Sometimes I feel like our world is falling apart all around us. I read the news and get anxiety; I see so many worthy causes and so much pain and chaos, but as a stay-at-home mom I feel so small. What can we do? How can we possibly help? Don’t lose hope, my friend. Even us parents can learn how to make the world a better place. Read on for my little everyday ideas, get some inspiration from my favorite charities, and read quotes from my favorite saint and her “little way” on how to make the world a better place.
I do link to charities here but am not affiliated with any, and don’t receive any portion of any donation you would make. These causes are near and dear to my heart, and I donate too!
And please feel free to list your own ideas in the comments of how to make the world a better place.
For a lot of us, the world’s problems seem too big for us to touch. There are acres of the Amazon burning; kids are starving; there is so much injustice. I don’t have millions of dollars to donate, and even trying to volunteer with a three-year-old in tow is nearly impossible. So I’ve thought of some little ways that we can help our community and our Earth. Let’s all try to do what we can, and be examples to our children that it’s never hopeless. Everyone can do something to help.
Smile at Strangers
Need I say more?
Find Ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
… in that order. The first goal is to just need less crap in our lives; the second goal is to see if we can repurpose stuff and give it new life; the third goal is to recycle that which can’t fit into the first two goals. There are lots of guides online to help you learn how to recycle properly (eg wet or dirty plastic can’t be taken, and often ruins other recyclable materials next to it) and how else you can make the world a better place, one decision at a time.
Donate Blood
You get to watch TV. You get free snacks and drinks. You can even earn gift cards! All blood types are needed all the time, from whole blood (a donation takes about 15 minutes) to platelets and double reds. Look up organizations in your area and see if you’re eligible. I try to go every eight weeks on the dot and I donate to South Texas Blood and Tissue.
Get on the List for Be the Match
Be the Match is a bone marrow donation program in the United States. You apply, get a free medical kit that you complete at home and send back, and then if approved you’re put on the marrow donor list. You could be saving someone’s life one day and not even know it yet! This is a free, no-commitment way to put yourself out there into the universe and be willing to help another. (And don’t worry, there’s no commitment required. You’d be contacted and given a lot more information before you’d be selected as someone’s donor, which you have to consent to; and if you do, all expenses are covered!)
Volunteer or Donate for the Local Food Bank
Food banks are another great way to give back to the community. You can donate food or even work for a few hours. It’s great for a sense of perspective, and for a sense of a community that’s greater than yourself. (Check with your local food bank as they sometimes allow children to help too.)
Write to Soldiers
You and your kids can write cards and letters to soldiers who are deployed. What a lovely thing to do for a person on the other side of the world. You can even organize this as a playdate so that all the kids can make cards together. Get creative, and see what happens! Get started with groups like Operation Gratitude and Any Soldier, or do a Google search as there are multiple organizations who help this.
Hold Babies at the Hospital
If you have the time and you love snuggles, see if your local hospital has a baby holding program. Yes, holding babies! Whether the baby is abandoned at birth or their parents can’t stay at the hospital, or even if their mother was an addict during pregnancy, the nurses don’t have time to spend much quality one-on-one time with the newborns who need it most. Pass a background check and go when you can to help sing, rock, pat, and comfort infants. What a beautiful, easy way to give back to our world. Google “baby cuddler” to get started finding a hospital in your area.
Donate to Homeless and Women’s Shelters
Homeless and women’s shelters are always in need of gear like clothes, hygiene products, and blankets. Contact a shelter near you and see how you can help.
Walk Dogs, Donate Supplies, and Read to Animals
Find your local animal shelter and see if you can help either with your time (reading to dogs to help with anxiety/fear, and walking dogs is always useful), or round up some food and toys to help their stores. Hey, maybe you can even be a foster parent for a furry friend!
Raise Children Who Are Selfless, Compassionate, and Kind
And I saved the big one for last. We are our kids’ first example of how to treat others, how to treat animals, how to treat our planet. (And may I remind you, the Earth doesn’t need humankind – it’ll be perfectly fine without us.) Be a great example, when driving and shopping and just at home on a Tuesday.
My Favorite Charities
Now that you have some ideas of how you can help in little ways, I’m quickly listing my favorite charities. These are important to me and I try to donate a few times a year when we’re able. Always research a charity to be sure that the money is actually going where you want it to!
St. Jude Children’s Hospital is a non-profit organization which has a mission: to end childhood cancer, and support the families of children who need treatment. A St. Jude patient’s family doesn’t receive a bill for anything, from medical care to travel. They’re increasing the survival rate of various childhood cancers but taking care of more than just the patient. They care about families.
Kiva is an organization which provides loans to people around the world for their businesses. What’s beautiful is that you get your money back in time – this is not a gift, but a loan. So you can essentially keep donating the same $25 over and over again, helping people all over the world! I love the website, I love the message.
You can also set up your Amazon Smile account to donate proceeds to a charity of your choice! Find out here. smile.amazon.com
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is on a mission to help CFers live a better quality life, and to help CF stand for “cure found.” I have been donating for a few years since one of my dear friend’s daughters has CF. You can read about that experience here, and donate to CFF here.
The League of Conservation Voters works hard to help people be aware of our environmental issues and what’s going on in regards to politics and policy. From protecting bees to the rainforest, endangered whales to clean water, LCV helps to get money where our world needs it, and keep you informed. Find them at LCV.org.
St. Therese and Her Little Way
Speaking again on what I mentioned earlier, it seems so impossible that we can solve the world’s problems when we are so small. I kept thinking about my favorite saint, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and her “little way.” This is just a little bit of information about her; no matter how (or if) you worship, I love her mentality, and she’s pretty darn inspiring. When I get overwhelmed and anxious, I go back to Therese’s philosophy on how to make the world a better place, and I find peace in her words. I hope that you do, too.
St. Therese loved nature, and often used the imagery of nature to explain how the Divine Presence is everywhere, and how everything is connected in God’s loving care and arms. Therese saw herself as “the Little Flower of Jesus” because she was just like the simple wild flowers in forests and fields, unnoticed by the greater population, yet growing and giving glory to God. Therese did not see herself as a brilliant rose or an elegant lily, by simply as a small wildflower. This is how she understood herself before the Lord – simple and hidden, but blooming where God had planted her.
Therese saw herself as a child of God. She liked to keep things simple and focused as a child does. Trust, especially trust in God, is a childlike virtue. Some spiritualities have stressed complicated practices and extraordinary journeys of the soul as it responds to God’s grace and love. Therese’s spirituality is simple and she calls it her “little way.” She believed and taught us that life presents enough challenges and opportunities for grace. She teaches us that God is everywhere – in every situation and person – and in the ordinary, simple details of life.
“Everything is grace” is probably the theme song of her spirituality. Her “little way” teaches us to do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love. A smile, a note of encouragement, a phone call, suffering in silence, always having a positive word, a simple unnoticed task to brighten the life of another, and so many other simple deeds, done with love – these are the examples of her spirituality. The smallest action, done with love, is more important than great deeds done for personal glory, gratification or simply out of obedience. Therese teaches us that Jesus is everywhere and is the power for love and goodness operating within us. Such is the power and presence of grace. Therese’s life was hidden. To many even in the convent, she seemed like such an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the most simple ways. -Taken from the Little Flower website.
Thanks so much for checking out my ideas about how to make the world a better place. Let’s keep hope alive in all we do, for us and for the lives of our children. They deserve it!
And let me know in the comments what charities you love, and how you and your family help make the world a better place.
I'd love to hear from you!