Make giving a year-round activity

We’ve just come off at least two months of gift-buying and gift-giving. Special days with deep discounts vied for our dollars: Black Friday; Cyber Monday; Small Business Saturday; and, new this year, Choose Women Wednesday. Among these days was Giving Tuesday — the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

At this time, a message went out from the Community Caregivers office which said, in part, “As the holiday season swings into full gear, it’s good to know you can support a local organization that faithfully serves community needs year round. We serve our neighbors throughout the year who need rides, shopping assistance, friendly visits, caregiver support and more to live  independently at home.” And what we’re most proud of, “Since 2010 over 300 of our volunteers have provided 19,000 services to more than 500 individuals. That’s a lot of caring.”

I’d like to suggest that we all have lots of “Giving Tuesdays.” That we make giving a year-round activity.  The same joy you get in giving gifts occurs when you give money to not-for-profits.

Dr. Oz said in the December issue of Oprah Magazine, “Donating to an individual or a group can make you feel great.” He goes on to say that research shows givers are happier than people who just spend on themselves. And, in fact, the brain’s reward processing center lights up when people give.

Let me suggest some reasons to give:

— In honor of an anniversary or birthday;

— For a favor someone did for you;

— For a service someone did for you and wouldn’t accept payment;

— To say thank you; and

— Just because I want to do something great today.

I know there are lots of other reasons to support Community Caregivers. Be inventive.

In this day of widespread internet use, there are also sites that donate a percentage of what you pay. PayPal matched 1 percent of any donation through the PayPal Giving Fund offer. Year round, for Amazon shoppers, there’s a link that donates to a charity of your choice.

Of course we hope you choose Community Caregivers. Select Smile.amazon.com from your web browser on your computer or mobile device. On your first visit to Smile, you need to select a charitable organization — “Community Caregivers” — before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection. Then, order as normal. Part of the purchase price — half of 1 percent — goes to the charity. And that doesn’t cost you anything.

We’ve been helping neighbors faithfully year-round since 1996. One way you can insure we continue our services is to make a donation with your checkbook or online. You can also go to our website, which will give you instructions on how to make a donation: www.communitycaregivers.org.  

Not all can become volunteers to help people. Probably all can make a donation that helps insure we stay in business.