BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids How do you give back to the community?

Myra, I'm a huge supporter of material donations. Pack-rat-dom is in my blood and I fight it constantly, so it helps to have a salvation army/goodwill drop point close by. Another thing I've recently discovered was "Dress for Success" which provides business clothing (including undergarments, hosiery, shoes, bags, etc) to low income women to wear on job interviews. It's a referral program, so the women have to go through the Job & Family Services office to get a referral (which also means they have taken some basic skill classes, etc). I took several suits and skirts there at the beginning of the summer. Some I'd never worn and I hated the idea of just sending them to Goodwill, but with Dress for Success, I knew someone who really needed professional clothing would get them.

DH is on the other end of the pack-rat spectrum -- he is constantly trying to give our own stuff away to whomever needs it (mostly to family)! He justifies it by using it as an excuse to upgrade our stuff, but many times, my stuff is perfectly good and I don't want/need to upgrade!

Our pets growing up were also always rescues, and we were taught that you have a responsibility for the pet for its entire lifetime. Probably why animal rescue is so near and dear to my heart!

I love this thread, and I think it's important to do things that are meaningful to us. But I also feel like we shouldn't feel like we have to justify what we are doing with our extra time b/c we are CF.

I think it's important to try to give back, but not everyone feels that way. And some people, ironically, think it's more important not to leave an "imprint," and to just be good to our environment. What is that expression, take only pictures, leave only footprints? I think most CFs are doing that, whether we mean to or not.

As long as we live our lives peacefully, pay our bills, and try to be kind and loving, who could ask for more? I think even little things like listening to people when they have problems helps. I remember years ago a friend of mine said she thinks a couple should be really successful in their careers if they decide not to have children. I don't agree with that. There are always trade offs in life, and if someone is excelling in their career, they might be sacrificing something else in their life. This kind of thinking just puts a different kind of pressure on us. It's like, you better have a really good reason for not having kids. How about just not wanting them?

This weekend, my husband and I volunteered at a camp for foster children. This camp is held 2 to 3 times a year to reunite siblings in different foster homes. There is more information atBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

[quote=anitashobbies]This weekend, my husband and I volunteered at a camp for foster children. This camp is held 2 to 3 times a year to reunite siblings in different foster homes. There is more information atBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!