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Involve Others!  The most surprising part of being involved in charity work is that the person you help is not the only one who receives the blessing – but the shoppers, crafters, planners, packers, helpers, etc., love it as well.  The more you involve other people, the greater the joy!

Involve Others in your projects senior centers are eager to help

My friend Cynthia and her family pack over 5,000 shoeboxes chock full of school supplies, toys, clothing, and hygiene items each year for Operation Christmas Child for the past several years.  They didn’t start out donating that much of course.  There was a slow growth over 20 years to get to this large number.   And through the years they learned that in order to donate more, it means ALOT of shopping, preparation, and just plain WORK!  But what is so special is the many people they have met, and the many organizations and groups they got to partner with.

If you love to make crafts, check out all my CRAFT POSTS.

Cynthia first started donating as a family homeschool project.  It gave them so much JOY, the family couldn’t help but tell their neighbors, co-workers, and friends, who then, in turn, wanted to help.  The local 4-H community used it as a great way for their kids to learn service through shopping and crafting.  Local stores and businesses asked questions – “WHY?”  they purchased so many items.  Inspired, they started to give donations of items and many employees even volunteered at their packing parties.

News spread, and churches and community groups asked Cynthia to share about crafts, donations, and how to frugally donate when on a limited income (like me!).   When she received donations that couldn’t be used for one project, she networked and donated them to other local charities.

See how the circle of blessing grew and grew?

Last year Cynthia met with a local senior community.  They were eager to work, use their time and be productive. (Joy with Purpose!) Now once a month, Cynthia brings them various projects.  THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!  Everyone arrives early, stays late, and begs her to come again!  There are many small but time-consuming tasks such as folding t-shirts, removing the packaging, packing pencil cases, decorating tops, making hair bows, etc.

The Recreation Director posts the meeting on the calendar, provides coffee and cake, and even happily participates! They work so fast, it’s hard to keep up.  There is always lots of laughter and chatting.

Involve Others:  How to Gather a Group of People to Help

Doing the entire project of any sort can be a burden.  But if you ask someone to just handle one small part, you might be surprised at how excited and eager they become – AND it makes your workload easier!  You can Involve Others!

Ask for help from local groups:

  • Church
  • Library
  • Senior Housing
  • Knit/Crochet/Yarn Shops
  • Quilt Stores and Societies
  • 4-H
  • Scouts
  • Elks, Knights of Columbus, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

Check out all the Charities I’ve posted about here at JOY with Purpose.  And check out this group of books that Amazon let me put all in one place.  I call it “Let’s Be Kind – Books that promoted Kindness”.  I’ve included children’s books as well as adult devotions and books!

Check out all the Crafts I’ve posted here at JOY with Purpose.  
They are all easy tutorials that are perfect to make and donate to local and overseas charities.
 Many are great to use in GROUPS!

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Mary

2 Comments on Involve Others – Gather a Group of People to Help

  1. Great insights! Don’t try to do the project all alone – share it with others. It’s good for them and good for you too.

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