Articles, Giving

5 Creative ways to give back to the community

Written By: Corbin Thompson
Reviewed by: Mike Reyes
Last Updated November 1, 2023
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a family looking for ways to give back to the community

Are you looking for ways to give back to your community, but not sure where to start? It’s not exactly ‘breaking news’ to say much of the world got hit hard the last near-two years. COVID-19 has changed the way we live, with some industries adjusting to the new normal while other businesses have completely imploded. The need for all of humanity to band together and support each other has never been more important.

Regardless of your current financial status, there are likely others in your community worse off than you. By giving back to those around you, you can feed your soul and do your part to help us all continue the long slow road of recovery from the worst of the pandemic. This article will give you some creative ways to give back to the community, even if you don’t think you have much to give.

1. Spend Less on Your Wedding

planning a wedding can be a way to give back to the community

You may wonder, “How does spending less on my wedding help others?” Simple. Save money on your wedding and you’ll keep more money in your savings account. This helps others in a few key ways.

First, if you’re feeling generous, you can use some of the money you save on your wedding to help a charitable organization. Think about a cause you really believe in. Maybe you want to give to your local SPCA to help those who can’t ask for help, namely animals! Maybe you’ll feel moved to give some of your savings to the local homeless shelter.

Another way saving money on your wedding helps others? It allows you to sock away extra funds in case of another COVID-related calamity. Protect yourself, and you won’t need to look for extra help. Other less fortunate people may then have more access to those funds.

2. Donate Your Time

While there are massive gaps in the wealth of people in the United States, there is one area where we are all equal. The area is simply time! Each of us has the same 24 hours each day. How we spend it is up to us.

We all indeed have obligations that cut into our allotted 24 hours each day. If you’re a parent, that’s a major time commitment. Jobs, families, and even sleep all carve up that 24-hour pie. But what about the downtime?

The average American adult watches over three hours of television per day.  That’s over 20 hours each week in front of the TV. A simple way to feed your soul and give back to your community is to take a few of those hours and help out others.

The best part about donating your time to a worthy cause you believe in? It doesn’t have to cut into your finances. You’ll feel good helping out people or animals in need. And, your budget doesn’t have to be stretched any further.

3. Support Local Businesses

Different industries suffered more than others during the height of the pandemic. But as a whole, small local businesses were strained the most. Without the backing of mega-corporations, these small “mom and pop” businesses did not have the resources to continue paying their bills while in lockdown with no money or customers crossing their thresholds.

When you are out shopping, be sure to frequent your local businesses. Look for the community owned companies, too. While your local Applebee’s restaurant may be “local” to you, its finances are more assured than Mom’s Diner that got founded and started 50 years ago by a local chef who still shows up to cook every meal every day.

4. Start Your Own Scholarship

If you’re in a financial position where you are looking to invest in the future of America, consider starting your own scholarship. You’d be doing something special to help today’s youth obtain higher education and become helpful members of society as adults.

The basic steps to starting a scholarship are fairly straightforward. But, you’ll want to consult with financial experts and attorneys to ensure everything gets done correctly. One appealing aspect of starting a scholarship is you get to set the criteria.

If you’re passionate about science, for example, your scholarship can focus on kids interested in STEM careers. If you want to see more women enter science and math fields, you can aim your your scholarship at women. You can even create a mental health scholarship to promote mental health awareness among students. The possibilities are limitless.

There’s another even more personal possibility, too. You can set up a memorial scholarship to honor someone. If you have a loved one whose memory you want to enshrine, a memorial scholarship can guarantee they are never forgotten. If there was a cause your relative, friend, or mentor believed in, you could tailor the scholarship parameters to fit the deceased person’s passions or life work.

5. Help Kids Start a Business

Do you have kids? One creative way to give back to the community is to instill the importance and value of earning money at a young age. There are many “classic: kids’ businesses that may sound cliché or old-fashioned but still work.

Jobs like lemonade stands, babysitting, and dog walking are great ways to motivate kids to start their own small business early in life. Aspects of responsibility and personal goals are fantastic life lessons that can benefit youngsters for the rest of their lives.

Even if you don’t have kids, you can still contribute to young minds. Go to your local Y and offer to talk to kids about starting their own business. If you have started your own businesses, you have plenty of valuable pearls of wisdom to share with young minds.

Moving Forward

This article barely scratched the surface of possible options for giving back to your community. Look over these ideas. Brainstorm your own. Depending on your financial status, you may have different options open to you, but giving back is something you can do. You’ll be helping your community move forward after one of the most difficult times of the last century. And you’ll feel good doing it.

1 thought on “5 Creative ways to give back to the community”

  1. Thanks for this article on the best ways to give back to the community around you, Corbin. I like how you said that spending your time helping a cause you believe in is a simple way to give back to your community. I’d imagine that it would also be beneficial to donate to non-profit organizations that you believe in.

    Reply

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