Ways to Give Love to Others

When I was looking into doing potential blog postings today, I thought it would be interesting to create a post that doesn't talk so much about love or the depressing side of this holiday, but instead from the perspective of giving to others. I happened to come across an article at The Case Foundation, http://www.casefoundation.org/spotlight/valentines, and this article talks about exactly what I thought would be a cool twist.

Being valentines day and all, it can be a challenge to not think positively to the whole part of what love really means. I think that if we can center ourselves to understand that the act of love means a lot of things,we can bring light to many things, including giving back to the community. Here are a couple of the ideas that I liked or was inspired by. These fun and interesting ideas, help to enlighten the inner volunteer in you. 1. If you chose to go out for dinner, chose a simple restaurant instead of a fancy one, and donate the half that you would have spent to your favorite non-profit organization. 2. If there is a non-profit that you care for, take the time to give them an valentine appreciation letter! 3. Donate clothes to local thrift stores to give back to your local community, to love & clear things out from your wardrobe! 4. If your buying flowers or chocolates, look into how local and/or fair trade they are. Re-think these questions: are they coming from a local floral shop? Is the chocolate that you are buying made in a sustainable and healthy manner? 5. This week, February 12-18, is Small Random Acts of Kindness. From saying "you're awesome" to a friend or volunteering for a couple hours at a soup kitchen, you can give back by being generously simple and kind.


For more ideas promoting random acts of kindness visit: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/. Hope that one of these ideas sparked for you on this day, and encouraged you that there are many ways to celebrate what is lovely about life!

Thanks for reading!

Rachelle
Media/Events Assistant
Center for Urban Connections