Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

  Some call this the season of lights. With all the lights and decorations, I can see why. Today I'm going to talk about another kind of light.   I don’t usually talk about just one website at a time in my blog. I give lots of websites that have great ideas or provide my own ideas and inspirations. But today, there is a website I want to talk about because it does A LOT! The Points of Light website caters to individual volunteers, companies that want to make a difference and to nonprofits as well. Individuals can find volunteer opportunities, causes and programs set up for them.   Nonprofits can post volunteer opportunities. The Points of Light Civic Accelerator “invests in and supports seed stage social ventures that solve pressing social and environmental issues by engaging people” also. If you have an idea for a nonprofit, this is the place to be, with money, mentoring, peer support and networking for your idea. Or, if you have a company that wan...

  The summer solstice is behind us now but there’s still a couple months of summer left. This is the first summer I’ve had a teen in the house before (since my son turned 13 this year) and I thought maybe it’s time to do a blog about teens volunteering during the summer. In Florida, your high school aged teen can use the summer to get volunteer hours for the Bright Futures Scholarship, but no matter where you are, bored teens can be a boon for charities. So, what can they do anyway? Well, my son likes cats and we’ve volunteered at our local cat shelter SOCKS (Save our cats and kittens). We go pet the cats and can also clean litter boxes and sort items for the thrift store they run. Truth is, many teens love animals. I looked on VolunteerMatch for volunteer opportunities in the area and found a few more related to animals, including the local zoo asking for help cleaning out cages and preparing food for animals and the wildlife refuge wanting volunteers for day-to-d...

Tomorrow starts National Park Week, a week to get out and visit a national park, for free! Sunday is the day to celebrate Easter, and it's also a perfect time to simply get outdoors and take advantage of the more than 17,000 miles of trails in national parks and another 15,600 miles of national recreation trails. God's creation is made for us to enjoy! Did you know there are more miles of trails in the national trails system than miles of road in the interstate highway system? Search here for events going on this week at national parks. Next Saturday is also National Junior Ranger Day for young visitors to "explore, learn, protect" and be sworn in as junior rangers. We have visited a few national parks in our time and there are always programs going on for Junior Rangers. There’s even a site for Web Rangers. Tuesday, April 22, is Earth Day, so if you want to roll up your sleeves and pitch in with a project, look for a park where you can help out...

There’s a new way to do Lent, not give something up but add something new. I heard about it from Karen Ehman of Proverbs 31 ministries . I had decided this year to add a new morning and evening prayer for the 40 days of Lent and then I heard of Karen Ehman’s idea of Reverse Lent. Ehman suggests doing one of five things: 1.        Writing a note each day to tell someone thank you or share a memory. 2.       Call someone each day to tell him or her you’re glad he or she is in your life. 3.       Do something to lighten someone else’s load. Help a family member, friend or coworker by doing a chore that is usually theirs. 4.       Help a stranger. 5.       Serve someone who usually serves you, like the postman, a teacher or pastor.   I think it’s a great idea! Everyone is talking about what they’re giving up and I absolutely ...

This year marks the 20 th year of the federal AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps is the network of local, state, and national service programs that connects over 80,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, health, and homeland security. AmeriCorps’ members serve with more than 2,000 non-profits, public agencies, and community organizations. Today, I am interviewing AmeriCorps member Trevor Sikes about his experience in AmeriCorps. 1.       You’ve been an AmeriCorps member for how long now? Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you learned about AmeriCorps, and why you applied to the program.   My name is Trevor Sikes and I’m originally from Saratoga, Wyoming.   I went to college in Olympia, Washington at the Evergreen State College and majored in foreign affairs and cultural studies.   I have been an AmeriCorps NPRC member for about a year and a half. I am current...

I’ve mentioned briefly that I’m trying something new in the way of volunteering. Many of you know that I’ve been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, have captained a Relay for Life team, and now am on the steering committee for my local Relay for Life. In fact, today I will be out recruiting teams and sponsors for that very Relay. But now, I have a new charity that I am learning about in a different way. I’ve also been pursuing a master’s degree in instructional technology and in my last semester (which I’m in now, oh yeah!) I must do a field experience such as an internship or real world project. I looked for an internship which is what I really wanted to do, but instead I found not one, but two projects to do. One is for the First Circuit Court of Florida. My university is helping them put a face-to-face course they teach online and I’m on the team to make that happen. The other is for the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is an organization that I’ve admire...

I love this time of year. Not only are we celebrating the birth of Jesus our savior, but everyone is in a volunteering, charity giving mood. You hear of opportunities to help others on the radio and television. There are clothing and toy drives in the Walmarts, drug stores, and other businesses. You only need look around a little bit to find a way to help others. Some of my Facebook buddies have come up with a way to help homeless people—by carrying gallon ziplock care packages with them in the car. They fill them with toiletries and hand and foot warmers. Some are getting their neighborhood associations together to put bunches of them together. Here are a few more ideas for things to do:  1.        Write letters of appreciation : Take the time to write letters of appreciation to people you truly appreciate. Think about the postal service workers, maintenance workers and your child’s bus driver who keeps him safe every day. 2. ...

Usually on this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I put out a list of gifts that give, ones that you can buy that help a charity do its work. But this year, I decided that rather than point out what you can buy to help others, I’d like to point out a new tradition— Giving Tuesday . I will still put out my “gifts that give” list, but I felt it had to wait. During December 3, Giving Tuesday, individuals will start volunteer projects, make online donations and gather at dozens of events to celebrate the start of the holiday giving season by giving back to the causes they care about most. Want to know where some of these events are? Check out Giving Tuesday . The U.S. White House reports that more than 7000 partners across all 50 states are taking part. Why should you? Well, let’s think about it. What does the holiday season really mean? Is it just about having a good time with your family and friends? Is it about the gift of love that Jesus brought when he was born...

I  made it! This is my 100 th blog! I want more than anything to thank you, my readers, for coming back and reading my blogs each week and for sharing them with others. I also want to remember some of my first and favorite blogs today, along with remembering that this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Saturday is Make a Difference Day. I’ll be volunteering at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Saturday along with my husband. I hope you have plans to make a difference somehow, too! Now for a walk down memory lane. Here’s a quote from my very first blog which was entitled Me, Myself, and Why: “When you see or hear about someone in need, it should pull on your heart. That’s the way God wants us to feel.  When we get too hard to feel for others, we’ve lost something very dear.” The blog of mine that has gotten the most reads was just before Memorial Day and is called Remember. After I go on about my plans for Memorial Day weekend and the cookout I’...