What will you do tomorrow to make yourself a better person or to help someone else? (beach, spouse)

[gentlearts]

Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'm taking the day off from helping anyone or being pleasant. It's tiring.

[animalcrazy]

Well today I'm taking my friend for her colonoscopy so that her husband doesn't have to use one of his only two vacation days left for the year to take her. I've been helping my other friend nurse her cat that was bitten on the posterior and had a huge abscess that needed to be flushed. I spend a lot of time at her house. We also just got back from Wisconsin where I spent three days cleaning and doing his mothers laundry. I had to help her into the shower and got a glimpse of her 88 year old body as she handed me her hearing aids. That image is forever burned in my mind. I'm still getting ready for the annual Halloween party that I throw for the shorties every year. We usually have any where from 30 to 70 people. One of my besties wants me to come and paint her daughters bedroom. Her husband has Leukemia and I told her that I would do it as soon as the dust settles. I spent a week at my friends house with the cat patching this gigantic hole in her plaster that saved her $500 dollars. Now she wants me to change her locks. I think I might be looking at going back to work .....Maybe.

[NYgal1542]

I try to be helpful and lift someone's spirits when possible. I have done some thinking back to my younger years and remember how I was not always kind to some people. And what I wouldn't give to have a day when I could apologize for my rude behavior to anyone I hurt. I think just remembering those times when I could have been a nicer, more thoughtful person, spurs me into being a better person now. I have been on the receiving end of some very thoughtful peoples kindness and I do strive to be more like that.

[fay111]

Thank you for starting this thread Escort Rider - nice to see something so uplifting.

My activity is president of our local library's Friends Group. We raise money to support extra programming at the library. While we do adult programs, my favorite are the ones for children. We have a summer reading program and this is an adjunct to that.

This past summer we had a man in who runs a raptor center. Birds that have been injured and cannot be returned to the wild are brought to this group. He nurses them back to health and does shows to raise money. He brought in to the library condors, eagles, owls etc. They are tethered to his arm and he walks around the meeting room, so everyone can see them "up close and personal." While doing this, he gives an informative lecture about each species.

Another program was "Bash the Trash." This is an environmental program. This speaker was from Peru and showed the instruments that were made from trash. The kids (and adults) got to come up and play the various instruments. When it was over, not one child left - they all wanted to play some more.

I believe anything that gets a child into the library and reading is a wonderful thing - and if that can be helped with some educational programming, all the better.

I know that I'm not changing the world, but I get a lot of satisfaction making my little corner of it a little better.

[eok]

"You who are on the road must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself because the past is just a goodbye"

[AZgarden]

Tomorrow I am going to a volunteer fair !!! Will see who needs what there.

[SUSMUSIC]

Since moving to Sarasota, Florida, I have been doing some volunteer activities. I feel the most important one is helping to distribute food at the food pantry. Although, we cannot solve all of their problems in life, we are trying to help these folks get food once a week.

[in_newengland]

Thank you for starting this thread, Escort Rider. It's good to see a positive thread that shows that we are still important and can still make meaningful contributions to this world.

I don't know yet what I'm going to do tomorrow. I do have a male friend who is lonely. He takes care of our dog for free when we go away and in return we take him to medical appointments. He's a lot younger than we are but has congenital health problems and diabetes.

The other day I gave him a little ice cream maker and a container of stevia (natural sweetener) so that he can make sugar free ice cream at home. He complains that the store bought sugar free ice cream makes him sick--it contains aspartame which is not good stuff anyway. I included some simple recipes. I know he'll like the ice cream because this past summer I made him some ice cream with stevia and he raved about it.

Tonight I had him over for dinner and he got to play with the dog instead of sitting alone in his condo eating take-out food. I know it's not much. Sometimes I have more time and energy and can do more. We should all try to do what we can.

[silibran]

Good thread and it functions as a kick in the pants for me. Before I moved I volunteered at a food pantry. I grew to like the clients I talked with, and I feel I got quite an education about how to live while poor. In my new location, I've accepted a few things, but nothing I consider "giving back." I've been on the fence too long. I need to find something.

But I am not sure what I want to do. Maybe that's the wrong approach. I think I need say yes to the next opportunity, no matter what. I've done a few things already that way, but nothing long term.

Thanks for the reminder, ER.

[biscuitmom]

There are many ways to help others and be a "better person" than to formally volunteer.
Being kind and attentive to those we encounter as we conduct our daily business - the ones who cut our hair, serve us in restaurants, check out our groceries, stand behind us in the pharmacy lines. It takes a bit of effort to go beyond being polite and tipping generously and truly acknowledge each person. We all know people who do this well and they're worth emulating.

Then there are the many who are dealing, sometimes 24/7, with demanding and/or needy family members. They don't earn "volunteer of the year" certificates, receive thank-you notes, or get recognized at award banquets. They are unsung heroes.