4 Tips for Giving Back to Your Community

Communities are nothing without the people who live within them. Even if you're interested in helping out your fellow man, however, it can be difficult to know where or how to proceed. What organizations need your help? What kind of charity work should you do in the first place? If you're ready to make the world a better place, here are just four tips for getting started.

1. Find Your Passion

While volunteering at a soup kitchen is always worthwhile, it probably won't become a long-term activity for you unless you're committed to helping the homeless. Generally speaking, it's best to devote your energies to causes that inspire your fire. For example, if you're a music major, you might volunteer with an organization that promotes the arts with pop up pianos in New York.


2. Know Your Limits

It's very common for newbies to get so excited about their causes that they overextend themselves and wind up burning out a few months later. To avoid this, make sure you're approaching your charitable efforts with a sense of moderation. Don't volunteer for events more than six months in advance; don't donate any money that you can't afford to lose; don't work so hard that you forget to take days off.


3. Make Friends in Your Field

Who else is trying to build homes for the poor? Who else is running a literacy program for at-risk youth? These people are your greatest allies in the fight to improve your community. Not only can you use them as springboards for your own ideas, but you can also lend a hand to their projects, creating a cycle of charity work that benefits everyone.


4. Stay Motivated

Never forget why you're doing what you do. If necessary, collect keepsakes or make scrapbooks to document your journey of generosity. For example, you might take pictures of all the children you've fed or hold onto a ribbon from a breast cancer walk that you completed. These things will keep you in touch with the "why"s of your charity work even when you're struggling with the "how"s.


These are just a few tips for giving back to your community. Whether you're housing abandoned dogs or painting fences for the elderly, every little bit of charitable work will have a ripple effect on your friends and neighbors, and one day it will turn into a wave.