Giving Back this Holiday Season November 20, 2015
I know I’ve been on a holiday whirl this week, but let’s focus on something a little different today- giving back this holiday season. Amid the hustle and bustle and the crazy busy schedules, I believe we all need to take a minute, step outside of ourselves, and give back. We donate each year to two charities, which I’ll go into later, but it’s also nice to give back in little ways throughout the holiday season. Not only are you making someone else’s day, you get a sense of fulfillment for doing a good deed. So what’s my small act of kindness this year? These sweet little burlap notecards!
You’ll need:
- Notecards- I found mine in the dollar section of Walmart
- 1 spool of ribbon
- 1 bag of individually wrapped candy canes
- 10 giftcards
- A pen
Instructions:
- Choose who you want to give to! I did 5 cards for frazzled moms and 5 cards for homeless men and women. For the moms I purchased 5 Starbucks giftcards- enough for each to treat themselves to any drink/treat. For the homeless, I bought the gift card at the closest restaurant/fast food joint I could find to their location.
- Write a sweet note/quote in each card. It doesn’t have to be long or winded, just a simple “You’re doing great mom. Enjoy a coffee from me.” Or “Happy Holidays and Enjoy”.
- Place the gift card in the card, seal, and decorate as you see fit!
- Hand them out and watch the smiles spread.
My favorite moment was at Target- this mom of 3 looked like she was about to lose it on her beautiful but rambunctious children. She obviously hadn’t showered that day, and the baby had thrown up on her shirt. So I went right up to her, gave her the card and a big smile, and said “Happy Holidays”. After opening it, she later found me in the store and gave me a huge hug.
So what prompted this idea for giving this holiday season? This video by Western Union:
Western Union is really supporting giving back and donating this year. Why? Because the more money moves, the more lives change. Our economies and business prosper, our community grows and builds, and more and more people connect. Watching this video prompted my little DIY above, and it also helped me choose my charities to donate to this year. If you don’t have a charity or non-profit that you support, I am happy to recommend mine.
Every year we donate to Children’s Healthcare. And we always will. They saved Hudson’s life and I love the heart behind this hospital.
A new charity to me is the Atlanta Women’s Foundation. They are the only public foundation in Georgia that is dedicated solely to helping women and children. Their goal? To greatly decrease these staggering numbers: 81,000 girl and 320,000 women live in poverty in Georgia. This organization has given 13 million dollars to over 250 non-profit organizations to help women and girls lift themselves from poverty. This charity spoke to me on so many levels, and I hate to think of all of those women and children living in such dire conditions. So I’m choosing to give back, to help that money move, to better our economy and, more importantly, individual lives.
Who are you donating to this holiday season?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
This is such a great idea! How sweet of you to give a card to that mom and that she came to find you to give you a hug! Happy Friday xxx
I just love how you decorated the envelopes! It’s so festive and cute!
Love this idea! I try to always buy giftcards for homeless people… I don’t always feel comfortable giving money to people, but I’m always happy to give someone a giftcard where they can get a meal 🙂
This is a cute idea! I love how you put these together.
These are so cute!!
I love this! I am going to pass this on to my mom. She does cards for the veterans at every holiday, this would be great for that!
Oh my gosh, I love this! Such a sweet and personal way to spread kindness a hope. 🙂 pinning it!!
What a cute idea! This is so sweet.
Molly and Stacie
This is so beautiful, and something I have never done!! We get so caught up in our own needs….I am going to do this!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Valerie
Oh, I absolutely adore these. So simple but so thoughtful! We are doing handmade gifts this year, so I’m thinking something like this would be perfect for my coworkers 🙂
This is such a wonderful idea. It’s so thoughtful to give a gift to those in need rather than to those who have all they need.
Absolutely love this idea! I am all about changing the world, and this is a simple yet effective way to do that!
I love how such small acts of kindness can brighten or turn someone’s day around. These stories truly warm my heart and inspire me to be a better human. Thank you for sharing.
This is such a wonderful and sweet idea. I think everyone should try and focus more on giving back during the holidays.
Writing a little note to someone is such an underrated form of gift giving. I think its really special!
<3
This Idea is AWESOME! I plan to do this now! I know it was awesome when my cousin took me out for a pedicure just because she knows I had a kid last year. That moment when someone does something random for you and labels it with something specific, it gives a huge boost! Simply a great post!
This is so sweet! I love this idea.
This is such a great idea!! It is so sweet of you to give back to others in your community!
Charlene xo
The Frugal Fashionista
Jessica, this is literally so great. I absolutely love your idea and I’m feeling inspired to do something similar now! Thank you for the inspiration and for being a beautiful soul. <3
Coming Up Roses
I love this idea!! How thoughtful. My husband and I have been trying to figure out the best way to give this Holiday Season. I’ll share this post with him. 🙂
I just love this! Those are so cute! How thoughtful of you! You have definitely inspired me! It’s been a blessing to visit with you today, Love! GOD bless you! 🙂
Jessica you are a complete inspiration – what an absolutely beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing – you’ve really made me think about what I can do in my own life too 🙂 <3