You are busy. Life is busy. We live in a fast paced society. So how do you find time to better yourself from the inside out? What are you doing to make a difference inside yourself, your family, and the world around you?
The world would have us better ourselves from the outside-in, but I am here to tell you that real and lasting joy, beauty, and happiness comes from the inside out.
Today’s Marathon Momma Monday will give you the what, how, and why of charitable giving, and volunteering. I wanted to make you aware of some amazing resources that you can use in your everyday life to help you be a part of something greater. The surest way to happiness is not to focus on ourselves and our own accomplishments, but to look for ways that we as individuals can better the world around us.
“In as much as Ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”(Matt. 25:40)
FIRST:
Have you heard of the free app called Charity Miles?
How It Works
All you have to do is get moving! If you are running, biking, or walking daily anyway, why don’t you put your good work toward helping others? Download this free app to your phone, sign in, and a screen will come up with all the charities that are possible for you to donate your miles to.
Straight from Charity Miles website, “As you exercise, we’ll track your distance and the money earned. When you’re finished, accept your sponsorship, spread the word, and we’ll send you a note confirming your good work. Earn 10¢ a mile and walkers and runners earn 25¢ a mile.”
My personal favorite is to donate to Every Mother Counts, more on this later.
This is so easy! I have even turned up the music and danced with my kids (holding my phone in my hand), Charity miles tracks your movement through your phone! It may not seem like you’re making a big difference in one workout, but all together, it will definitely add up!
SECOND:
Have you ever wanted to get involved in volunteering and service opportunities in your area when you have the time? How do you find out what is available that will work for your schedule?
Here’s your answer.
JustServe.Org is a website that provides the opportunity for people, individuals and families alike, to serve those in their community who are in need of help. Once registered, a user can find service opportunities which will allow them to follow the Savior’s counsel to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” The volunteer opportunities are varied and flexible, and the website is open to anyone who chooses to become involved. All are welcome! (There is also a place on the website to suggest service projects, if you have one you think might be appropriate.)
This program is growing rapidly every day, and if it’s not near you yet, very soon it will be in your community too! So look for it!
As I said in a previous post, my husband and I have been volunteering as running coaches for Team Kids Cafe, a non-profit organization designed to fight childhood obesity and educate underprivileged children about health and fitness through running. We bring our kids a long with us and they love it! This has has been an incredible blessing for our family. My kids have learned more gratitude for their own family situation, they have made new friends, loved serving and helping, they know we are making a difference, and we are all learning wonderful life lessons together! The family that serves together stays together!
Opportunities like this are available in your area as well. (More posts about Team Kids Cafe to come. Interested in starting a program in your area? A free PDF of the program will be posted for your use soon.)
Why Should You Make Time to Serve and Give?
Prominent thought leader Arthur C. Brooks put it best…
Those Who Serve Others
are
Happier, Healthier, and more Prosperous
“Our brains are actually wired to serve others. When we give charitable money and service to others, our brain releases several stress hormones which elevate our mood and cause us to feel happy. Serving and giving help to others makes us happier, healthier, more prosperous, and therefore greatly blessed and more successful than non-givers.
“You will hear in the coming days…that if our country were doing what it should be doing for people in need, then we wouldn’t need private giving; that the government would be taking care of people who need it, and that we would not need you to step in to provide for others. I am here to tell you, having looked at the data, that the day the government takes over for you in your private charity is the day we get poorer, unhappier, and unhealthier. We must demand to take our place as givers and support the communities and people who need the services we can provide.” Arthur C. Brooks, BYU Forum, February 24, 2009
be blessed upon the earth.” (Psalms 41:1-3)
Something miraculous happens when we focus our energies on lifting the burdens of others—our own burdens diminish! Service lifts us out of our own occasional loneliness, depression, greed, selfishness and worries. While serving others, we begin to put our own problems in perspective; and suddenly, our own challenges seem a little smaller. We become wiser, happier, and more aware of our own blessings.
Gratitude is one of the secrets of happiness, because gratitude and happiness are linked together in our lives. It has been said that, “Happiness is not having what you like, but liking what you have.” Be grateful for what you have in life, and remember to thank God for your many blessings, including the small ones we often take for granted.
“Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people. You will come to know a happiness that you have never known before if you will do that.
“Selfless service is a wonderful antidote to the ills that flow from the worldwide epidemic of self-indulgence. The answer lies in helping to solve the problems of those around us rather than worrying about our own, living to lift burdens even when we ourselves feel weighed down.
- “People who give get happier as a result.
- Happiness is the secret to success. Charity brings happiness, and happiness brings success.
- People who volunteer are happier. You simply can’t find any kind of service that won’t make you happier.
- Studies show that when people give, it lowers their levels of stress.”
One study found that donating money to charity activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure. That good feeling you get by writing a check to a charity helps people feel good knowing that they are a charitable giver. Charitable donations seem to increase activity in brain areas called the nucleus accumbens and the caudate nucleus, according to a University of Oregon team of psychologists and economists. (Chicago Tribune, June 2007,Brain-imaging study links charity, pleasure)
Healthier
- Improved physical and mental health
- Greater functional ability
- Lower rates of despair and depression
- Lower death rates” Dr. David J. Demko, gerontologist,Corp. for National and Community Service (May 2007) For more information, visit http://nationalservice.gov
“John D. Rockefeller, who was once the world’s richest person, was quoted as saying, ‘God gave me my money…I believe the power to make money is a gift from God…to be developed and used to the best of our ability for the good of mankind.’
Rockefeller believed that he made money because he was charged with helping others. He honestly believed that if he stopped giving his money in the right way, then God would take his money away.
- People who volunteer do better financially.
- The giving family will earn an average of $375 more in income than the non-giving family—and that’s statistically attributable to the gift.
- Donations drive up income, and income drives up donations.
- Charitable giving is not just a great investment for you; it’s also a patriotic act for our country because it translates into jobs, growth, opportunity, and tax revenues.
“When people see strangers giving charitably, they recognize a leadership quality in those strangers. If people witness you as a giver, they will see a leader. Servant leadership is a secret to success, whether you’re looking for success or not. When people see you giving and cooperating and serving others, they will see in you a leader, or a future leader, and they cannot help but help you.” Arthur C. Brooks, BYU Forum, February 24, 2009
which we are called upon to administer in the manner in which in our judgment
is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community.
Thus, a man of wealth becomes a mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
What opportunities have you been involved in in your area? I want to hear about it!
Or for more information on Team Kids Cafe or Every Mother Counts,
Email me:
MarathonMommaLa@gmail.com
****Happy Monday****
XoXo Laura
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I have been using Charity Miles for a few months with my charity of choice being Team Red White and Blue. This is a great post, something we all need to consider.