Grow Hair!

No, this isn’t a “How To” magic oil to apply to your scalp, this is a request.

Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that collects hair from people all over the world, in order to make hair pieces for children suffering from hair loss due to medical treatments.

Unfortunately, I don’t qualify because I’m starting to have more scalp than hair, but if you’re able to, don’t get your hair cut for a few months. When it hits the ten inch mark, go to a salon and tell them you want to donate your hair.  Check out their web site (http://locksoflove.org) for more information.

So let it grow, just cuz a kid may need it!

Donate School Supplies

School is starting in less than a month.

Right now, many nonprofit organizations (like the one I work for) are having annual school supply drives for those kids that may come from families that have to make difficult choices of getting their children school supplies or food.

Check out the nonprofit section in your local telephone book, check around for a drop off point. Then get yourself over to one of the many school supply sales going on, and spend a few bucks to help a child, just cuz.

Raise Money – Lemonade Stand

Teaching children about negative things isn’t always easy. There is almost always a means of making it less gruesome. Teach your kids that there are some children that don’t have all the nice things that others do. Come on, you’re a parent – you know how to pour on the guilt!

Seriously, though, I think it’s a great way to build character in a child. And letting them know that there is a way that they can help is cool too! Convince them to run a lemonade stand; in fact, run it with them! Ask them what kind of charity they would like the nickels and dimes to go to. Try to pick one in your area, and have your child (or children) bring the money directly to the charity, so they can see how it works.

Just cuz…

Read To Kids

There are many opportunities where you can share yourself with kids. Kids love to be read to, and studies have shown that… well, I was too lazy to check, but I’m sure studies show a bunch of “Good Stuff” relating to reading to children, so look for some opportunities to do so:

• In a children’s ward at a hospital.
• At a library.
• At a park pavilion.
• In your own back yard.
• At your place of worship

See? And that was just off the top of my head. So read to some kids, just cuz… it’s fun and rewarding for everyone involved.

Share Your English Skills

America is a melting pot. It was started that way, and continues to be that way. I think it’s wonderful. The blending of cultures and languages makes for a beautifully diverse garden of flowers.

There are some people that do not feel this way, but I don’t believe in one size fits all – which is why I prefer a bouquet of different flowers as opposed to a boring non-blend of one color or one style.

One of the challenges of people who have come to this country to realize their dreams is mastering the English language, which at times makes no sense whatsoever, with all the jargon, slang, double-meanings, homonyms, homophones, blah, blah, blah…

Just think if you were to go to Brazil and needed to learn Portuguese!? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a place you could go where native speakers helped you with your learning?

Why not do that for someone else?

Check your local high school, college, university, community college, or library for opportunities to help people with their English. If you can’t find anything, how about starting a group with friends, family members, or other members of your place of worship? Put an advertisement up at your local supermarket or community bulletin board offering free help with English.

I worked with Time Warner Cable for a while, and they had a program called “Time to Read” where we (the instructors) would have a group of three to five “students” ranging in age from junior high to advanced age. The students would take turns reading aloud from an article from one of Time Inc.’s magazines.

Your group could meet at a local library, or in a meeting space at your place of worship, and take turns reading stories from the magazines. Just make sure you have a dictionary available, and get ready for some great discussion and learning! Just cuz it’s a great learning experience – for everyone!