Be The Change: 5 Good Deeds That Make a Difference

By  //  January 30, 2023

Creating a selfless lifestyle is not about ignoring your own needs.

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Instead, it focuses on maintaining a good life while assisting the less fortunate. Fortunately, there’s no requirement to be wealthy, powerful, or socially connected to help others.

For many working people, it’s enough to do an occasional good deed or random act of kindness. If you would like to be part of the solution and generate positive change in the world, begin by thinking small and finding out what you can do on a local, personal level for those in need.

Use your imagination. A few of the most common and effective things that people do include adopting local charities, being a cosigner on a student loan application, paying a needy stranger’s grocery bill, serving as a mentor to a young employee, teaching basic English skills to new immigrants, performing lawn care services for elderly or disabled neighbors, giving rides to cancer patients, and coaching little league.

Check out the following suggestions and see which ones resonate with your idea of how to be the change.

Adopt a Local Charity

Neighborhood-based and other local charitable organizations survive on small donations of time and money.

No matter how much of either one you must spare, consider exploring the opportunities and contacting an organization whose mission fits with your personal philosophy about how best to assist others.

Many citizens take up the challenge by adopting a specific charity and doing whatever they can on a regular basis to further the cause. 

A donor might get involved with a church sponsored literacy program that teaches indigent people how to read and write. Another person could choose to work the cash register in a gift shop run by a social service agency.

There are endless ways to donate skills, funds, time, food, and other valued assets to a worthy cause.

Cosign for Someone’s Student Loan

Without lending a dime, you can completely change someone’s chances of getting a college loan that comes with reasonable rates and decent terms. Being a cosigner is the single most effective way to lend a hand to a person who otherwise might not be able to earn a degree.

It’s unfortunate but true that many college-age youngsters have access to few financial resources, no credit history, and low chances of obtaining education loans.

But, if they can find someone to serve as a cosigner on a loan application, everything changes. Your good credit is the factor that makes a difference, and you need not lend any cash or help in any other way unless you choose to. A working adult who acts as an Earnest student loan cosigner can help a prospective college attendee gain approval for a loan that comes with completive rates and commonsense terms.

For so many worthy youngsters, there’s no other way to get financing for higher education.

Pay for Groceries or Fuel

If you notice someone who could obviously use help paying for their food or gasoline, offer to pay their bill as a one-time courtesy. The practice has become more common in recent years for several reasons. In an era when inflation is at an all-time high and pump prices are setting records, grocery stores and service stations are appropriate places to offer a helping hand to someone in need.

Remember to respect the fact that some people don’t want help and will kindly refuse your generous proposal. If that happens, just say you understand, and go about your business. Charity is not about forcing yourself on others; its purpose is to render assistance in a consensual way.

Be a Mentor

At your job or elsewhere, be willing to mentor a young person who might be able to benefit from your experience and guidance. There are several online mentor matching services that pair people up based on needs and talents. Use your personal and professional network to get the word out that you are willing to be a mentor.

The system for making connections is informal in most cases. Some of the best opportunities and requests will arrive via word-of-mouth.

Do Free Yardwork

Talk to neighbors and find elderly or disabled homeowners nearby who could benefit from no cost yardwork tasks like mowing, tree trimming, raking, etc. Provided you have the right tools for the job, offer your services directly and be clear that there are no charges, tips, or fees of any kind.

Have a conversation with the homeowners or their relatives to establish a schedule and decide what kinds of jobs they need the most. Many older adults would like to mow their lawns but are unable to do the job themselves or afford to have it done every week.

When you do arrange, always confirm the dates a week or so in advance and stick to the schedule that you and the others agree upon.