Developing Community Spirit In Children

July 16, 2011 Leave a Comment
Army Community Service celebrates 43rd birthda...

Image by Aberdeen Proving Ground via Flickr

While many adults are familiar with the importance of community service, not all children are. In a world of materialism and gotta have it, the youth of America don’t always recognize the fact that there are people who are in need of help. Developing a strong sense of community service in your children will provide them with a broader understanding of the world and their place in it.

Still, it is often difficult to determine just how to include community service in your child’s life. There are several factors to consider.

  1. The child age
  2. The child’s maturity level
  3. The child’s abilities.

Taking these things in to account, you can begin to look for community service opportunities that may be ideal for your children.

One idea is to have children work in a soup kitchen. Younger children often find this to be both rewarding and a bit scary. It offers you the opportunity to demonstrate the differences in social classes and the real need for assistance in our country. Other ideas include helping out with local toy drives, visiting senior citizens, and even donating clothing.

Remember that in order for children to develop, we must first show them the way. Encourage your children to participate in community service opportunities and show them that it is not necessary to donate money to help those in need. Sometimes time and caring are all that is needed.

Introducing your child to community service is a lesson that will serve them well into adulthood.

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How to Determine the Value of Donated Goods

June 5, 2011 Leave a Comment
Pile o' clothes

Image by JenWaller via Flickr

When you make a donation of a non-cash item to a charity or nonprofit organization you are able to use that donation as a tax-deductible item. The problem is most non-cash items need to have a cash value in order for you to be able to deduct it on your taxes. This leaves you with the chore of having to assess of value to the non-cash item you donated.

Here’s a look at how you can determine the value of your non-cash donations so you can deduct them on your taxes.

Condition of the Item

You will need to assess the condition of the item that you donated in order to determine the value. Although many charities may accept items that are broken, stained or torn these items cannot be used as a tax-deductible item.

Fair Market Value of the Item

If the items you are donating are in fair condition you can assess a fair market value to the item. Fair market value is the price that the item is going for in a secondhand shop. Once you have assessed the fair market value for the object you can determine its price for your taxes.

Use Receipts

Some donated items are new or can sell for the price you paid for the object. If you still have the receipts for the object you can declare the value of the item as the price on the receipt.

Learning how to determine the value of your donations can help you fill out your taxes and receive a tax credit for making a charitable donation.

Filed Under: Community Service, General Tagged With: , ,

So You want To Volunteer

May 8, 2011 Leave a Comment
Russian Orthodox Easter ceremony in Lvov (West...

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Plenty of people are looking to donate their time because it makes them feel great, and others are looking for volunteers. Sometimes, neither party knows where to start. If you don’t belong to a certain organization, you may not know they are looking for help and that they are willing to accept any help they can get. If you want to help someone, but you’re not quite sure where to start, try starting with these simple tips.

Check your local newspaper often, as you may find adds where people are looking for volunteers to help them. This is a good place to look because many organizations will want to advertise that they are looking for people to help them out.

Look into local organizations that host charitable events and are in need of volunteers such as churches, nursing homes, hospitals, and other organizations. You can research these local organizations online and probably find someone to contact. If you’re interested, simply ask them if they are looking for volunteers for any upcoming events. Ask people you know if they know of anyone that needs help. You may find people that are members of these organizations that know of events needing volunteers.

Any holiday is good to find a place to volunteer. At Easter, people will be looking for others to help with Easter egg hunts. At Christmas people are looking for any type of volunteer to help others in need. Search diligently at these periods throughout the year and you should find plenty of people looking for volunteers.

Filed Under: Culture, Volunteer Tagged With: , ,

Things You Can Donate to Charity Besides Money

May 2, 2011 Leave a Comment
Charity recycling 

Image by HowardLake via Flickr

Giving to charity can be a very rewarding experience for many. The world is made up of all kinds of people from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of those who are from a higher socioeconomic bracket tend to give money to charities. They tend to do this by hosting gala events which can sometimes raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

But what if you do not have any extra cash to donate but are still wanting to help out somehow? Here are some ways to donate to charity besides donating money.

Clothing

Let’s face it; many people have hundreds of items sitting in their closets that they just don’t wear. Some people have items in their closets with the price tags still attached! Cleaning out your closet and donating the clothing to a charity is a great way to help out. The clothes will either be given directly to those in need or they will be placed for sale in a thrift shop.

Furniture

Many people living under the poverty line have great difficulty buying the furniture they need. It may be something small like a coffee table or side table, or something bigger like a desk or a kitchen table and chairs. Instead of taking your old furniture to the rubbish dump, see if there is a local charity that will come and collect it for you.

Time

The one thing that most charities are in need of is help from volunteers. A charity can never have too many people to help out, even if it’s in the smallest way. Ring around to charities in your area.

 

Filed Under: Community Service, General Tagged With: , ,

Discovering Your Passion with a Non-Profit Career

April 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

For many people, the idea of making a difference in the world through their career is more important to them than how successful they can be. These are the people who may enjoy working in a non-profit career field.

Non-profit means exactly what it sounds like — an organization or business does not make any profit, but rather turns all the monies earned back into the organization. Only a small amount is kept out for administrative and operating costs. These organizations include St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center, the March of Dimes, the Salvation Army, and similar organizations.

You may be one of these people who discovered your passion for such a career when you volunteered during your summer vacations and other school breaks. Or you may have interned at a non-profit organization while you were in college. No matter how you came to this knowledge, you know this is the career path you want.

You also know that, just as with any other career path, you need a good college education. You also know that since you’re not in it for the money, you’re going to need to spend as little as possible while still getting that good education. That’s where you could earn a degree online.

You can compare college tuition prices for online courses and degrees on a site like elearners.com, and choose the one that offers the curriculum you need to use in your non-profit career as well as lets you afford the classes. You may also be able to learn about volunteer opportunities that are available to you through the schools offering the online degree courses.

Filed Under: General, Volunteer Tagged With: ,
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