Every day of the year has a national day dedicated it to it, or so it seems. Some of the days have some actual significance and meaning behind them and others don’t. October 22nd is National Make a Difference Day. This national day was started in 1992 by USA WEEKEND magazine and has sponsored the largest national day of community service for more than 20 years. Making a difference doesn’t always mean going out and doing community service or volunteering; you can make a difference in someone’s life by simply giving them a compliment or tutoring a young child. Here are five ways you can make a difference:
1. Go to your local “Feed My Starving Children”: This is a great way to make a difference. You or you and a group of friends can go to any FMSC location and package meals for malnourished children in underdeveloped countries and for people within the United States who have been severely impacted by natural disasters. Once the meals are packaged they are shipped to over 70 countries throughout the world. With the recent destruction of Hurricane Matthew this is a great way to help those in need of everyday necessities such as clothing and food.
2. Visit the local senior center: Many times people in these senior homes or senior centers don’t get a lot of visitors, so one way you can brighten their day is by stopping in for a visit, even if you don’t know them. Senior citizens are always grateful when they receive visitors, especially ones who stay to talk and hear their life stories. Another way to brighten their day is to bring them paintings that you’ve made, flowers or even goodies. They’re small gestures but trust me, those gestures will be greatly appreciated and will never go unnoticed.
3. Pick up trash: This may seem like common knowledge, but it’s surprising how often trash gets ignored. If you see garbage lying around when you’re out on a run, pick it up. It may not seem like you’re making a difference but you really are. If you and your friends spend an hour today picking up trash in your neighborhood or around the lakes when you’re on a walk, not only will you pick up thousands of pieces of trash, but you will also make a tremendous impact in your community.
4. Donate: We all have a lot of stuff, whether it be clothes or food or even money, but a lot of the stuff we have we don’t use. Before you go out to buy new clothes, go through your closet and dresser and sort out what you don’t wear or what doesn’t fit anymore and donate those items to Goodwill or any other second-hand store. If you have non-perishable food items that you know you won’t eat, bring those items to your local food shelf. If you have a favorite charity or organization, consider donating some money to them so that they can continue to fund those who need their help.
5. Be kind: This is one of the simplest ways you can make a difference. Being nice to someone is not hard to do; smile as people walk by, say hello, give compliments. Small little acts of kindness may have a huge impact on someone who is having a rough day. When you’re kind to others, they will be just as kind to you.
Making a difference in someone’s day or even in the world is not hard to do, and it brings happiness into the lives of others and prosperity into yours. However you decide to make a difference, just know that whoever is on the receiving end will be extremely grateful.