December 2013
WEEK 1
Sunday, December 1st: Pay It Forward Day - when you're in line at a drive-thru, at Starbucks, out to dinner, at a movie, in a parking structure, pay for the person behind you. It's a great way to start the season! Monday, December 2nd: Pantene Beautiful Lengths- donate 8+ inches of hair for a child or woman fighting cancer or experiencing permanent hair loss. See 'helpful links.' Alternative: write cards with your favorite quote, affirmation, bible verse, or a personal message to people going through chemotherapy. Contact your local hospital to organize how to deliver to the patients. Tuesday, December 3rd: Book Drive- ask a local elementary school classroom for a few books on their wish list. Donate your own used books or purchase inexpensive, used and/or new books from your local library to donate to the classroom. Not sure what school to donate to? Send a request through the contact form and a suggestion will be provided!!! Wednesday, December 4th: Care Kits- assemble items for people who are homeless (hand-written cards with a thoughtful message, bar soap, razors, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, hair combs, blankets, mittens, granola bars, etc). Drop them off at a local shelter, church or pass them out to people. Keep a couple in your car for the next time you see a person in need. Thursday, December 5th: Nursing Home Visit- write holiday cards for nursing home residents. Teachers: have your students decorate the cards (my preschoolers will be doing this) Friday, December 6th: Sponsor a Child's Wish- churches and schools are often connected with social workers who know of families in need. Walk into a local church/school and ask if they have a donation tree. Take a tag off the tree and shop for that individual person (usually 1-2 basic need items). Saturday, December 7th: *Forgotten Harvest- volunteer to organize the warehouse to feed families who are seeking assistance. Alternative: collect items to donate to a local animal shelter (check your local shelter's website for a list of needs) |
WEEK 2
Sunday, December 8th: Toys for Tots- donate a toy to Toys for Tots for children who might not otherwise receive gifts. Detroit area: Support St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church's Toys for Tots drive Dropbox locations Metro Detroit area: 2442 E Big Beaver Rd Troy, MI 48083 Lansing area: Bigby Coffee on Grand River (next to Crunchy's) *There are TONS of dropbox locations including Douglas J. Aveda, the MSU FCU, and the EL fire department. See 'helpful links' Monday, December 9th: Warm Up for Finals- distribute to-go cups with hot cocoa packets to students in the main library on your campus (to participate at MSU, use contact form for more details) Alternative: bring a hard-working coworker, a teacher, a nurse you interact with, or your postal delivery person a warm cup of hot chocolate, coffee or a thoughtful gift card. Tuesday, December 10th: NICU Appreciation- deliver cards and cookies to NICU nurses to thank them for all that they do. Wednesday, December 11th: Food Pantry Donation- collect items from your local neighbors or workplace (you could ask each house to donate 1-2 items; approx. $3) and deliver to a food pantry or soup kitchen. Thursday, December 12th: Letters to Santa (Make-A-Wish Foundation)- write a letter to Santa and place in one of Santa's letterboxes located at Macy's. Macy's will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish for every letter they receive. See 'helpful links' for Santa stationary, instructions and a Santa letterbox locator! :) Teachers: students can use journal prompts, write persuasive essays, or draw pictures! Ex: "Something I'd like to give someone else is..." (classroom activity can be focused on giving instead of related to holiday/gifts) Friday, December 13th: *Hannah House- this is a home for women who are pregnant or just had a child as they work to create a stable life for themselves and their infant. Alternative: volunteer at a local women's shelter. Help sort clothes, diapers, baby food. Saturday, December 14th: *Focus HOPE distribution with Shrine Catholic Church- spend the day unloading and delivering food to families in need. Register with the Shrine Herald in 'helpful links' AND/OR Wreaths Across America- “In honor of those who have had to spend a Christmas away from home. In honor of those who never made it home.” Participate in the national wreath laying ceremony. Sign up through the Shrine Herald in 'helpful links' |
WEEK 3
Sunday, December 15th: Diaper Bank Donation- if you or anyone you know has unused diapers that a child has grown out of, the Diaper Bank in Detroit will take them and distribute to families in need. (collection has been started in metro-detroit/lansing area: use contact form to find out more) Monday, December 16th: Renaissance Vineyard Church- food distribution to families in Oakland County. Volunteering will begin at 2:30pm. Located at: Renaissance Vineyard Church 1841 Pinecrest, Ferndale, MI 48220 *You may use the contact form to let us know if you will be attending this event! Tuesday, December 17th: *Gleaner's Food Bank- volunteer at the food bank packaging food for distribution Alternative: volunteer or make a donation to a local food bank distribution (Greater Lansing Food Bank is an alt. for the Lansing area) Wednesday December 18th: *Adopt-A-Family- throughout the month, items were purchased based on a family's wish-list. These items will be delivered to the family on this day. Alternative: donate mittens, gloves, hats, socks to local churches, shelters or schools. Schools and churches usually host these types of drives near their main offices. Thursday, December 19th: Service Appreciation- deliver cookies and thank-you/holiday cards to your local firefighters. Friday, December 20th: PICU Visit- assemble freezer bags complete with coloring book pages, crayons and cards for children enduring a long-term stay in the pediatric unit at the hospital. Saturday, December 21st: *Capuchin Soup Kitchen- spend time with family or friends preparing/serving food to people who are seeking a warm meal. Alternative: Find a local soup kitchen and donate time preparing meals or organizing food |
Week 4
Sunday, December 22nd: Cemetery Tending- gravestones need a little TLC too. Bring your gardening gloves and a bouquet of flowers. Clear the debris around the stones, place a flower from the bouquet on it, and say a prayer for that person's family. Monday, December 23rd: Donate clothes to Salvation Army- gather clothes (+COATS) that no longer fit you or you never wear and make a donation to the Salvation Army. MSU March of Dimes will be donating leftover long-sleeved t-shirts from our 5K. Note: for 2014, hang all of your clothes facing the same direction. When you wear something, hang it the opposite direction. After 6 months, donate the clothes still facing the initial direction. Tuesday, December 24th: CHRISTMAS EVE Sean Anderson Foundation- leave a gift under Detroit's tree- donate to the Sean Anderson (Big Sean) foundation and support the school-aged youth in Detroit in education, health, and safety. Donate what you can! :) $1 from 100 different people is still $100! Read more about the organization's incredible mission in 'helpful links.' Wednesday, December 25th: CHRISTMAS DAY White Elephant Donation Game- each person attending your celebration purchases a $5 gift intended for a child. Wrap up the gifts and bring them to the gathering. At your gathering, pass out each wrapped gift. Take turns opening gifts so that everyone can have some fun seeing all of the toys that were purchased. Then, collect the toys and donate them to a local Boys and Girls Club, homeless shelter, women's shelter where children might stay, etc. Thursday, December 26th: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- recycle materials from the holiday celebration (box board, paper, plastic packaging). Take materials to a local distribution center if your home does not recycle. Friday, December 27th: Share a meal- make a double batch of something and deliver it to a soup kitchen, a family in your neighborhood, or someone in need. Many donations are concentrated before the holidays, so it's important to continue the effort. (bake muffins, make lasagna; pinterest has great crockpot ideas that are simple!) Saturday, December 28th: Sidewalk shoveling- shovel snow or help someone in your neighborhood with outdoor work |
December 29th, 30th, 31st: Spend time reflecting on how your actions this month, and this year in general, impacted the community. Spend time with your families and being thankful for what you have in your life. Set small goals for 2014 so that you can constantly better your own life and the lives of others.
*Events noted with an asterisk mean that this organization requires groups to request volunteer time in advance. If you'd like to learn more about ways to get involved with these specific organizations, click on their links under the 'HELPFUL LINKS' tab. Alternative ideas have been generated for the days when we will be visiting specific centers. Feel free to call to see if they have availability. If not, you can always volunteer there in the future, and the alternatives are great too! :)
*Events noted with an asterisk mean that this organization requires groups to request volunteer time in advance. If you'd like to learn more about ways to get involved with these specific organizations, click on their links under the 'HELPFUL LINKS' tab. Alternative ideas have been generated for the days when we will be visiting specific centers. Feel free to call to see if they have availability. If not, you can always volunteer there in the future, and the alternatives are great too! :)