Make a Difference

Published in Delmarva Parent

Got 5 Minutes? Make a Difference

by Karen M. Jones

Hurricane Katrina mobilized millions of Americans - and others all over the world - in the kind of relief effort rarely seen in our lives. As in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the Indian Ocean tsunami, you probably felt not just a desire to help, but a compulsion to - to restore your own healing and faith in humanity. I believe that raw need to pitch in, to lift up those in need, is in fact our natural instinct. Think of how children respond when they see people who need help, and you'll know what I mean.

We don't have to wait for a crisis of global proportion to express our compassionate selves; we can make it a daily, rewarding practice in as little as five minutes, a half-hour or a single day. Purposeful action doesn't have to cost anything, either. Here are some examples from The Difference a Day Makes: 365 Ways to Change Your World in Just 24 Hours:

In just 5 minutes, you can…

Find out how your car ranks in terms of gas mileage (mpg), greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution ratings at www.fueleconomy.gov. Don't like what you see? Click on Gas Mileage Tips for advice.

Register your credit card(s) with the AmeriDollars program at www.ameridollars.com. Every time you shop at a participating merchant, you can choose to have your cash reward rebate donated to the participating charity you designate -- at no additional cost to you.

Educate yourself; take the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's online poverty quiz at www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/povquiz.htm.

Order a free "Stop 2" kit from The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (www.bradycenter.org/stop2) to share with your area schools, faith community, civic organization, or community center.

At www.globalexchange.org, learn about fair trade coffee and how your purchase helps fight poverty and environmental degradation. Ask your favorite coffee supplier if they offer fair trade coffee or look for "fair trade" labeling on packages.

In just 30 minutes, you can…

Buy a pet toy or food and drop it off at your local animal shelter.

Suggest to the leaders of your community center or place of worship that the group nominate and then honor a local citizen each year for his or her anti-violence efforts in your community.

Relieve our landfills. If you intend to eat your take-out food at home, ask the counter clerk or drive-through provider to hold the napkins, flatware and condiments you have in your cupboard. If you're calling in your order, make a special request for "no napkins, no flatware, no condiments."

Green up your home. Whatever you're buying today, it's likely that an environmentally friendly option exists. You can find it online by visiting www.greenmatters.com or www.ecomall.com/greenshopping.

Introduce a child to a Website that teaches animal sensitivity, such as www.kindnews.org, the ASPCA's www.animaland.org or the National Wildlife Federation's KidZone (www.nwf.org/kids).

In just one day, you can…

Make a poster for your home that lists common materials -- aluminum cans, paper, oil-based paints, batteries, motor oil -- and how and where you can recycle them. Use the information at www.earth911.org, at your local library, or from your local hazardous-waste disposal center.

Introduce a secondary school student to a future career via virtual job shadowing. Kids can watch professionals go through a typical day's activities in online videos at www.virtualjobshadow.com.

Visit a nursing home and tape-record a resident's tale of a life well lived. Transcribe it and send copies to the nursing home and, if you can find out their addresses, to family members. You might also make a collage or shadow box that represents the person's memories and present it to him or her.

Donate work clothing, accessories, briefcases, and business supplies -- in good condition -- to a homeless shelter to help people who have job interviews. Offer to conduct mock interviews to give prospective applicants practice.

Have a simple fund-raiser - a yard sale, a bake sale, or a donation collection for your birthday or anniversary - and donate the proceeds to the USO's Operation Phone Home program, which supplies American troops with prepaid phone cards to stay in touch with family and friends. Visit www.usocares.org for information.