People who want to make a difference are…

“…satisfied with small changes.

Over time, though, the small changes add up.

Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world.”

Kisses from Katie

Be Inspired to Make a Positive Difference in the World

15 People to Emulate:

1) It’s never too late to make a big difference in this world.

No matter your age, if your young, middle age or old, you can make a difference. What kind of non-profits or organizations do you believe in? Do you have the resources or heart to pour into that cause? We can be inspired by an eighty year old woman, Prater, who sold everything and moved to the Philippians to open an orphanage.

2) Help teen moms.

Were you a teen mom? Do you have a heart for teen moms? If so, volunteer your time loving on young moms. Be inspired by Catalina Escobar.

3) Raise funds for students to have life changing opportunities.

The youth is our future. What positive life changing opportunity have you experienced? Is there a young person in your life that can benefit from one? In high school I had three teachers from DECA (a business organization) that worked overtime to raise funds for a bunch of small town students, including myself, for us to attend Presidential Classroom, a conference that has international and students from around the USA. It is there my eyes were open to leadership, business and international affairs. Similar to my high school teacher, Wyatt Smith, is making a difference in many students lives by giving them the opportunity to travel to China if they learn Chinese proficiently.

4) Educate the youth to prevent travesties.

What statistics break your heart? Do you have knowledge to prevent it? If so, have you ever thought of volunteering your wisdom? Wanda Butts, teaches African Americans how to swim to decrease the African American high drowning statistic.

5) Give or share your books.

Books hold knowledge and knowledge leads to opportunities. People’s lives can be changed from your giving heart. Give an inspiring book to a friend or family member. Regularly volunteer your time to read a book to a classroom or an afterschool program like the Boys and Girls Club. If you own a business, like a coffee shop, have a library section where people can borrow and contribute books on an honesty policy. Do you have used books lying around? Give your books away to people who can’t afford them. For example, Robini Nikekani gives away free books to the poorest children in India.

6) Volunteer your time mentoring students and sharing your knowledge with them.

What are you an expert at? Do you have the time to tutor a student after-school? Eric Schwarz organizes mentors of various professions to visit inner city schools.

7) Be a secret giver.

Once upon a time an anonymous person gave me money that was a blessing to me. Do you know of a person or a family in a financial hard time? Leave an $X of dollars in an envelop anonymously addressed to them. If this is difficult for you it might help if you put this your giving budget.

8) Perform random acts of kindness just because you want to.

I didn’t have a keyring for our door opener. A few weeks ago my husband bought me a heart shaped key ring. Then last week he just showed up with a flower pot with two beautiful pink flowers. Give someone a thoughtful gift just because. Randomly drop off sweets at a friends or bring some to work. I once bought some cookies with some friends and ding-dong-ditched (left the cookies on the doorstep) and fled the scene. It was a blast and those friends felt loved.

Here are a few more suggestions to get your noggen running:

Try to recognize everyone: janitors, bus drivers, receptionist… Learn their name, give flowers or a note to hardworkers who don’t normally get recognized. Take the new person or someone you just met out for a meal, ice cream or tea to get to know them better.Hand out cold beverages to the delivery man or construction workers. Katie from “It’s Hues I Love” blog performed 30 random acts of kindness because she was inspired.

9) Volunteer your time teaching teenagers how to cook real healthy food.

Did you know that there are city famines? Yes, cities where there are miles between people having access to real healthy food instead of convenience food. Taking the time to teach the youth how to cook  makes a lasting effect versus just giving them food. If you’re great at cooking, partner with your city or schools to teach others the love for healthy cooking. This idea is ran through a foundation that Jaime Oliver founded.

10) Recognize kindness through giving people notes.

Give genuine compliments to strangers or close loved ones. People blossom with encouragement. Tell someone what you love about them. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it’s the words that touch their heart. You can leave sticky notes of kindness to your spouse, family member, friend, and/or co-worker. A non-profit, SPPRAK, promotes schools to recognize acts of kindness by posting it on a sticky note.

12) Foster or adopt children.

Change someone’s life radically. Raising Godly children is a mission field. I know of a family, Matt and Lindsey, who I admire so much; they adopted four boys. Bless their hearts.

13) Volunteer as a family or with a friend.

Families go to the park, movies, arcade and many other fun places. Why not have fun and bond on loving someone or your city? Kristin Rafajko is inspiring. She took an opportunity with her children to love on their local community by cleaning up the park. What is the need in your community? Think about where can you cultivate your child’s heart for serving. Friends, instead of going to the movie, do some forethought and bond while volunteering. I did a few volunteer activities in college with friends and those friends became my closest.

14) Be a helping hand to parents.

Cook a meal for a family and drop it off. I couldn’t narrow this down to a person but a church that I am very thankful for loving on my sister-in-law and her family when my niece was battling cancer. Hearing how they served so abundantly touched my heart. You could also offer to babysit for some parents to go on a date night or a single mom.

15) Every time you get a new item or piece of clothing donate something old in it’s place.

Raise your hand if your husband is a minimalist. Well, mine is. A good way to cut on “stuff” is that every time you buy a new object (clothes, book, etc) you could make a pile and donate it to bless someone else.

 

Be the Change You Wish to See 

Give your time. Giving yourself as a gift is similar to how a bride and groom don’t exchange physical objects but themselves on the wedding day. “You” are the best gift you can give someone. There is no reason to be bored or to complain about issues. If you’re bored, Google “Volunteering opportunities in (city, State)” or ask around about organizations that need an extra hand. You hate how there is an increase in teen pregnancy or abortions. Go out and educate the women; there are so many organizations that address these social issues. YOU can make a difference in someone’s life today.

Who do you know in your local community that does small acts of kindness that makes this world a better place? What do they do? 

 

The 10,000 Smiles Project

I hope and pray that in some way the 10,000 Smiles Project has made a positive difference in your life: a smile or a dose of joy. The pictures in today’s batch are a combination of smiles from Krabi, Penang and Qingdao.

 

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