With the holidays rapidly approaching, you may be wondering how to make them brighter for yourself and others.
The good news is that there are many ways to give to others this holiday season, and some of them don’t even require money.
If you plan to do any holiday shopping on Amazon this year, consider using Amazon Smile.
The URL donates 0.5 percent of eligible purchases to the participating charity of your choice. All you have to do is type the word “smile.amazon.com” into your browser. If you’ve never done it before, you can do a quick online search for “Amazon Smile” and you’ll find instructions for how to get started.
The service is very easy and allows you to donate at no cost to you.
Tabitha’s Way is a local food pantry that has donation locations throughout Utah.
The company provides food assistance to those in need and was founded in 2010 by Wendy and Jody Osborne.
You can find donation bins in Payson, Spanish Fork, Salem, Springville, and other nearby cities. To find the donation bin closest to you, do a quick online search for “Tabitha’s Way” in your city. Food donations are accepted, as well as online financial donations submitted at: (https://tabithaswaysouth.org/donate/).
Credit card rewards provide another great way to give to others. If you don’t already have a specific place for your rewards to go, consider donating them to others in the form of cash or gift cards.
One of my favorite things to do each year is use my family’s credit card points to purchase gift cards for my daughter’s school teachers, bus drivers, and others who serve our children.
It’s also fun to hand a gift card to a grocery store cashier after paying for your own purchases, and ask them to apply the gift card to the groceries of whoever is in line behind you. By the time the person behind you realizes what’s happening, you’re long gone with a smile on your face.
If you don’t have extra money but you still want to give, consider offering your time and service to help others. JustServe.org is a website that shows volunteer opportunities near you. You can narrow your search options to show one-time projects or ongoing projects, based on your preferences. You can also download the JustServe app so you always have instant access to information about nearby service opportunities.
Do you have other great suggestions for giving to others this holiday season? Please let us know about them through our online form at (https://servedaily.com/contact/) or send us a message through our Serve Daily Facebook page. (Peterson is a Serve Daily Contributor).
