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Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is behind us, many of us have thoughts of becoming a better person in 2014. Some may choose health and wellness, while others choose financial improvement, but there is also the select group of kind souls who resolve to give back to the community.

You might wonder which volunteer opportunity is right for you. Here’s a list of 7 ways you can serve your community.

1. Donate funds

Life can be hectic for many people and they simply do not have room in their schedules to donate their time. For those of us who can afford it, a donation of funds can go to a long way to a charity.

2. Donate time

For busy (and slim-budgeted) college students like myself, a donation of my time is all some are able to afford, but time can be just as valuable as money! Find a cause that touches your heart and contact an organization to discover what it is you can do to help out.

3. Seek out online opportunities

Again, I am quite the busy lady. I work during the day and have schoolwork on weekends. Like many people, most of my free time is in the evenings. For people in that situation, online volunteer opportunities are perfect. I can sit at my computer and help an organization when I can find the time. From blogging to tutoring, or bookkeeping to graphic designing, there are numerous ways a person can put their skills to use for charity from behind their computer desk.

4. Donate your craft

Every person has a unique range of skills. Find a way to use those skills to help someone else. For example, crafty people can donate handmade goods to organizations that distribute them to people in need. 

5. Travel for your cause

While much of volunteer focus is concerned with people near to us, it is important to remember that individuals in other countries desperately need our help. There are credible organizations (do your homework on this one!) that provide volunteer opportunities abroad. Also, it is possible to fundraise for your expenses, so this opportunity is more accessible than you might think.

6. Organize a food, clothing, book or toy drive

Leadership is essential for organizations to gather the materials they need. I know of a particular charity that keeps plastic toys out of landfills (hint, hint) that is collecting toys in April for Earth Week that would love your efforts!

7. Raise awareness

My final tip for helping others in this New Year is to spread the word about the joys of volunteering. As much as your efforts will help others, it will help you just as much through the satisfaction it brings. The more we let others know, the more good will be done.  Share this post, get to work and let’s make 2014 a wonderful year for every life we touch. 

Author: Emily Bloomquist, Early Childhood Education Student

With circulars touting TVs for rock-bottom prices, games and toys that children absolutely must have, and many items that shoppers didn't know they needed until they saw them, it’s easy to get wrapped up (no pun intended) in the consumerism of the holidays. It's even easier to lose sight of one of the greatest gifts that you can give – joy.

In our consumer culture, it can take effort to overcome the onslaught of ads and pressure to buy certain things or spend a certain amount during the holidays. I've met people who thought that only a $50 gift (or more) was “appropriate.” Bah humbug. I say it's not about the cost -- it's about the thought. Gifts can be bought or made. They can be small, but meaningful. They can be inexpensive, but mean the world to the receiver.

The real value reveals itself in the moment that you hand someone a present: To you, from me, and I picked it just for you. That usually brings a smile to the recipient's face. It’s nice to be remembered on a birthday or a holiday, and for kids, it’s fun to get a toy to play with -- especially if they don’t have many.

Gift givers may think they’re giving something tangible but in reality, they’re giving something even better, something magical -- they're giving the gift of joy, to the receiver and themselves. 

What's the value of that? It's priceless.

Author: Tara Lynn Johnson, Philadelphia-region freelance writer and joyful gift-giver.

taralynnjohnson.com

We are very excited to announce our collaboration with Johnson & Johnson for their America Recycles Day initiative.

J&J Associates joined forces with Second Chance Toys and collected more than 300 gently used plastic toys since April at their Skillman and Morris Plains locations as part of the company’s continued commitment to helping the environment.

Toys donated at these locations were cleaned, tagged and delivered to children in need that very same day in their very own community to bring smiles for the holidays. These efforts not only helped children, but kept pounds of non-biodegradable plastic out of landfills. America Recycles Day calls for bigger and better recycling, and we’re doing just that! These efforts compliment J&J’s already strong commitment through the Care to Recycle Program.

The recycling events took place November 12th in Morris Plains and November 14th in Skillman where Johnson & Johnson employees took their recycle pledge to help kids in need.

We are very proud of our results and look forward to growing this program together in the future!

Since we are on the heels of Halloween I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about dress-up. Most children enjoy and can benefit from pretending to be someone else for a while. We aren’t done with the Halloween costumes yet!

The brain is strengthened during play with dress-up clothes; it actually has tons of cognitive benefits. When dressing up as someone else, children are learning to take the perspective of other people. Preschoolers and younger children in particular are still learning that other people think differently than they do and dress-up is a perfect way to practice.

Dress-up and pretend play is also a way children learn to deal with our world. Doctor coats and bags help children get over their fear of the doctor’s office; firefighter jackets and helmets teach children to trust firefighters. Not only that, but creativity blossoms when children are given the opportunity to dress as someone else. A safari hat can take a child on a extravagant excursion in the jungle, or simple rain boots can turn an entire classroom into a giant mud puddle.

Quite often when people think of dress-up, they think of the expensive costumes and sets. However, that is not necessary! Dig in your closet and find clothes that you don’t wear anymore; your children will love them, and you’re recycling all at the same time. And don’t forget those Halloween costumes! 

Author: Emily Bloomquist, Early Childhood Education Student

When Peggy Traynham’s daughter died of breast cancer four years ago, she assumed the responsibility of raising her five children. Two of them, a 13-year-old girl and a disabled 23-year-old disabled young man, still live with her today.

The trend of grandparents raising grandchildren is a growing one. Of the nation's families, 2.4 million are now maintained by grandparents who have one or more of their grandchildren living with them, according to the latest Census data.

But trying to make ends meet has not been easy for many of these grandparents. Traynham, 61, a retired security officer with no income of her own, lives in a low-income, Newark townhouse development owned and operated by the non-profit New Community Corporation. She relies heavily on the organization’s food pantry to help feed herself and her two grandchildren, whose government checks help pay the rent.

 “It’s been helpful lots of times,” said Traynham, who picks up items like frozen whole chicken, canned goods and bread from New Community’s Emergency Food Pantry, during the monthly visits.

Since the pantry opened in March of 2012, the number of families and individuals in need of food has steadily increased. This year alone, the pantry has served more than 7,000 clients, including seniors, single parents, low income working individuals and the homeless. 

“Interestingly, the demographic that has really increased is the ‘working poor,’ those people who don’t make enough to always make ends meet,” explained Malcolm Hayman, Assistant Director of Social Services for New Community Corp. He said the need for food assistance is rising because of the economy and cuts in the federal food stamp program, which take effect November 1st. With the approaching holidays, pantry officials are expecting even more people to turn to them for food assistance and they are worried there will simply not be enough food.

The New Community pantry is open after the 15th of every month and typically distributes 90 percent of its stock by the third day after opening.The pantry receives a pre-determined allotment of food monthly from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and occasionally also receives food from Catholic Charities.Still, it is difficult to keep up with the demand.

“We are forced to refer clients to other pantries after our supply runs out,” Hayman, the New Community official, explained. “Unfortunately, our supply falls far short of the demand.”

If you can help the New Community Emergency Food Pantry by making a food donation, please call 973-623-6114. The pantry will even pick up major donations of food.

“Nowadays, we all need help,” said Traynham, the Newark grandmother raising her two grandchildren. “Today it may be me, but tomorrow it could be you.”

Author: Angela Stewart, Director of Communications at New Community Corp.

What’s the key to inspiring the next generation of humanitarians?  That's the question I ask myself when spending time with my 5 year old niece and 8 year old nephew.

Aside from the buffered picture our elders paint for us, childhood often means having little understanding of what the outside world is really like.

I see my niece and nephew’s eyes light up when I give them a birthday present wrapped in colorful paper, take them to an exciting carnival, or get them that cool new must have winter coat.. but do they know that there are children in the world who are not lucky enough to have those things?

Starting at a very young age my parents exposed me to the art of helping, volunteering, and just being kind. From the small act of helping an elderly person with their groceries or having a conversation with someone having a bad day, to the larger gestures like providing a warm bed and hot meal for a person in need. My parents never thought twice about jumping in and lending a helping hand. As time passed they became the ‘go to’ people for comfort and guidance. They helped not only our friends and family, but distant acquaintances and often times, even complete strangers. My parents are the inspiration for me to make a difference and focus my skills toward the greater good in order to ‘help those who cannot help themselves’. That’s why I find my position as Operations Manager at Second Chance Toys to be so rewarding.

Quick backstory: My parents had to redirect and clarify their message when I was 6 years old. I tried to give my McDonalds Happy Meal away to a homeless man on the streets of Boston at Christmas time without asking them if I could speak to a stranger. They had to quickly jump in and explain that giving away my own dinner wasn’t the best way to help. We went in and got him his own food and I was able to enjoy mine as well (along with my awesome new Happy Meal toy – a Strawberry Shortcake Christmas Ornament- very exciting stuff). All in all, a great lesson that I'll never forget.

I’ll be forever thankful for the gift of empathy and the desire to make a difference that my parents gave me as a young person, and now I am passing that precious gift to my niece and nephew. Someday, when I’m a mother, I look forward to passing it along to my own children as well.

Whether it’s by providing a gentle reminder that when they don’t get exactly what they want, there are children out there with absolutely nothing -- children their same age with their same wants and needs. I always make sure to share pictures of the toy donations I coordinate so they are able to see the joy on their peer’s faces, and of course, the smile on their Auntie’s face as well.  As they are getting older I’m seeing that they are able and eager to understand the message even more.

The key to inspiring the next generation of humanitarians is to do exactly what my parents did. Share the great need for kindness in the world and explain that not everyone is as lucky as the next. Most importantly, share the impact that kindness has on everyone involved; the person providing the kindness, the person who needs it, and the people witnessing it who are now inspired to do the same.

When my niece and nephew are a little older I’ll be taking them to charity events as my most important, very special guests -- the next generation of inspired humanitarians.

I am lucky.  Every day I get to work with people who spend a considerable amount of their time trying to better their community. When I was asked recently about my thoughts on raising a charitable child, I immediately though about the families I have seen using my site and the many ways busy parents can take the lessons I have learned and teach them to their children.

With the holiday season approaching, it is a great time to start new projects and to really drive home the lesson of volunteerism. Here are a few ways to set a good example for your kids, get them involved, and teach them about the importance of philanthropy.

WALK THE WALK

As a mom, I know that kids admire and want to emulate their parents, so getting kids to act in an empathic way can often be a natural result of simply watching how you treat and talk about others, whether it be taking the time to visit someone who is sick, donating to a cause you care about or defending someone who others are making fun of.

VOLUNTEER

With so many households being run by work-outside-the-home parents, people have less time today than ever. Sometimes even doing the research to find an appropriate volunteer project can be taxing and parents may not know that there are some simple volunteer opportunities available that can be rewarding, fun and provide a great opportunity to have a new experience with their kids.

Depending on the age of the child, the volunteerism will vary. It could be something simple from a trash cleanup that anyone can participate in to something more age appropriate. Something that little ones often shine at is visiting the sick and the elderly. Children are naturally empathetic and bring a lightness to these situations because they often don’t feel the heaviness of the environment the way adults do. Simply walking into a room, saying hello to the residents, or even playing games with them is enough to brighten someone’s day. Older children are often great at coming up with their own projects, whether it’s finding a local shelter that they want to volunteer with or identifying a need in the community that they would like to raise money for.

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