Giving can be something big, like a full Saturday cleaning up a neighbor’s yard, or something as small as taking homemade soup and cookies to someone who could really appreciate the thoughtful gesture.

Here are a few ideas for giving back during the different months. 

Jan- Donate Gently Used Items.  We all love a good declutter and organization haul come January.  This is the perfect time to go through all the bedrooms, closets, and toy rooms and collect items that your family is no longer using.  We always like to donate our items to Faith Mission, which is a local homeless shelter and has a thrift shop that helps support the shelter.  I always to take a moment in the car with my boys and pray over the items and that whoever receives them will be blessed.  

Feb. Collect food for a local food pantry or volunteer your time helping there on a Saturday.  

March- Participate in a Walk or Run for your favorite cause. 

April- Do something fun to celebrate Earth Day! Plant an extra row in your garden and donate some of the food or find a local garden and help volunteer a day there. 

May-Collect food and supplies for your local Humane Society.  I suggest contacting them beforehand to see what current needs they have.  Love animals and want to help longer term?  Become a foster home for pets in need until they can be placed in a forever home.  

June- Purchase new (or collect gently used) suitcases for children in Foster Care.  You can also collect socks, stuffed animals, pillow/blanket, and toiletries.

July- Donate school supplies and/or backpack to a local school supply drive. 

Aug. Reach out to local nursing home and see if they have any buddy programs or if you can donate any small gift items for a senior without an active family.  

Sept. Donate gently used jackets and coats. You can also do a small drive with your kids and have them help collect from family and friends. 

Oct. Rake leaves and clean up someone’s yard who could use a helping hand. 

Nov. Provide an entire Thanksgiving Day meal to a family in need or serve others in your local soup kitchen. 

Dec. Adopt a family for Christmas, Ring Bells for Salvation Army (we’ve done this as a family with other family friends and it was so much fun!) or volunteer your time wrapping gifts at Salvation Army. 

A few things to remember…

•  You might be  working toward a bigger goal that you can break into smaller steps each month. You don’t necessarily need twelve different ideas for all of the months. In fact, you don’t even have to schedule something every single month, if that’s not realistic for your schedule. Maybe it’s once a quarter or each “birthday month” that you have in your family. 
• You don’t have to commit to something super big and intimidating! Small Acts of Kindness will go a long way! 
• It’s never too late to get started! If you happen to stumble upon this blog in June, late is better than never and will still feel very rewarding. 
• If you drop the ball, that’s ok too! This isn’t something that should create more stress in your life, but enrich it. If you miss a beat, pick back up when you can. 

Please make sure to come back and share if you’ve decided to take part in a Giving Resolution this year and let us know how it’s going! As I continue to work on this project, I will try and update this with more examples.  Also, make sure you’re a part of our Giving Resolutions Email Group for updates throughout the year and don’t forget to hang out with us on Facebook so that you can also share your progress!