• Donate your next big hair cut. If you are having more than ten inches cut off your hair, consider donating your clippings to Locks of Love, www.locksoflove.org. The nonprofit organization provides hair pieces to underprivileged children under the age of 18 suffering from long-term hair loss. The company uses hair donations to develop hair prostheses. For more information about how to donate, call (888) 896-1588.
• Mentor someone. If you want to become involved in mentoring or forming a relationship with a child or teen, contact your local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, www.bbbsa.org. You can also become a mentor through employer and church programs. But remember that some of the most effective and long-lasting mentoring relationships are built organically on a one-on-one level. Is there a younger married couple who has asked you for advice? Do you have any college students or recent graduates that naturally like to hang out at your home? Look for ways to be intentional about your relationships, and if you don't already have one, look for a mentor for yourself.
• If Election Day is around the corner, consider volunteering at your local polls. Not only will you meet new people, but also you'll help preserve one of our nation's greatest freedoms.
• Minister to someone who is imprisoned. If you don't have time to get involved in a prison outreach such as Prison Fellowship, www.pfm.org, than you can still serve children of prisoners through Project Angel Tree. For more information, call (800) 55-ANGEL.
• If you want to make a donation with just a moment of your time, there are several websites you can visit and click and the sponsors or advertisers will make a small donation to a charity. So the next time you're online, visit www.freedonation.com. Other sites include:
www.thehungersite.com,
www.thebreastcancersite.com,
www.thechildhealthsite.com,
www.theliteracysite.com,
www.theanimalrescuesite.com, and
www.therainforestsite.com.
Some sites limit you to one click a day, while other sites allow you several clicks.
• If you want to give the gift of giving, Charity Checks, www.charitychecks.us, allows you to purchase checks in many denominations and then give them as a gift. The gift recipient can choose any nonprofit organization to fill the check out to. This is a great gift that keeps giving. You get the tax write-off, your recipient gets the satisfaction of helping a person or organization in need, and the charity receives the funds it needs.
