The idea of a Christmas jar has been going around since 2005. It's when you save coins throughout the entire year and during Christmas time give it to someone who could use it. It can be a stranger, a friend, or a even a family member. There's even a whole book about it and stories from others on the internet (which I put below). My first year adviser and professor told me about the Christmas jar and I really wanted to do it after she explained it to me! I am so grateful that she is my first year adviser. She made college feel like home and made me feel like I could do anything I set my mind to. She helped me excel in my first year and gave me confidence. She helped me beyond just my classes and into the social part of college and I am so glad she led me in the right direction. For our first year seminars at Elizabethtown we take a fun class that teaches us what we need to know to do well in college. My professor taught me Simple Living. I had heard of tiny homes before that class, but there is so much more to simple living! (Maybe I'll do some blogs on it later!) But her class has literally changed my life. Now, I feel like the whole "changed my life" thing you're probably saying sure maybe for now. But I strongly believe it has changed my life for my entire future (and in a good way). It not only has changed my actions, but the way I think. One day in class she asked us to write our life purpose and that was a big eye opener for me. In ten words write what you want to accomplish in your life. For me that was helping others and making others happy. In an office I can make others happy and help people, but not to the extent of what I really want to do. It was her class that made me realize I wanted to retire early and really think about how I can impact others. It was her class that made me want to write a blog. It was her class that made me realize I can do what I really want to do and live in way that I don't have to be poor doing it. Everything she has taught me left me excited to do it for myself. Living frugally is something that I seriously try to do in my life now. For our final project we wrote a research paper and had the option to choose a topic relating to simplicity and I chose happiness. I loved seeing the different ways others can be happy and how to make one happy. The Simple Living Movement is definitely something that makes people happy and it is a path that I want to take. My professor impacted and led me through so many things and I am so grateful for her!
Going all the way back to the Christmas Jar, grab a mason jar next time you're at the store or rinse out your spaghetti sauce jar and keep the lid and fill it up with coins as the year goes. Your coins could impact someone else's life and possibly help them in ways that you never thought was possible. Make sure to read stories of how it impacted others below! :)
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With the new year coming, I have been cleaning out a lot. I always wanted to get rid of my t-shirts, but every time I went through them I was only able to get rid of one or two because I didn't want to part with them just yet. I got the idea to make homemade dog toys with my extra t-shirts and that made it much easier to get rid of them. Knowing that they're going to be loved by a furry pet made me excited. I had about ten shirts that I decided I could part with. At first I was making the toys by myself and if I'm going to be honest it was not fun. It hurt a little with how much I had to pull them and I was getting tired of the same thing. As I was doing them on the couch my mom came and helped by tying the first knot while I braided the rest. My step dad eventually joined in too. It made it much better and more exciting. When we finished with the normal strips, we made some toys out of the scraps. It was a fun family time. In the end we made 30 dog toys. The toys felt real and I think I probably could sell them and actually make money. I brought them to the SPCA the other day and they were very thankful. I wanted to ask if I could give them to some dogs, but I didn't have the guts. When I got home that evening I looked at the scraps before throwing them away and thought I could probably make some cat toys so that is in process now :)
Here's the steps to making a dog toy: 1. Find an old t-shirt. 2. Lay it out flat and cut off the sleeves. 3. Cut small strips on the end and depending on the shirt you can rip it to the top or cut all the way through with the scissors. 4. Once you have 6-9 strips, tie a knot (preferably with different colors). 5. Braid the strips through evenly. 6. Tie a knot at the end. 7. Cut the end pieces and cut into smaller strips if necessary. 8. You have a dog toy! If you're interested in making a dog toy, there's different kinds of patterns online too! I'm sure any shelter would love to have them and you could even sell them to raise money for an animal shelter as well! 2 days ago I did something so easy that I know you have time to do it! I made some cookies and brought them to the police department. It costs no more than ten dollars! I've had this one on the calendar for awhile now, but to be honest it kept getting pushed to the side. I had the ingredients but "not the time." I finally decided "no time" will turn into "being in college and missed opportunity" so today was the day. I was planning on going to my grandma's house in the afternoon so I brought my cookie mix there. When I got there I turned on the oven, got a mixing pan out and started mixing. Within 5 minutes I was already putting the cookies on the tray to go in the oven. They took about 9 minutes to make and were ready when the timer buzzed! I had one more batch to put in once the others finished and they finished perfectly as well. I gave them about 2 minutes to cool and then they were ready to be wrapped on the plate. After that I wrote a quick letter to thank the police department which only took a minute. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why did I have to tell you the exact amount of time it took to do every little thing. Well that was simply because I wanted to encourage you that you really do have time and can do it! It only took around 30 minutes at most to make an entire batch of cookies, cooled and wrapped and while they were baking I had time to clean everything up! My grandma went with me to the police station (which because it's local only took 15 minutes at the most.) They were very grateful and the lady said they would enjoy them :) While we were leaving we saw an ambulance from a different township bringing in Dunkin Donuts and I thought that was so neat to see! It really doesn't take that much time to make someone's day and it even brings joy to you :) CHALLENGE: I would like to challenge you with the Cookie Giving Challenge (I may have just made it up but together we can make it a thing!) The next time you shop for groceries pick up a easy batch of cookie mix (make sure you have butter and an egg too) and make some cookies next week. Remember there is no excuse to say you have no time! You can bring it anywhere you would like: to your workplace, to a class, to the police station, to a fire station, to another workplace, to a gathering, to a neighbor, to a friend, to a stranger, literally to anyone you can think of. With this being said there is no excuse to say you don't know who to give it to because I'm sure there is something or someone by you or on your way to somewhere that you can bring it. The final excuse may be someone else will do it, but sadly that isn't usually true and YOU can make someone's day. Once you make some cookies fill out the form below and let me know you did it! If you want to send a picture of your beautiful cookies, send me an email! Let's see how many cookies we can give out!! My goal is 1,000 cookies and I know we can do it! With mine we have 24/1000! We can do it, YOU can do it!! Share this with your friends! I really hope you'll consider doing this. Together we can make so many people happy :) Before going to the food bank on Saturday, I took some friends and we went on a little drive to Marin's Attic. Marin's Attic is a thrift shop where all the proceeds go to domestic violence programs. I had recently cleaned out my closet and needed to give the clothes away so I thought this would be the perfect place! I had 2 bags of clothing that I was able to bring. While we were there we also shopped and looked around. They had information about what domestic violence is in little places throughout the store and you could definitely tell what their mission was, and I loved that. Apparently when we went they were having a sale and the entire store was 50% off!! I remembered that I needed some dress pants and a blazer for school and was able to get it for $15! (I was very excited about this!) I think they've maybe been worn once if at all! Anna and Alice (the 2 friends that went with me) also made out great! We all together bought 8 things and didn't spend over $40! Everyone there was also very nice and helpful :)
I strongly suggest looking into thrift shops and clothing stores that have a meaning before going out. This way your money will go to charity rather than just a business. It will help people and benefit you with a new purchase. If you have clothing or something you want to get rid of, you should consider donating to one of them. Normally places like this won't take worn clothing, so keep that in mind if you're planning on donating. Look up thrift shops near you and see which ones actually benefit others, I think you might be surprised. It's a fun experience and you get to see a new place! I included Marin's Attic's website below... they have 2 thrift stores (also Laurel's Loft) so you'll also see that on the website too:) This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Honey Brook Food Pantry and help organize food. I have been to another smaller food pantry before, but this one was very well organized. We learned that people who are qualified to come, come once a month and pick out certain items as if they were shopping. There is so many options they get from personal hygiene items to fresh produce! Our job was to organize all the donated food. There was over 60 crates and boxes of food that we organized. I feel like it fit perfectly with the term "reverse shopping." We took shopping bags of food and checked the expiration date and then put them with the box it fit with best. There was a fruit box, a veggie box, a corn box, a green bean box, a soup box, a rice box, a mac and cheese box, a pasta box and so many more! It was amazing the amount of food that they had! At the end of our sorting, the person in charge showed us the front where the people shop. She said they check in with someone and then someone helps them go around and get everything. There is dairy, meats, veggies, personal hygiene, fresh produce and sometimes an extra section. This past Christmas they received toys where the parents where able to pick them out for their children. They received so much that today (the next time people come in) they get to give out even more toys. It was such a special opportunity being able to do it next to people I knew and loved. I did it with my high school youth group who I have missed very much! We were able to have laughs and joys as we sorted through the different foods. It is amazing the kinds of food that people donate! Some things expired in 2015, most likely because people have been cleaning out and just through it in with the rest and some cans and boxes were completely dented. They had a chart that showed how long things could last for after the expiration date and it was shocking in some cases. For example a lot of cans can go 2 years after the best by date! Keep that in mind when you're donating food to a food pantry! If you're interested in volunteering at a food pantry they almost always need help. Organizing food by yourself is not easy and its much better when you have someone to talk to. By us being there we made something that could last 3 hours turn into one and a half. I suggest helping some day at your local food pantry! It will be an experience for you and possibly an eye opening one as well! I put the Honey Brook Food Pantry's website below if you're interested in checking it out :) I've sat in front of a white screen for this blog probably around three times now. It got to the point where I had to pull out a pencil and paper and think. There wasn't much I could think of to write about for this small occasion, even though what it did could have made someone's entire day. This past week I delivered some puzzle kits to Hickory House Retirement Home in Honey Brook. I bought some books and markers from the dollar store and put a kit together with a nice note. The puzzle books from the dollar store are actually really good!! When I went to the retirement home I hoped that I could go and deliver the books directly to some patients, but instead I handed it over to someone to do it for me. She was very thankful and said that they would be excited for the books! I only had 5 books, but that's 5 people that will be happy!
While I was at school this past semester, one of the ladies from the retirement home where I help with bingo asked me to come and help organize her room. Of course, I made time in my schedule for her! I was so excited that she wanted me to come and help her and spend time with her. As I said before, I really do love spending time with old people haha. Right after class I went over to help her clean up and she remembered that I was coming and was excited. I was excited too! I noticed that she had a ton of puzzle books that she said she really enjoyed doing and I was glad to hear that, knowing I've donated puzzle books in the past. She also had every letter that has been made by kids and college students for her. I was so excited to see that and to see how appreciative she was of it. I feel like often times people think "oh they won't care for a construction paper handmade card," but that's not true at all. For some people it's all they get and it's important to have a connection with people. If you're interested in donating puzzle books or something like cards to a retirement home, there is probably one right by you! You just have to look it up. It's super easy and they'll be very grateful. Make sure to check their hours before you go though because there isn't always someone at the office :) Today a friend of mine and I decided to go out to dinner. We both love photography so we decided to go into the city of West Chester, grab a bite and take some photos along the way. I remembered that I had been looking up some homeless shelters and there was one in West Chester. I recently went to the dollar store and picked up some gloves and socks. I have been wanting to go into the city to hand them out with my family, but somehow time went by too fast! I thought this could be the perfect place because sometimes homeless shelters have to turn people away, but maybe they could give them something to keep warm with the harsh winter coming. We went to Safe Harbor to drop off the things, but when we got there no one seemed to be there. We saw someone go in before us but I didn't even think that we should get her attention. There was a little door where you could enter one and then there was the office window before the next. At the door we saw a check in sheet for the people who were staying to write in. Because there wasn't anyone there we put the bag on the table. That way as the people come in for the evening they could get a small treat if they wanted. I hope this was okay and if not it's just a few dollars of socks and gloves! My favorite part about it was that I got to do it anonymously. I hope that it was able to make some people happy tonight! If you're ever at the dollar store and have an extra dollar or even five dollars to spend why not get some gloves or tooth paste. Shelters have wish lists and need lists all the time on their websites for needs they are looking for. They also have instructions of how to give it to them. Little things like this can change people's lives.
Last semester in college I had the opportunity to go on a homeless shelter trip. We were able to go to two shelters to help serve dinner and meet with people as well as help in a mobile missions. The mobile missions was my favorite part because we got to go out into the streets late at night (so it was the true homeless people) and hand out socks, gloves, coats and anything that could help someone out. It was truly an opportunity because it is unsafe to go out by yourself and hand things out, but through this it was safe with a company. It was amazing to see all the people come and eagerly take things that would help them in so many ways. I gave one couple some gloves and immediately they put them on their hands to keep warm in the cold night. Some people asked for cardboard because they needed a dry one to sleep on. Another person begged me for another pair of socks, when I was only allowed to give out one pair of the thick ones. It is amazing to see the amount of need some people are in and if we just took some of our time and money to purchase things for them that they can't purchase on their own it can change their lives. If you're interested in donating items to the mobile missions I added their website below with all of the information. Check out their website for other things as well, it is amazing what they do!! I've also added Safe Harbor's website (the homeless shelter in West Chester) if you're interested in donating there. The link goes right to their wish list. Almost every homeless shelter has a need or wish list. Homeless shelters and people all over the world are in need of your help and you'd be amazed what even a dollar could do to change their lives. Last Friday was the start to a new tradition! A service party. I hosted a small party where we made craft kits for Caitlin Smiles. Caitlin Smiles is an organization where they send little care packages to children in hospitals. The packages include a decorated bag, a handmade card, 2 craft kits and something fun like play dough. We made some of the different craft kits they were asking for. There was about 7 people who came to the party and helped make some kits. It was a hot chocolate party as well so hot chocolate was served with some snacks! BYOM... Bring Your Own Mug was what I put on the invitation :) The time was great for catching up and hearing about others lives while we were able to make crafts that will bring a smile to a child's face. Setting up for the party was really fun! I laid out all the kits and materials and did an example as well. I had a lot of supplies, but also got some things from the store too. It ended up not costing a lot of money and in the future or for you there could be a donation jar where people could bring a money amount for that charity or another. This year I wrapped gifts to raise money for the supplies and other things I've done this year. I ended up finishing more kits the following day because I ran out to the store to get more supplies to use up the rest of what we had. I ended up having an "extra" bag in the box as well because they asked for donated supplies so I was able to give it to them through that.
In the end, we made a total of 312 craft kits and a card! There were 95 rubber band bracelet kits, 30 sticker book kits, 77 friendship bracelet kits, 105 dream catcher kits, and 5 get a grip pencil kits (The kits are shown below). That means 156 children are going to have two craft kits to make a craft and bring joy to them for the new year! I'm hopeful to continue this as a tradition and hopefully get larger in the amount of people I can invite! I hope to do a different charity each time and to be able to make something special for someone. There are so many things out there!! Any holiday party can easily add a small service aspect! While everyone is over there can be a time where everyone makes one card, even if it's only one that's however many people there are that can bring a smile to a few faces. If you're interested in making some craft kits for Caitlin Smiles there is a link below! There are so many different service opportunities that you can bring to your home to share time with others making things to make others happy! On December 23rd I had the opportunity to be a Salvation Army Bell Ringer for two hours. Before, I saw people in red aprons standing almost everywhere I went asking people for money for this charity and now I can officially say I have been a bell ringer! I was in New York City a few weekends before it was our turn to ring and I saw people dancing and having a good time. I was determined to be like them too. I looked up videos and thought of ways to make people smile while we were there. I got to do it with my mom, which I think made it all the more better and exciting. We did it not far from home at the Exton Mall. I definitely didn't have the courage to dance (so I give everyone who does dance a lot of credit) but I did bring my speaker for some fun Christmas music and I swayed with it and tapped the bells to the music when I could. We got lucky and got to stand inside a little bit which was great because it was so windy out! My mom found a way to do another service with it by opening doors for every one who came in with a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" as well.
When we got there, we met a man who worked for the Salvation Army. He told us how he spent a lot of time volunteering with them and then was offered a job, which helped him a lot with paying for things. He was kind and it was nice to talk with him. Eventually a volunteer who goes around and changes the buckets came through and helped us by giving us our aprons (which we completely forgot was a thing) and the famous bell! He was so helpful and came back in the end to help us clean up as well. He even took a nice, quick picture for us :) While we were ringing, we received a lot of smiles and of course some people who glanced at us and ran for the other door. A lot of people thanked us for our time and another person said he was just doing this last weekend. I was surprised with how many people donated. I assumed that because you see the red buckets everywhere people would be all out of money for the Salvation Army by the 23rd but I am grateful they were not! People donated pennies all the way to 20 dollar bills. One person even came in and gave us a whole bag of coins and said it was 172 dollars! He told us that he does something called change for change every year and he saves up his change throughout the year and gives it to a different charity. (That sounds like something I would love to try and I love the name!) Bell ringing gives you a good opportunity to people watch too... I didn't realize some people walk in and out of the mall multiple times in one visit. Someone came in and danced to our music for a little bit before donating, which made us all laugh and bring smiles to our faces. Towards the end, an older woman was waiting for her daughter to pull the car around and we were able to have a small conversation with her while she waited as well. I found that even if people didn't donate we were still able to bring a smile to their face through holding the door open, saying "Merry Christmas," and having small conversations. It made me happy to see others smile. If you're interested in being a Salvation Army Bell Ringer, all you have to do is search your area on google! I found that a lot of areas are easily accessible through google, but the West Chester/ Exton area was difficult to find. Because I did it through the West Chester Area I added an article below that contains the information and email address! I suggest bringing a speaker and some friends or family and it will definitely be worth it! (They even have chairs if you need one! You just have to ask :)) Today I got to deliver my homemade cookies to the homeless! I delivered them to CityGate, a homeless shelter in Coatesville. I volunteered at CityGate with my grandma when I was in high school and we would cook and serve dinner to them. It is an all male, Christian shelter. Every time I visit they always inspire me. They are so kind and thankful and make me realize I need to be better with my attitude towards some things. When we brought the cookies today, they were so thankful and greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. They expressed their thanks multiple times and added God bless you before we left.
I still remember certain things they shared with us in the past. Before their evening meal they have a small service and a time for prayer requests. The first time I went was a huge eye opener for me. The things they thanked the Lord for was often something I never thought about and took for granted. The one I still remember to this day is that they were thankful for waking up that morning and for God giving them the life they live. Before that day I don't think I ever thanked God for waking up because I just assumed I will because I "have" to. Although that isn't true at all and there is a small chance I won't wake up in the morning. Another thing was that they were grateful for every situation because it was always something to learn from. They are so kind, grateful and helpful whenever they can be and it inspires me. I was able to make some cookies with a friend and have a good time that brought us a smile to be able to bring others a smile as well! We made snicker doodle cookies and sugar cookies with frosting for them! We also put some m+ms on them to add some Christmas color. I love that you can make a bunch of people happy just by taking a few moments of your time. If you're interested in making some cookies or donating items to a homeless shelter I'm sure there is one around you! Just look up homeless shelters near you and your area. Their website or Facebook profile should tell you everything you need to know to help. It only takes a few hours to bring some holiday joy :) |
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