7 Ways To Give Back To Your Community

Feeling altruistic? There are plenty of things you can do to make the world a better place. Whether you’re satisfying the twinges of your conscience or just padding out your uni applications, here are seven ways you can volunteer today.

1: Talk To Seniors
You don’t need any special skills to give the gift of your company to lonely senior citizens and nursing home residents. Join them for lunch or afternoon tea; help them read and sort through their mail; call out numbers on bingo night.

2: Ladle Soup
Homeless shelters are always in need of able bodies to make sandwiches and pass out plastic forks. This is another activity that requires no specialized talent; as long as you have patience and a kind heart, you’ll be more than welcome at any shelter in your city.

3: Play Fetch
If you aren’t quite ready to interact with humans, consider volunteering at a pound or kennel instead. You’ll probably do a lot of cleaning and pooper-scooping at first, but once the facility begins to trust you, you’ll be allowed to play with the animals in the name of socialization.

4: Tutor Kids After School
Youth development is one of the best ways you can invest in your community. Every child you stop from falling in the cracks is one who could eventually turn into a productive member of society.

5: Start A Food Or Clothing Drive
Collect clothes, cans and other household goods for your local homeless shelter or battered women’s clinic. You can also gather toys during the holidays for the little ones. When you have nothing, every bit helps.

6: Donate
The fastest and most efficient way to help those in need, donating will serve projects and non-profits in a way that most volunteer work simply can’t. For example, all the free labour in the world won’t buy a new suit for a homeless veteran about to embark on a job interview. He needs cash to make that happen.

7: Clean Up
Beautify parks and highways by picking up the trash that others fling away so carelessly. Your local environmental group will have more details about areas that need attention.

If you’d like to make a difference in the lives of others, volunteering is a great way to roll up your sleeves and get directly involved. Use these seven tips to lend your time to a cause that needs you.