Blogmas Challenge: Small Actions To Give Back This Holiday

People are always saying, “we need to give back during the holiday season”, and then there are also people saying “we should give back all the time”. I am a strong believer of giving back throughout the year, and I make sure I’m always creating impact to the best of my ability, but during the holidays I can’t help but go even further.

This holiday, I challenge YOU, yes YOU, to do something special for at least 1 person. Instead of a gift guide or haul, this post will be dedicated to a list of suggestions of things I’ve done myself, or seen other people do it. You don’t have to share what you’ve done or when, the point is to do it without necessarily telling anyone.

• Buy someone a hot beverage (tea, coffee, etc).
• Offer to buy someone a meal.
• Help someone carry their groceries to the car.
• If you sense that someone wants a pair of ears to listen to something on their mind, be there for them. I was once approached by a lady that just wanted someone to listen to her story, remember this post?
• If you see someone that forgot their umbrella and you have one, offer to walk them to their destination.
• Gift a pair of gloves to someone that you think may need it, especially if you are living in a cold city like me.
• Volunteer to hand out food with your local charity.
• Is it currently snowing? Maybe offer to drive someone that doesn’t have a car to stock up on groceries, or if you see someone stuck on the rode, offer them a ride. I was once stuck on the mountain (yes my University is located on a mountain) and our car broke down, and what do you know…I had an exam very soon. A very nice student passing by offered to drive me up as well. It may have been a small gesture to some, but it saved me from having to go through a process of convincing my professor to let me take the exam again!
• Lastly, if you really don’t have the time, do some research on charities that put their donations to good use, and donate whatever you feel comfortable. I am in no position to tell you which charities you should donate to, as everyone has differing opinions. One thing I will say is, keep in mind how the charity uses their donation (eg. do they have ridiculously high overheads?), and then you make the judgement.
• Remember, hugs also go a long way 🙂

The list can go on and on, but I wanted to share a few ideas to get some conversations flowing and actions started. Let me know if there is anything you think I definitely need to add to this list.