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Teen Gifted With WiiU by Best Buy Workers After They See Him Playing Every Day

By
McKinley Corbley
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These Best Buy workers weren’t playing around when they presented an amazed teen with a brand new Nintendo WiiU console free of charge.

The employees at the electronics store in Valley Stream, New York noticed that the kid had been coming into the store to play their WiiU almost every day for several months.

The staff decided to all pitch in and buy the boy a console of his own.

In a video uploaded by the store’s manager Rahiem Storr, the boy seems skeptical when presented with the gift.

WATCH: Simple Act of Kindness Marks His Third Day on the Job

“On behalf of all of us here at Best Buy, we got you a WiiU,” the employees told the youth. “This is something we did for you. Everyone here that you see, we all got together and chipped in so you could have it.”

Finally, after realizing that he is not the subject of an elaborate prank, the boy starts to smile and accepts the gift.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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Mobile Money Has Lifted 200,000 Kenyan Families Out of Poverty

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A new study shows the expansion of a mobile money system has helped bring hundreds of thousands of Kenyans out poverty, especially those in female-headed households.

The study, published in Science, examined how M-PESA, Kenya’s text message-based payments system, spread across the country over six years. The researchers tracked the economic progress of thousands of households and estimated that the expansion of M-PESA lifted 194,000 households (2% of households in the country) above the poverty line, and that these effects were partly driven by women’s access to the new way of sending and receiving money.

M-PESA, introduced in Kenya in 2007, now reaches 96 percent of the country’s households. Because it uses simple SMS messages (not requiring a smartphone) to send money, and cash can be deposited or withdrawn from local agents (for example, at a nearby shop), the service does not require an extensive bank infrastructure and reaches even remote rural areas.

RELATED: Judge Dismisses 66K Warrants Against Homeless Because “It’s the right thing to do”

Economists Tavneet Suri, Associate Professor of Applied Economics at MIT’s Sloan School of Business and Billy Jack, Professor of Economics at Georgetown University, worked with the research and policy non-profit Innovations for Poverty Action to study households across much of the country as the network of agents expanded into new localities.

MORE: Teenage Girl Turns Plastic Trash Into Million-Dollar Biofuel

“What we saw over six years was impressive — as people were given access to this low-cost means of sending and receiving cash, poverty, particularly extreme poverty, decreased, and especially for households headed by women,” according to Suri. “We saw that when M-PESA came to an area, women shifted their occupations and their savings went up. We estimate that about 185,000 women shifted occupations from subsistence farming to business or retail sales.”

Previous studies of programs thought to reduce poverty have had mixed results; for example, multiple studies have shown that micro-loans, while helpful business tools for a few, do not on average bring borrowers out of poverty. “Our earlier work on M-PESA showed that it improved financial resilience in Kenya – while households typically suffered falls in consumption of about 7 percent when hit by misfortune, M-PESA users were able to maintain normal consumption levels in the event of such unexpected setbacks,” according to Jack, of Georgetown, “With this longer term data, we’re confident that the proliferation of mobile money has also resulted in a reduction in poverty, especially in households headed by women.”

CHECK OUT: Donated Laptops Are Flying Right Into Laps of African Entrepreneurs

The findings also add to a growing body of research on gender dynamics surrounding money in low-income countries. “Sometimes the poor, and poor women in particular, just need access to the right set of simple tools to help themselves, but we haven’t always known what that the right set was,” according to Annie Duflo, Executive Director of Innovations for Poverty Action. “Hopefully these results will inform and encourage the targeted scaling of mobile money services in other countries. While many other countries have a system, too few have the kind of nationwide infrastructure that now exists in Kenya.”

The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the organization Financial Sector Deepening Kenya. (Source: Innovation for Poverty Action; Photo by Intersect)

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Black Rights Activist to be One of First Women on Canadian Dollar Bill

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McKinley Corbley
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Viola Desmond, a civil rights activist who refused to leave the “whites-only” section of a Nova Scotia film house in 1946, is the first woman – apart from the Queen – to be featured on a Canadian dollar bill.

Even though Desmond is frequently referred to as the “Canadian Rosa Parks”, Desmond committed her revolutionary act when she was just 32-years-old—nine years before Parks.

Desmond was arrested and forced to pay $20 for her release on bail – the equivalent of $337 in 2016. She was finally pardoned for her “crimes” 45 years after her death by Nova Scotia lieutenant-governor Mayann Francis.

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Starting in 2018, Viola will replace Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, whose image is on the $10 bill. She was chosen from a pool of 461 names submitted for the revised currency, which had to meet the bill’s requirements—being of Canadian citizenship, deceased for 25 years, and having “demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefitting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada.”

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He Took a Polaroid Every Day For 18 Years Until He Died (LOOK)

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McKinley Corbley
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There is a website with almost 7,000 polaroid photos documenting 18 wonderful years of a man’s life.

 

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The photos document the life of Jamie Livingston – a photographer, independent filmmaker, musician, and dedicated husband living in New York City.

 

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The photos start in April 1979 and provide a glimpse into each day, until he died of cancer on October 25th, 1997 – his 41st birthday.

 

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Jamie used his SX-70 camera to document meals, objects, friends, family, the beauty of New York, and significant events – like his wedding day.

 

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Jamie brought his camera wherever he went. As one friend
said, “It probably helped his social life because everyone wanted to be in his ‘photo of the day’.”

 

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After his death, his friends Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid used his crates of photographs to create an art exhibit with all of his polaroids—and a Polaroid of the Day website.

You can find out more about the life of Jamie Livingston by reading this blog post written by his friend or checking out the website, where visitors often enjoy looking up the photos that correspond with their birthdays.

Click To Share The News With Your Friends – Photos by Jamie Livingston

People Willing to Pay 11% More For New Biofuels That Help the Earth

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When it comes to second generation biofuels, Washington State University research shows that consumers are willing to pay a premium price, 11 percent more than conventional fuel costs, in order to help the environment.

“We were surprised the premium was that significant,” said Jill McCluskey, WSU professor in the School of Economic Sciences. “We wanted to study people in different regions of the country, to make sure we weren’t just getting a local result, and people in all three cities we studied said they would pay more for these fuels.”

The paper, “Consumer Preferences for Second-Generation Bioethanol,” was published in November in the journal Energy Economics.

MORE: Park Kicks Dirty Chemical Sprays For Greener, More Entertaining Weeders

Second generation biofuels are made from non-food sustainable biological sources, like wood scraps –which recently powered an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C.

A researcher who studies new biofuels at WSU asked McCluskey to find out whether people would actually buy second generation biofuels, and what they would pay for it.

“This new biofuel doesn’t exist commercially yet, so we have to do these studies to make sure there’s a potential market for it,” McCluskey said. “And this shows there clearly is a market.”

MORE: Teenage Girl Turns Plastic Trash Into Million-Dollar Biofuel

McCluskey and her co-author, recent WSU Ph.D. graduate Tongzhe Li, conducted surveys in Portland, Ore., Minneapolis and Boston. In Portland, the average amount participants would pay for second generation biofuel over conventional fuel was 17 percent, while in Minneapolis and Boston the averages were 9 percent and 8 percent.

“People in the survey were concerned that the new fuel may put their car at risk, by not running the same as conventional fuel,” she said. “But they also saw the added benefit to the environment.”

CHECK OUT: Costa Rica Has Been Powered Only By Renewable Energy For 122 Days

The researchers asked participants if they would be willing to pay a certain amount for the product. If they said no, researchers offered a discount and asked if participants would pay that amount. However, if respondents said yes, researchers asked if they would be willing to pay a little more for the product.

Before they were surveyed, half of the participants were given information about second generation biofuels. Those participants were more willing to pay a greater premium, which suggests that marketing the benefits of the new biofuels would improve consumers’ perceptions, believes McCluskey, whose work was funded by part of a grant from the National Science Foundation.

(Source: Washington State University)

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Store Surprised by Adorable Beaver Shopping For Artificial Christmas Tree

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This Christmas shopper is a lot smaller than his human counterparts, but that doesn’t mean he won’t know a big bargain when he sees one.

Last week, this festive beaver wandered into a dollar store in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, apparently in the market for an artificial tree. Maybe real trees never lasted through the season in this Beaver household.

WATCH: Deer Goes Limp In Hunter’s Arms When It Realizes It’s Being Rescued

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After perusing the artificial Christmas tree aisle, he went on to browse more holiday decor. When his shopping got a little messy, however, officials were forced to call the St. Mary’s County Sheriff Office who arrived on the scene with animal control.

RELATED: Pesky Beavers Put to Work Restoring Streams

Though the beaver was safely apprehended and returned to the wild, officials had no comment on whether he found the perfect Christmas tree or not.

 

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Read more beaver stories at Good News Network.

Click To Share the Cute News With Your Friends – Photos by St. Mary’s County Sheriff Office –OR 

We Are One Step Closer to a Finger-Swipe Powered Phone

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The day of charging cellphones with finger swipes and powering Bluetooth headsets simply by walking is now much closer.

Michigan State University engineering researchers have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion, using a film-like device that actually can be folded to create more power. With the low-cost device, known as a nanogenerator, the scientists successfully operated an LCD touch screen, a bank of 20 LED lights and a flexible keyboard, all with a simple touching or pressing motion and without the aid of a battery.

The groundbreaking findings, published in the journal Nano Energy, suggest “we’re on the path toward wearable devices powered by human motion,” said Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and lead investigator of the project.

MORE: Tesla Unveils Insanely Efficient Battery That Can Power Your House

“What I foresee, relatively soon, is the capability of not having to charge your cell phone (during) an entire week, for example, because that energy will be produced by your movement,” said Sepulveda, whose research is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The innovative process starts with a silicone wafer, which is then fabricated with several layers, or thin sheets, of environmentally-friendly substances including silver, polyimide and polypropylene ferroelectret. Ions are added so that each layer in the device contains charged particles. Electrical energy is created when the device is compressed by human motion, or mechanical energy.

CHECK OUT: New App Turns Phones into Earthquake Alert System

The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG, and is as thin as a sheet of paper and can be adapted to many applications and sizes. The sample used to power the LED lights was palm-sized, for example, while the one used to power the touch screen was as small as a finger.

Advantages such as being lightweight, flexible, biocompatible, scalable, low-cost and robust could make FENG “a promising and alternative method in the field of mechanical-energy harvesting” for many autonomous electronics such as wireless headsets, cell phones and other touch-screen devices, the study says.

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Remarkably, the device also becomes more powerful when folded.

“Each time you fold it you are increasing exponentially the amount of voltage you are creating,” Sepulveda said. “You can start with a large device, but when you fold it once, and again, and again, it’s now much smaller and has more energy. Now it may be small enough to put in a specially made heel of your shoe so it creates power each time your heel strikes the ground.”

Sepulveda and his team are developing technology that would transmit the power generated from the heel strike to, say, a wireless headset.

READ about other Battery innovations at Good News Network

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Radio Show Gathers Record-Breaking Million Pounds of Food For Charity Just by Camping

By
McKinley Corbley
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A Philadelphia radio show spearheaded the largest food drive in the country just by camping out in a parking lot for five days.

Rock station WMMR‘s co-hosts Preston & Steve lived in an XFinity Live parking lot from November 28th through December 2nd with the goal of encouraging listeners to donate food to ‘Philabundance’, an organization dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry.

The appeal ended up raising 1.3 million pounds – over 683 tons – of non-perishable food items, representing the largest amount in the event’s history, dating back to 1998. The final total ended up beating last year’s total by over 100 tons.

MORE: Town Allows Residents to Donate Food and Toys Instead of Paying Parking Tickets

“I want to give a heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every person who found the time to contribute, volunteer or support this year’s Preston and Steve Camp Out for Hunger,” Preston Elliot announced in a statement.

“If you missed it you missed, one hell of a party! Would love to see you there for next years extravaganza.”

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Judge Dismisses 66K Warrants Against Homeless Because “It’s the right thing to do”

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McKinley Corbley
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Over the last five years, San Francisco’s Presiding Judge John Stewart and his colleagues have dismissed over 66,000 arrest warrants for quality-of-life crimes, such as sleeping on the sidewalk.

His logic? People living in poverty do not deserve to be put in jail just because they’re too poor to pay a fine.

Typically when an offender is cited for a violation, they are expected to pay $200 in fines or more. However, since most of the offenders are homeless, they usually fail to show in court which can be punishable by up to five nights in prison. Instead of approving the arrest warrants for failure to show up in court, Judge Stewart and his colleagues have dismissed thousands.

WATCH: Suspect Weeps When Judge Remembers Him as “Nicest Kid in Middle School” –It Changed His Life

San Francisco judges are reportedly being encouraged to cite treatment and rehabilitation options rather than fines, though court officials have been receiving criticism for dismissing the crimes in the first place.

According to the San Francisco Gate, Martin Halloran, head of the police union, told Chronicle columnists that the court was “sending a message that there is no accountability for what you have done, and the laws on the books can be violated with no repercussions. I don’t think it’s what the public wants.”

Judge Stewart, however, told SF Gate that though the people have a right to be upset, he and his colleagues do not plan on enforcing punishment against the homeless population, saying “it’s the right thing to do.”

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Couple Adopts 5 Siblings on Nat’l Adoption Day so They Won’t Be Separated

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Becoming a parent is no easy feat for anyone – but this couple stepped up to the plate by adopting five siblings at once.

On National Adoption Day – November 19th – Brenda and Curt Heuer adopted Brianna, 9, Kristyl, 7, Bradley, 6, Emily, 3, and Kate, 2 so they wouldn’t have to be separated into different foster homes.

MORE: Mom Adopts Hospice Babies No One Else Wants

“We really strove to keep the children together. All the children have left is each other,” Brenda told InsideEdition. “We have the capability. We needed to adopt these kids.”

(WATCH the video below)

 

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High School Teens Surprise Blind Student With Special Yearbook in Braille

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McKinley Corbley
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These high school seniors weren’t about to leave Maycie Vorreiter out of the annual yearbook fun – that’s why they surprised her with what could be the first yearbook ever printed in braille.

Charlie Sparacio, the yearbook’s editor-in-chief, suggested printing the special edition after the Windsor High School yearbook club in Santa Rosa, California won a $500 prize over the summer. – and since 18-year-old Maycie has reportedly been blind since birth, her excitement was tangible.

MORE: 17-Year-Old Blind Pole Vaulter Wins Bronze at State Championship

“It was one of those really awesome moments that I would want to relive again,” Vorreiter told the Press Democrat. “My hope is that in the future, if there are other visually impaired students that go through high school, they get a yearbook for their senior year, too.”

The yearbook is a foot thick with over four volumes. Though the yearbook reportedly cost over $4,000 to print, the school and publisher divided the costs.

Click To Share The News With Your Friends – Photo by the Press Democrat

Hospital Allows Dog to Visit Her Dying Owner to Say Goodbye (WATCH)

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In a moment of compassion, a California hospital allowed a loyal pup to visit the bedside of her dying owner.

Ryan Jessen thought he had a migraine, but the pain turned out to be caused by a ventricular brain hemorrhage.

In his final days at a California hospital his best friend, Mollie, got to say goodbye and Ryan’s sister captured the bittersweet reunion on video and shared the clip on Facebook.

WATCH: Hundreds of Strangers Escort Dying Dog For Final Walk on Favorite Beach

“The hospital did the sweetest thing for us and allowed us to bring my brother’s dog in to ‘say goodbye’ so she’d know why her human never came home,” wrote Michelle Jessen. “If you knew my brother, he really loved his sweet dog.”

Though he passed away on November 30, his organs were donated, and the following day a 17-year-old from California, whose birthday is on Christmas day, received his heart.

MORE: Bachelor Party Adopts 7 Puppies After Stray Dog Wanders in

And, don’t worry about the dog’s future.

“We’re keeping her!!!” added Michelle. “She’s part of the family.”

(WATCH the video below)

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Watch These Adorable Corgis Spread Holiday Cheer With Their Ugly Xmas Sweater Party

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There’s no party like a corgi Christmas party – especially if they’re all wearing little holiday sweaters too.

The footage shot by their human owners in Scottsdale, Arizona shows the canine buddies cheerily barking, frolicking with their friends, and showing off their cute little Christmas jumpers for a proper ‘ugly sweater ‘party.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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Canada Celebrates 150th Birthday, Makes National Parks Free All Year Long

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McKinley Corbley
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It’s either go big or go home with Canada, eh? – that’s why the country is celebrating its 150th birthday by allowing free admission to all national parks for the duration of 2017.

All you have to do is order a free 2017 Discovery Card admissions card from the park’s website, and you’re good to go.

Demand has been so high for the Discovery Cards that the website’s server has a hard time handling the heavy traffic since the deal was announced. They do, however, reassure adventure-goers that the Discovery Cards will also be dispensed at any one of their 49 different National Park locations starting on January 1st.

MORE: Farmer Returns 700 Acres of California Coast to Native American Tribe

In addition to the National Parks event, Canada is also celebrating its birthday by announcing 150 different community greening initiatives.

The program called Tree To Our Nature will allow municipalities, communities organizations, groups, and schools to apply as hosts for planting events.

“The environment is one of the major themes at the heart of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Confederation,” explained the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly. “Communities across the country will come together to carry out 150 community greening projects that include planting trees and revitalizing green spaces.”

Click To Share The Green-Tastic News With Your Friends – Photo by Parcs Canada

India Plants 50 Million Trees in One Day, Smashing World Record

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McKinley Corbley
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The world record for most trees planted in one day used to be 850,000 saplings planted by Pakistan in 2013 – now, thanks to 800,000 Indian volunteers, that record is 49.3 million.

The volunteers from Uttar Pradesh spent 24 hours planting 80 different sapling species on public lands as a means of meeting the country’s environmental promises made during the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

MORE: Village in India Plants 111 Trees Whenever a Girl is Born

The nation had promised to spend $6 billion on reforesting 12% of its lands, boosting forest cover by 2030. Since the top four of the most polluted cities in the world by particulate matter concentration are all in India, the forestry will hopefully reduce the country’s amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

“The world has realized that serious efforts are needed to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of global climate change,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said at an event promoting the planting.

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Firefighters Hang Christmas Lights For Injured Dad After He Fell From Ladder

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McKinley Corbley
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Erik Gaines had not only broken several of his bones after falling off of a ladder hanging Christmas lights – he and his family had seriously fallen out of the Christmas spirit.

The firefighters who answered Erik’s 911 call, however, believed otherwise.

While Erik was being cared for in the hospital, Shawn Erwin and other firefighters of the Puyallup, Washington squad decided to finish the job and put up the rest of the Christmas lights for the Gaines family.

MORE: Man With Heart of Gold Keeps Theater Open So Kids Have Something to Do

The crew spent more than an hour navigating the rooftops, attaching the bulbs to the gutters, and carefully climbing the ladder that Erik had just used.

“It makes me feel amazing,” Gaines, who is being treated for his injuries at Good Samaritan Hospital, told KING5. “It makes me feel that much more tied into the community, like we’re all looking out for one another.”

(WATCH the video below)

 

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9-Year-Old Girl Collects Hundreds of Blankets To Keep Kids Warm For Winter

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After this 9-year-old girl was gifted two of the same blankets at Christmas time, she was inspired to give one away—and that was just a glimpse of her warm philanthropic heart, which just keeps getting bigger.

Emma Burkhart decided to rally her community of Durant, Oklahoma last year to collect more blankets to help children stay warm during the winter. She started the “Keep Kids Warm Blanket Drive” and local businesses served as drop-off points so the public could easily get involved.

MORE: 12-Year-old Creates First App to Help Alzheimer’s Patients Keep Track of Things

The drive helped Emma collect 200 blankets.

This year, with ten local businesses involved, she’s well on her way to meeting her new goal of gathering 350 cozy donations in time for the holidays.

(WATCH the video below)

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This Soup Kitchen Serves the Homeless Like Guests in a Restaurant

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McKinley Corbley
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This soup kitchen firmly believes that all their guests should be served their meals with a side of dignity, graciousness, and respect.

The Kansas City Community Kitchen in Missouri has been serving low-income families and the homeless community for over 30 years – but starting in February, the center hired volunteer waiters and hosts so they could serve the hungry like a restaurant.

Every weekday between 11AM and 2PM, the Community Kitchen continues revolutionizing the soup kitchen model to include more “dining with dignity”.

RELATED: Woman Donates Entire Toy Store to Kids in Homeless Shelters

“This new service represents what we’re about now,” said ECS President/CEO Beau Heyen. “Our diners will not only get delicious, beautiful meals created by our amazing culinary team, but they will have the dignity of being able to choose what they want to eat.”

In addition to giving diners a choice of what to eat, menus are varied to incorporate various fresh foods and suggestions made by the diners themselves, although often made into healthier versions.

MORE: Woman Brings Meals to Homeless Man Twice–After She Sees Him Share With Others

“Last week we had guests asking us when we were going to do some barbecue,” says Executive Chef Michael Curry, “so when we prepared our chicken a couple of days later, we decided to make it into pulled chicken sandwiches with our house-made sauce that doesn’t have as much sugar and salt.”

If you’d like to volunteer as a waiter or greeter at the Kansas City Community, you can check out the Episcopal Community website.

“Whenever everyone is thinking about ways to give back – especially for much of the year while school is in session – we are scrambling to get the 15 people per day that it takes to make that level of service happen,” Mandy Caruso-Yahne told the Good News Network. “We only wish we had the funding available to hire folks from the community to serve but it’s actually the work of hundreds of people who give their time for free to give back in this way.”

Click To Share This Tasty News With Your Friends – Photo by Kansas City Community Kitchen

Barber Offers Free Haircuts For Men Going to Job Interviews

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Joao Freitas
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A barbershop in Sao Paulo, Brazil is offering free hair cuts and shaves to men on their way to a scheduled job interview.

”The Great Barber Shop” is ready to help whomever wants to leave a good impression on a possible employer – all the customer has to do is send an email with evidence of a future job interview and schedule the service.

Henrique Campos, one of the owners of the barbershop, says he came up with the idea in June while spending time with his friends in a bar.

LOOK: Guy Gives Shelter Dogs Free Haircuts to Help Them Get Adopted

“A friend of mine said he had a job interview that week and needed a hair cut to give a better first impression – so I offered one,” says Mr. Campos. “After that, I figured I could expand the initiative.”

“Many can’t afford to cut their hair when a job opportunity presents itself. I’m helping people and promoting my business at the same time. A truly win-win situation.” adds Mr. Campos.

Cut Out Negativity: Click To Share – Photo by The Great Barbershop

5 Unique Ways For the Whole Family to Give Back (You’ll Love These)

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Each year, we are teased earlier and earlier of the impending holiday season. Then suddenly, time flies, and, as if by magic, we find ourselves right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of it all. Creating a signature family tradition of giving is not only fun, but it can be calming and deeply fulfilling.

To begin, you can choose a theme for your giving tradition. My theme this year, for example, is “prizes in different sizes.” Having a theme helps to ignite imagination. Carve out some family time to brainstorm ideas, or adopt one or more of the ideas below, and find a way to make it your own. By this time next year, you will be a pro.

Write a Reverse Christmas List. Everyone knows that it’s the season for list making, and for children, those lists usually include the gifts they wish to receive. This is fun, but try encouraging your kids to make a “reverse Christmas list” after they’ve penned a list of things they’d like to ask for. A reverse Christmas list will consist of a list of things they’d like to GIVE to others this holiday, whether the recipients are family, friends, or gifts for those less fortunate than them. If you have a theme to your giving tradition, creating the reverse list can be a lot of fun.

LOOK: Bachelor’s Christmas Lights Attract a Wife

This is also an opportunity for families to reflect on things that were on previous Christmas lists. Are those things still being used? Have they been outgrown? Were they played with a time or two before being forgotten? Make a list of those items. Ferret them out, and then pack them with care. Add a secret note about a special memory you may have had with that toy, gadget or once favorite wearable. Stow away the note with the item. These simple steps will help your family connect to giving on a deeper level because it conjures up a living, breathing recipient.

The Yard Un-Sale. Begin by choosing a date for your “un-sale.” You might want to recruit your neighbors or friends to participate. Collect several empty boxes, and mark each box with the name of a room in your home that you wish to de-clutter. Don’t forget to include the garage, attic or basement. Go through each room and pack anything you no longer wish to keep. Make sure that the item is in “givable” condition. On the day of your Yard “un-sale,” organize the items by category. If you live in an area frequented by people walking their dog, add a water station to encourage dog walkers to stop by. Enjoy the day meeting people. Watch as your customers smile when they realize that everything at your yard “un-sale” is FREE!

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Invent a Family Giving Advent. Populate twelve of your advent calendar slots as usual with simple treats or small gifts. Populate the other twelve with notes describing a single act of giving. For example: “Give 5 heartfelt compliments today.” Or “Give your turn to someone else today.” Or attach a $5 or $10 bill to a note asking that it be used to treat someone else. Once you have filled all twelve slots, tear an ordinary sheet of paper into twenty-four squares and mark them from 1-24. Fold and place the numbered paper into a bowl. Take turns with your family selecting numbers until you have gone through all of the folded paper. The numbers on the papers you draw correspond to dates on the Giving Advent calendar. Now, your family can experience getting and giving! If you choose a theme, you can decorate your advent calendar in that theme, or make the items in each slot adhere to your theme.

Adopt a volunteer. Millions of people volunteer for various organizations all year. During the holiday season, many of those volunteers are a bit more visible. You may see them outside stores ringing bells. Others will spend time delivering food to the elderly. Some will devote extended hours in hospitals, and others will be caring in animal shelters. This year, why not adopt a volunteer? In nearly every hospital, a group of volunteers provide support services or directional help. Create a holiday box filled with treats, magazines and other goodies to thank them for their time. Pop in on the local animal shelter with treats for volunteers as well as the animals in their care. Offer a hot beverage to volunteers working outside in the cold. Your kindness is sure to be appreciated by people accustomed to giving!

Random Acts of Kindness. This can be practiced any time of the year, but the holidays are a perfect time to get started. Encourage your children to look for opportunities to give back randomly and anonymously, and model these acts for them. It could be a simple gesture such as buying a coffee or a fast food meal for the person in line behind you. Often, people who witness this type of giving follow suit.

The holidays are filled with so many gifts. The gift of giving is one gift to truly cherish. It is the only gift that gives back a hundred fold; it is always the right fit. This year, make lasting memories with your family while paying it forward and watch as the real magic of the season unfolds before you.

Simone Mets has spent her life connecting with others, whether locally or abroad, and always has her eyes peeled for opportunities to give back. Her ingenuity has served her well in her professional life as an attorney and event planner, and shines throughout her first book, Very Christmas (available on Amazon). She is a passionate volunteer, a mentor, and an active member of SCBWI. Learn more about Very Christmas at the book’s website, Facebook, and Instagram.

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