Community Service - Muhammad Babangida

Residents and businesses of a community make up the network of safety nets that give help and support to adults and children. There are no limits to how essential services to the community can be achieved. Just look at your neighbors, young and old, and the need will be visible.

Food Donations

The holiday season should not be the only time that food care packages be distributed to families and the elderly population. Once or twice a month, anyone can set aside a small amount of money to take advantage of nonperishable food sales, in their local grocery stores, to create a food basket that will help with daily meals throughout the year.

Form a Literacy Club for Children

You don’t need to be an expert in child education to start a group for children that provides books, tutoring, and writing contests for the development of reading and writing skills. Books can be bought for minimal amounts at thrift stores and a creative mind can organize writing competitions with prizes and awards.

Personal Care Kits for the Homeless

Personal hygiene items may seem basic to someone with a steady residence, but to homeless individuals, a bar of soap and a toothbrush help someone maintain their dignity. The supplies for a personal care kit can be easily purchased at dollar discounts stores. Once assembled, these packages can be donated to shelters, group homes or any other places where people reside in a group setting.

Don’t Forget Our Fury Friends

Pets give love and companionship to so many people who do not have human companionship. Pet animal hospitals and veterinarians can offer a lifeline of treatments, medications and shelter to low income families that may be forced to surrender their pet because of lack of money.

Improve the Quality of Life of the Elderly and Disabled

Individuals or employees of companies can create a lottery system to offer their services for simple tasks around the homes of elderly and disabled residents. Washing windows, shampooing carpets, trash removal, simple sewing tasks, and organizing closets and living spaces can make someone’s home clean and inviting.

Visit the Sick and Lonely

Nursing homes and assisted living centers house many people who do not have families that visit frequently so holidays and birthdays go uncelebrated. Greeting cards and sweet treats, in dollar discount stores, are in abundance for someone who would like to brighten the life of a person who may not receive anything on special occasions.

Our immediate or extended environment is a source of success, happiness and much more. Whether one owns a business or works as a salaried person, he or she is largely dependent on the society for fulfilling his/her professional and personal needs.

Hence It is rather imperative and necessary that we share some part of our success, happiness and gains with the society. While many would see it as a nice gesture, the value that “giving” towards non-profit reasons would generate is priceless.

When you want to do something for your immediate or the larger society, there is no dearth of opportunities. Below are a few tips and ideas that will help you be happier, valued and reputed through the act of giving and donation-making.

In-Kind Donations

There are many things and items that we do not need, and they are there occupying our precious space. The best way of getting rid of such items is to donate them to those who can actually use them or to someone who is in need of them. Clothes, utensils, old electronics… the list of items that you can dispose at this very moment can be extensive if you could just look for them.

Fundraising For Solving A Crisis That Affects A Society

The recent trend towards societal donation now is to solve an actual crisis faced by a community. Many different organizations (both “for” and “non” profit), community members and groups and even public agencies collaborate and link with each other and do the fundraising rounds. The cash and resources generated are used in order to solve a problem or crisis that one segment or the whole of the society faces. While you need more efforts, planning and time here, the results have far-reaching consequences.

When you want to make it short, you can also indulge in the shorter “donation drives” and can generate some donations at the public and private functions by having your own private stall or canopy.

Prizing Those Who Deserve It

Donation can also be made towards the meritorious scholars, police/fire/ military/ health care and other staff and members and other personnel and agencies that have done some extraordinary work within the society. Those who indulge in the disaster-relief operations also need more resources, and you can extend your charity towards the victims of flood, earthquake and other disasters as well.

Financial Philanthropy

Both businessmen and individuals can actually donate cash and can indulge in financial philanthropy if their needs have been fulfilled and there are humongous profits and gains respectively.

For businesses, this gesture can be very fruitful in the long run as the society views the organizations favorably who actually do something for the poorest that also make a part of it. The business that donates cash will get an instant media coverage, an excellent PR coverage, and will be better involved within the community. Finances can also be donated to a charity organization or a local NGO (Non-Government Organization).

Muhammad Babangida is a committed philanthropist from Nigeria

Tag: Community Service

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