Having a child can severely limit your service options. Many organizations require regularly scheduled service that may prove difficult with young children at home. Or perhaps you may feel hesitant to visit hospitals, soup kitchens, or shelters with infants in tow.
This site is designed to provide you with service opportunities that fit a young mother's hectic lifestyle and allow you to raise your children in an atmosphere of altruism.
When you are out doing your Christmas shopping, look for Salvation Army's "Angel Trees" - stop by and pick a child to shop for. (Let your children help shop for the child - they'll love it and want to do more).
If you can't find a tree, have your children put some money in the Salvation Army kettle - and tell the kids what the money is used for. (see their website: Angel Trees
(Note: Some of you have complained that you can't find the Angel Trees in your area. Good News! J C Penney has made it easy for you. You can select your angel online! ) Go to jcp.com/angel
Breaking news…as announced on Good Morning America, if you give a day of volunteer service to a participating organization, you’ll get one day of free admission to a Disney Park. It’s a first-of-its-kind program called “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.”
And yes, it’s that simple — a free one-day ticket to a Disneyland or Walt Disney World theme park for guests who volunteer a day of service to a participating organization. They’re celebrating you and the good things you do for your communities.
The program officially begins on January 1, 2010. When it’s live, you’ll be able to visit www.DisneyParks.com or http://www.disneyparks.ca/ and search for an eligible volunteer project. After completing the volunteer work, an e-mail will be sent from Disney with a link to print out a voucher to redeem at a theme park for a free one-day, one-park admission. And if you’re unable to use the ticket, it can be donated to a charity designated by Disney.
They are looking for 1 million people with a passion to make a difference. And they are working with HandsOn Network to do it. They’re helping make sure you find the perfect volunteer work. And many of the program’s volunteer opportunities will be for the family.
Nothing feels more like Christmas than helping to brighten someone's day. Sit down with your family and discuss things you could do to spread a little joy in your neighborhood. Here are some ideas to start you off:
1. Go Christmas caroling to your neighbors.
2. Bring a basket of homemade goodies to a widow or someone who could use a visit.
3. Call a local charity that might need helpers during the holiday.
4. Call a local nursing home, or hospital and ask if there is someone who could use a visit.
5. Participate in the Salvation Army Angel tree program by buying a toy for a child.
6. If you live by a military base, call to see if any service men would like to join you for Christmas dinner.
With the holidays approaching, many of us will be knee deep in flour, sugar, icing, and sprinkles making scores of holiday cookies. Of course, many of us make scores of cookies year-round because cookies just make us happy. Well if you're a cookie lover and love to make people happy, then you should know about Drop In & Decorate, a year-round, nonprofit organization, created by food writer, Lydia Walshin of The Perfect Pantry.
Lydia founded Drop In & Decorate in 2002, and before the end of this year, the 10,000th cookie will be decorated and donated . Here's how Drop In & Decorate works:
1. Bake some cookies.
2. Gather a group of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to decorate them
3. Donate the cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community.
If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help. Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And Wilton will throw in a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, while supplies lasts. Write to lydia@ninecooks.com for more information on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.
Now, let's bake some cookies!
p.s. You don't have to be a part of the Drop in and Decorate program - this is something you can do on your own. Have your children help make, bake and decorate cookies and go with you to donate to a local rest home or neighbors who could use some cheering up.
Don't forget to participate in local food drives for the holidays. (Have your children put the cans in the collection box so they can feel the spirit of giving)
Some grocery stores are asking for turkeys and they'll match your donation.
Here in San Diego we feed 480,000 people (10,000 homeless, the rest are families in need). Our local rescue mission and the Salvation Army provides meals, but they depend on donations to help them do it. Each meal costs less than $1 so if you make a donation of only ten dollars, you'll feed eleven people.
This site is not limited to young mothers. It is for ANYONE who doesn't have the time or money to participate in organized charities. i.e., single working women, grandmas, shut ins, etc. There is something here for everyone.
Jeri & Amy
Who Are We?
We are a mother/daughter team who are committed to helping people find ways of serving others that fits into their busy life styles. This site is for people who don't have the time and/or the money to participate in organized charities, but still want to do "something."
Teach your children to serve by asking...
What did you do for someone today?
President Thomas S. Monson said in October Conference to ask our children daily, “What did you do for someone today?” He said that this expectation would produce a valuable legacy and inspire them to help others throughout their lives
Our Favorite Quotes:
"Whatever good there is in the world I inherit from the courage and work of those who went before me. I, in turn, have a responsibility to make things better for those who will inherit the world from me." --Arthur Dobrin
“We can't do everything for everyone everywhere, but we can do something for someone somewhere." --Richard L. Evans
"When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves." --Anya Bateman
"No. We are not required to give until it hurts. All we need to do is give until it helps." -- Jeri-Lynn Johnson
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Your children will learn to serve by observing you. But they will become more service oriented by actually participating in service projects themselves -so involve them as often as posssible.
Have them help decide who to help.
Have them help wrap packages to be mailed.
Have them deliver items, or go with you when you deliver them.
At dinner time, when you are asking them about their day, ask them who they helped that day.
Why Serve?
The Buck Institute for Age Research reports that people who serve... - even once a month - have a 44% lower risk of a major disease than those who don't. That's the same protection you'd get by exercising four times a week!
Why it works: Volunteering boosts dopamine, a brain chemical that enhances feelings of pleasure and reward. And all those good feelings fire up your body's production of antibodies that fend off illness!
No Time to volunteer? Make a Donation! You'll get the same life-lengthening benefits by donating a few cans of food or a box of gently used clothing. You can also give back, without spending a cent, by clicking on sites where advertisers make a donation in return:
