Saturday, September 6, 2014

5 ways to give up your own time to help a charity


There seems to be an assumption that the only way that people can help a charitable cause is by donating money. While charities (including CID) are almost always in need of extra cash, there are still ways that you can help without spending any money and still benefit a charity.

1.    Volunteer your time at a charity shop.  Charity shops are always looking for volunteers who can spare an hour or two each week to help with sorting donations, ironing clothes, dusting the shelves or manning the till.  All we ask is that you are honest, trustworthy and above all, reliable (so we can count on you coming in at the agreed time each week).

2.    Do you have a skill?  Perhaps you like some kind of craft (e.g. knit, sew, crochet, baking, wood turning, gardening etc)?  You could make some items to sell on behalf of your chosen charity.  If you are “into” crafts I’m sure you will have spare materials that you could utilise for a charity and either sell them on yourself or pass them to a charity for one of their events to sell.  If you are green fingered, you could pot up a few extra plants to sell. Into baking?  Make some cakes, buns, scones or similar when your charity is holding a fundraiser. Got a glut of fruit or vegetables in your garden? Make them into jam and chutney to sell and raise much needed funds.  The possibilities are endless!

3.    Give as you Live is an online shopping portal, and their aim is to turn web shopping into cash for charities. When you buy something from a store by going through their portal, a percentage of the money you’ve spent goes to Give as you Live, who then pass on the money to the cause of your choice, less a percentage commission. This means that you can buy all your Christmas presents (yes, it's coming to that time of year) without leaving the house, and do your bit for charity at the same time.

4.    Got goods you no longer need or use at home?  Why not sell them on EBay and donate the money (or a percentage of it) to your favourite charity?  Just about anything can be bought or sold on EBay (that old adage “your rubbish is someone else’s treasure” certainly becomes true on this website!).  If your chosen charity trades on EBay you can specify that a percentage of your sale goes to the charity when listing your items so it is deducted automatically when the item sells and your charity benefits as well. CID trade on EBay and the user’s name is CIDJane (just in case you’re inspired by this blog and decide to upload some items for sale!) J

5.    Do you like keeping fit? Run? Swim? Walk?  Why not get some like minded friends together and organise a sponsored Marathon (or maybe 5K, 10K or half marathon!) / Swimathon / Sponsored walk? Organising an event like this keeps you in focus for your training schedule and making it a sponsored event helps us to look after the children in our care.  Last year Rob Russell, a supporter of CID did FOUR marathons in a day to help raise funds and raised a magnificent £2,500!

These are just a few ideas to whet your appetite……………….I’m sure you can think of some more!
 


Jane x

No comments:

Post a Comment