Turning Any Event into a Charitable Event
By Anita Brooks
If you were told you could host a great party or shower, participate in a work-related activity, and attend your family reunion all while helping to support and educate others at the same time, would you be interested? For the time-crunched activists of the world, there is a way to socialize and enjoy yourself and still fit in the charitable work so necessary to our communities. In fact, there are plenty of opportunities to transform everyday occasions as well as special events into philanthropic endeavors that will benefit many. All it takes is a little brainstorming and good intention. The Singles Safer Sex Party Imagine, if you will, a room full of people dancing, laughing, and having a great time. It is the party of the year and all you need in order to attend is....a condom? That's right. Throw a Singles Safer Sex party and you will have the chance to have a fantastic time and educate people about safer sex and HIV/AIDS at the same time. Create invitations using safer sex literature from your local Department of Health or hospital, or create your own invitations and literature by doing some basic research at the library or on the internet. Call the companies that manufacture condoms and other safe sex paraphernalia and ask them to donate samples for door prizes or giveaways. Create drink specials like Safer Sex on the Beach and invite a local AIDS educator to set up a table for pamphlets and other educational items. Use your imagination and contact local AIDS organizations for further ideas and support. If you've been recruited to host your friend's baby shower, create a new twist to the old tradition and everyone will walk away feeling great about helping others. Collect a few dollars for a baby pool -- participants have to guess the date of birth, weight, and sex of the baby -- and donate the proceeds to the charity of the winner's choice. Or ask guests to bring a used toy or piece of children's clothing too small for their little ones and donate them to the local women's shelter or local children's charity. Finally, ask guests to write a great piece of parenting advice, copy an excerpt from their favorite parenting book, or recall a wonderful childhood memory, and make a homemade parenting book for the guest of honor. A gift like this proves that you don't need to spend money to give a gift that will last forever. Gather up your workplace colleagues and cultivate some real team players by participating in a sporting event that benefits a charity. It is a popular trend for organizations to sponsor these events in order to raise money for health-related issues such as breast cancer, MS, Alzheimers, and AIDS. Not only will participating as a corporate team impress your boss, but the effort will help build a stronger and closer work corps, all while helping to raise money for a worthwhile cause. And you'll probably get in better shape as well, which is yet another great reason to go for it! If your annual family reunion has become staler than the hot dog buns, try something new for a change of pace. Approach your local environmental group and take on a clean-up project with your loved ones. Identify a stretch of roadway, park, or playgroup that desperately needs to TLC and "adopt" it. You can clean up litter, plant trees and flowers, or dispose of dumped trash. Take pictures for your family photo album and bring food, drinks, and music to celebrate when the task is complete. Invite the local newspaper or news station to cover the event and encourage other families to host similar reunions. Plan to revisit your adopted piece of land for future reunions or choose a new site every year and repeat the good deed elsewhere. Another idea is a Channukah (or other festive holiday!) which serves as a food or toy drive. In lieu of a hostess gift, each guest of your party could bring a new, unwrapped toy or nonperishable food item to be donated to your local food bank or aid your corporate toy drive. And as your younger relatives receive new toys, invite them to donate one old toy to the locate hospital. Also, try throwing a birthday party for a loved one in which gifts are replaced with donations to the guest of honor's charity of choice. If you're not sure what organizations are out there, begin by checking your local yellow pages for the names of charitable organizations in your area that are of interest of you. There are many ways in which our good fortune and fun can be transformed into an even deeper gesture of universal respect. Not only will you enjoy the process of planning and participating in the events, but the rewards you will reap for your actions are far greater and last much longer than you could ever anticipate.
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