“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Aesop

Do good where you are. It’s as simple as that. We often have the notion that because we aren’t famous or do not have a multitude of resources that we can’t make a difference or have an impact on someone else’s livelihood. We can give ourselves so many excuses as to why something won’t work. I don’t have the time, the money, the right connections. Well, that’s where you may need to change your thought process. True, you may not be able to open a school in your hometown and send hundreds of underprivileged youth to college for free each year (Hey LeBron), but you can do something. You see, we may not be able to change the world in a matter of minutes, but our actions can impact and influence one person and that will make a world of difference.

You may also say, we have enough of our own troubles where I live, shouldn’t we start here first?
To that I say, why can’t you do both? Yes, it is quite possible to serve your everyday community as well as invest in the community that you’re visiting. After all, it’s the place you will make your home for at least a few days. You’re sharing their resources, culture, etc. Why not?

I can guess  your rebuttal.”I’ve worked my butt off for 360 days and I can’t use 5 days to just relax? Of course you can. But, giving back doesn’t have to feel like work. Tap into the talents in which you naturally possess. Are you good with children and enjoy playing basketball? Well, take your jump shot to the neighborhood and spend a couple of hours of  shooting hoops with the kids. They’ll enjoy your presence (unless your game is trash and they’ll laugh you off the court) and you’ll have lots of fun too…not to mention some good cardiovascular activity. Seriously, kids have boundless energy. Do you have an infectious smile and the gift of gab. Visit a language school such as Habla Ya (insert link) to offer to teach English (or any other language you are fluent in) to the residents. If tourism is a major money maker for the economy in that region, they will be grateful to have “access to more opportunities” by being more fluent in another language.

I recently returned from a trip to Barbados for a destination wedding and knew in advance that my time was limited during my already short stay. However, I stumbled upon Pack for a Purpose, a wonderful organization that assembles lists of supplies for local schools, partners with local hotels/resorts for drop off locations, and delivers them to the schools for you. My Barbados post will be up soon with more details regarding this experience.

We oftentimes have the tendency to take for granted the fact that we live in a “highly developed” country and there are MANY who do not have accessibility to what we have. You can gain a global outlook and catch a glimpse of the conditions others have to live in DAILY. Hello, perspective check.We must be careful not to play in to the negative stigma that comes with what we’ve been told all our lives. Go out there, explore the world, and develop your own frame of reference.

I’ll highlight some ways I have been engaged and will continue to update you all in future posts about any deeds I’m involved in. Do you know of any fun and creative ways to give back to your community? Have you done any of them and how did it go? I want to hear from you!