancer Day: Love or loathe the infamous hashtag, but it can be used for good. Consider #worldcancerday or #notbeyondus on Facebook and Twitter to show your support and share your story. On World Cancer Day (February 4, 2016) you can show your solidarity by changing your favorite social media profile picture to the official World Cancer Day Cover. March is also Kidney Cancer Awareness Month so be sure to share your stories and utilize those hashtags.

Donate or Host an Event: If your life has become completely transformed due to Breast Cancer, you may be inspired and motivated to donate to Breast cancer research. You can donate to a foundation of your choice or you can host an event such as a concert, fashion show, dinner, or even a bake sale with all proceeds going to a cancer research.

“Battle of the Bald”: If you’re a college student, get involved in the “Battle of the Bald”, by shaving your head to show your support and raise awareness for childhood cancers. Have a friendly competition with other colleges across the country and raise money for cancer research. Don’t attend college? You can always donate.

Cancer Run Walk: You can get involved with cancer awareness by getting active. By participating in a cancer run/walk (there are probably several to choose from in your area), you are raising funds that will go to cancer research.

Lend a Helping Hand: If you want to help, but don’t have funds for financial support, offer a helping hand to family or friends who are struggling with cancer. Create a benefit, cook meals, babysit children, or offer to drive them to appointments.

Earth Day: Do Your Part, Get Involved

Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been an annual celebration and a reminder to continue to strive to make improvements on behalf of our environment. Earth Day is the perfect example of a group of people who wanted to make and see a change and in order to do that, they needed to take action. On the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans demonstrated from coast-to-coast, in efforts to raise awareness about the changes that needed to be made to stop further damage from pollution and in order to improve the environment overall.

Almost fifty years later, millions of people across the world believe in Earth Day and vow to make changes to better the state of our planet. While Earth Day should (in fact) be everyday, April 22 is a day to remind, motivate, and inspire everyone to be a more mindful and environmentally conscious citizen. Want to get involved this Earth Day? Here are some ideas:

Not Just Earth Day: Change Your Daily Routine

If you commit to making a few changes in your daily routine, on Earth Day, you may realize that they are easy to do and you may be inspired to do them year round.

Bring Your Own Bags: If you’re still using bags from the grocery store, you may be a little behind. While a paper bag may come in handy from time to time, plastic bags should be avoided (some stores have banned them). Some stores charge shoppers if they need a bag for their groceries. If you bring a reusable bag you will be helping the environment and you may even get a discount for bringing your own bag. Bonus: Reusable bags are often much stronger than store bags, so you can load up your bag and not worry about losing your groceries.

Use Your Own Container: Whether you are buying in bulk (ie. dried beans, rice, or spices) or grabbing a cup of coffee at your local coffeehouse, if you bring your own container you may get a discount. If not, you’re being eco-friendly. It’s a win-win.

Compost & Recycle: If you aren’t recycling, there’s no good excuse not to. If you’re out in public and don’t see an appropriate receptacle for recycling, stash that bottle in your purse and recycle it at home. If you want to be more mindful about your waste, composting is a perfect way to cut down on your trash. In may seem overwhelming, but there are so many options for composting and it’s easy.

Shorten Your Showers: Who doesn’t love a long and hot shower? However, those luxurious showers are wasting gallons of water. Here’s a challenge: Take a five minute shower. Might take some getting used to, but think of all the extra time you’ll have in your day!

Alternate Transportation: If you love your car, be inspired by Earth Day to walk, ride a bike, carpool, or take public transportation.

Get Involved With Others

A great way to celebrate and recognize Earth Day is by getting involved with others. Attend a local celebration. Take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and plant trees, plants, or flowers in a park, at a school, or in someone’s yard.

Organize or take part in a trash pick-up. After the snow has melted, streets, grassy areas, and ditches are always filled with debris. Encourage passersby to lend a helping hand or get your family involved, you’re never too old or too young to get involved.

Message Be Heard!

Idealists have a problem with marketing when it comes to spreading their message. For people who focus on doing good in the world, spreading messages via ads and media can seem like a dirty business. According to their thinking, marketing is the exact same sort of manipulative behavior that corporations, lobbyists, and other big evil bodies spend their dollars on.

Marketing may be ugly, but it’s a necessary evil. People who improve the world can’t get their message across if they keep their thoughts in their heads and among a small circle of friends. Effective change can only happen if activists and other progressive community members spread the good word to people outside their social circles. Here are a few easy DIY ways to whip up discussion and awareness for any issue.

Organize Your Message!

When people get together, they make things happen. And luckily, people love getting together. Clubs, activists communities, and other organizations (both formal and informal) are crucial catalysts for change. Form a group if you want to stir up energy for change. People will bring exciting new ideas for protesting, message spreading, community building, and activism.

It’s easy to form a group. Ask a few like-minded friends to put aside a few hours a month, meet at in a living room or coffee shop, bring what they’ve got to the table. Doing so in public has the advantage of offering some free (albeit minor) publicity—you never know who’s going to be sitting at the next table, and chances are you’ll meet allies if you gather in the right place.

Don’t Neglect Social Media!

People down put social media as frivolous. Sure, social media can be frivolous, but when used well, socially aware users can elevate their online posts above the standard array of cat videos and pictures of fancy food. People spend most of their time on the internet these days, and there’s no way you can get your message across if you don’t reach those web-based citizens.

The other obvious advantage of social media is that it’s mostly free. Anyone can start a Facebook group with a few flicks of the wrist. Befriend a few influential people, and you’ll gather momentum and followers in no time. Good social media advertising can get your ideas and actions heaps of attention with no work at all.

So don’t be a snob about social media. You need it if you’re going to attract everyday people. And everyday people are who every movement needs to attract if it’s going to move beyond small meetings among similar-minded people.

Keep Your Message Real!

Don’t get stuck online. Social media are important, but you can’t rely on your Instagram account to ignite revolution. The world is tired of empty online ideals and ineffective slacktivism. Make sure that you and your groups leave the basements and march out onto the real world. Posting flyers at coffee shops, performing street theater activism, and marching in public are essential ingredients for real change. A digital revolution occurs in the mind; a real revolution occurs in the streets.

Community Involvement – It Can Benefit Your Health!

Community service can give you the pride and satisfaction of helping others. It can help strengthen your community and your family. Most people understand the importance of giving back to the community and taking an active role in improving conditions in the world we live in. We know that volunteering is a good thing, but did you also know that it can be good for your health?

The Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) reports that a growing body of research over the past two decades indicates that volunteering produces health benefits as well as social benefits for the individuals involved. According to CNCS, findings presented in its report entitled The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research indicate that volunteers have higher functionality, less depression, and lower mortality rates later in life than those who have not volunteered.

Mental Health Benefits of Community Involvement

As discussed in the CNCS report, the evidence suggests that community service can have a positive effect on social psychological factors. It can provide meaning and purpose in life. Focusing on something other than oneself can alleviate stress. Volunteer work strengthens social ties and protects people from isolation. Helping others also produces a greater sense of self-worth and trust, according to the report. As stated in a Harvard Medical School publication, volunteering helps people feel more socially connected and wards off loneliness and depression.

Physical Health Benefits of Volunteering

The Harvard Medical School article also states that growing evidence indicates a correlation between volunteering and better physical health. According to the article, a recently published Carnegie Mellon University study found that adults over 50 who regularly volunteer their time to help others are less likely to develop high blood pressure, a major contributing factor to stroke, heart disease, and premature death.

CNCS researchers found that people who engage in volunteer activities are less likely to have health problems later in life. Even after factoring in age, gender, and health, the CNCS study determined that individuals who volunteer have a greater chance of living longer.

Rush University Medical Center reports that, according to recent research, people who had chronic pain experienced less pain and disability after beginning volunteer work with others suffering chronic pain. Researchers also found that people who volunteered after suffering heart attacks experienced less depression and despair, factors that increase the likelihood of death in heart attack patients.

However, as reported by Rush, there are limits to how much health benefit is available to an individual through volunteering. Researchers have identified a threshold of one or two hours a week, beyond which no health benefits have been established.

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