Looking to come together over something positive? Just pick one small, manageable thing a day. Here’s a starter list.
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Coming up on the holiday season, most everyone feels some pressure to make the world a better place for the new year. But how? With baking, buying presents, decorating, and such, regardless of what holiday you celebrate you’re more likely to feel burned out by January than any other time of year.
And with January and a new administration looming — one that threatens civil and human rights all over the globe — feeling helpless is just one more burden to bear.
Taking action is the best remedy for this kind of despondency, but who has the energy? Most of us can’t begin to tackle big, life-changing things. In truth, we are barely making it through our own daily challenges, never mind worrying about the wider world.
I believe that the way to break free of this web of gloom is to think small. When the problems seem overwhelming, narrow the scope. And as you read through my list of small things you can do — just one tiny thing a day — think about how you can take these suggestions and adapt them to work for you in your life.
For instance, as a director of a local television station, some of my work involves giving back to the community in relatively large monetary ways. The corporation I work for wants to gain social-responsibility points. And I am the arm reaching out to local nonprofits and signing them up for thousands of dollars worth of public service announcements and television spots so that people watching our broadcasts or viewing our social media can see the good work these organizations do, and hopefully donate in kind. That’s a part of my job I take pride in. So I urge you to ask yourself if you can involve your company in corporate social responsibility in some way. Just something to think about.
Virtually all nonprofits host fundraising events, often called galas, and sell tax-deductible tickets to these events that can run into the hundreds and even thousands of dollars. But some do-good organizations host fun events for as little as $10 a ticket. A little research should turn up groups that aid the homeless or the aged or local families having trouble making ends meet. Attending these events is a way to put a face to the people you are helping.
Point being, not every small thing you do needs to feel like work. Incorporating fun and self-care into your daily action is a good way to give yourself the strength to keep going. And having fun doesn’t decrease the amount of good you are doing for one person, one group, or society at large. Here are some other things I found to do last week. If you have the energy and time, maybe you can manage some small things, too.
1) I bought a native plant from Grow Hub, a local nonprofit that helps disabled adults find meaningful and paid work. This will not only support the Grow Hub mission, it also helps our environment. Check out your local organizations and see what they are up to. You may find ways to give back while getting a little something for yourself. The aster cost me $8, and planting it took me 30 minutes.
2) I entered the Support TK Giveaway Raffle. You donate to one of the three trans charities that are affiliated, then email the confirmation to them, and you’re entered to win books, coffee mugs, gift certificates, and more. You can donate as little as $5 or as much as you want. This took me five minutes. You can find more on the raffle here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDXAAiGx9KI/?img_index=1
3) I followed up on a small thing I did last week. I attended the volunteer hour of a group called Right to Be. During that hour, they introduced us to their tool “The Hate and Hope Tracker.” All the volunteers were asked to find a media story of sexual harassment and write a report on it. This helps Right to Be pinpoint trends across the world. The tracker is not only for media stories: Women (and men) can safely include their own stories anonymously, both stories of struggle and stories of hope. (For instance, if you’ve witnessed someone intervening to stop an incident of harassment, or if you’ve found a way of healing.) The training took an hour. You can share your stories here: https://hateandhope.righttobe.org/stories/new
4) I turned on alt-text on BlueSky, the social media platform I joined last week. Alt-text is a written description of an image or other visual content. It helps make images accessible to people who are visually impaired, creating a more inclusive environment online for all. You do have to take a few moments to describe the memes or photos you are sharing, but you can get creative and have fun with it, and eventually it’s second nature. Making your online presence an inclusive space is an important part of setting up an equitable social network and amplifying voices you wouldn’t otherwise be able to interact with. Setting it up only takes two minutes. You can do this for your BlueSky account here: https://bsky.app/settings/accessibility
5) I got my COVID-19 and flu shots that I scheduled last week. Some might say that getting vaccinated is actually a big thing. No one likes getting shots. No one wants to risk feeling sick for a couple days. But with the possibility of RFK Jr. taking charge of the Health and Human Services department of the US government, vaccines may soon come under even more fire than they have already. Yet rigorous studies of the COVID-19 pandemic show that vaccinations saved millions of lives. Getting vaccinated may not only save your life but it also keeps your community safe through what is known as “herd immunity,” protecting infants who are too young to get vaccinated or seniors with compromised immune systems. Take 10 minutes and get vaccinated.
This is a follow up from last week, when I scheduled the vaccination appointment. But all too many people fail to show up for appointments they have scheduled. When you set up appointments, whether for trainings, vaccinations, or anything else, that’s only the first step. What you have to do next is show up. So, please, show up.
6) On Saturday night, I went to a holiday gala for a local homeless shelter, as mentioned above. While at the gala, I bid on some items in the silent auction, with all proceeds going to the shelter. For the first time ever, I won! So, I gave $50 to help our unhoused population, and I got a gift certificate for a manicure out of it. The point of these auctions is not winning, though. It’s bidding. Even if you don’t win, upping the bidding as much as possible means more gains for the nonprofit. That’s the goal. Check out your local nonprofit groups this month in particular. So many nonprofits schedule fundraisers in December, when holidays remind people of the less fortunate among us, and these events really help the do-good groups survive.
7) I sent a letter to my congresspeople, after learning that Congress may vote to restrict certain health care procedures for transgender children of military service members. The ACLU has set up an automatic email to send out to senators and representatives, asking them to protect access to health care for all service members’ families. You just fill in your information, and a prewritten letter loads. There’s a text box so you can personalize the message however you like. When you hit send, you get a confirmation that it has been sent to the congressional delegation representing your state. Mine went to Sens. Rick Scott (R) and Marco Rubio (R) and Rep. Kat Cammack (R). It’s all set up through your zip code, no research necessary. This takes two minutes. You can find it here: https://act.aclu.org/a/defend-trans-ndaa
Keep coming back here for weekly collections of small things you can do to make this world a slightly better place in the face of calamity all around us. If you do one small thing to help others, that’s one small step to a better world. And that means something.
