Activities, Wellness,

4 Creative Ways to Give Back to the Community in 2022

Mar 7, 2022 | Activities, Wellness | 0 Comments | 117

The pandemic has taught us all about privilege and the shocking financial gap that keeps on widening. This period in our lives, however, we choose to look at it, was definitely a teaching moment as it exposed us to a lot of grave realities of the society we live in. Who can forget the harrowing picture of the stranded migrants as they made their way back to their villages because of the dearth of work in the cities? The shortage of safety and sanitization equipment amongst the economically weaker section of the society? The tireless and relentless struggle of primary health care workers sweating their days tending to patients who very well could expose them to the deadly virus putting so many people in distress? Many of us also remember the struggles of our dear friends and family during this troubling time as they went through personal loss, mental health struggles, job loss, or economic downturns. But through all this, we also remember the kindness and compassion of people and organizations who saw us through this difficult time. We saw so many people come forward to help people out in these difficult times. The whole country worked together desperately to look for medicines, oxygen, food, and much more during the deadly second wave. Doctors, nurses, emergency staff members continued to put their lives at risk for patients, organizations like the Robin Hood Army helped out many grieving and worried families and helped them through a terrible time showing that the world is still a hopeful place for us all. So if you have young kids at home who are willing to give back to the community this 2022, here are 4 ways you can get involved as a family!

1. Host a clothes and toys drive in your local neighborhood. Growing kids get too big for their clothes too often and we end up having to dispose of them or use them as rags or washcloths at home. Instead, we can use old clothes and toys, give them a proper rinse, make sure they are hygienic, and run a clothing drive in the locality. Make sure that you do a thorough screening of the clothes and toys you are about to donate. They should be clean, hygienic, and in a good condition before you decide to give them away. You can make it fun by inviting the kids who are getting the toys and the clothes and having an intimate themed party with your kids so that they can get to know the faces and the stories of the people who will benefit from their pre-loved items. It is a great way for kids to understand the depth of privilege in society.

2. Each one teach one. Have a child who is good at playing an instrument or is very good with numbers at their age? Make them volunteer to teach these skills to underprivileged kids. Kids from a weaker economic background do not have the resources to have extra-curricular activities or hobbies even if they have the necessary interest. Go to your local neighborhood and identify the kids interested or with a talent or interest in a hobby that your child partakes in. If your child is good with numbers, get them to tutor younger kids free of cost in your locality.

3. Not everyone has the access to the most useful resources to get them the necessary career advice. If there is a lot of unemployed youth or people in your locality, host a career counseling and upskilling session in your area. Get your friends to volunteer and bring their industry knowledge and expertise to these sessions. Help people to build their CVs, offer them particular advice about job markets, conduct mock interviews to help them prepare for their actual job interviews, free of cost. This is a gesture that will be highly appreciated as the pandemic has left a lot of people out of jobs.

4. Make your community sustainable. With rising global temperatures, climate disasters, frequent storms, ravaging floods, and much more- it is important to recognize the terrors of climate change. Host an awareness campaign about waste segregation, teach your fellow neighbors how to turn their food waste into compost for their plants, encourage your neighbors to use more sustainable methods for their electricity, explain the concept of zero waste, and suggest ways in which the community as a whole can do better in terms of reducing carbon footprint.