Cape Town - ’Tis the season to be giving.
But that doesn’t mean donating massive sums of cash at the risk of being broke well before your next pay day.
In fact, giving to charity doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg at all.
Here are some ideas on how to do your bit for charity and stay within your budget this Christmas.
VOLUNTEER
* If you are skilled at sport or dancing, have some spare time, and a surplus of energy consider coaching underprivileged children, start a team for children from a local neighbourhood or just have fun with children at an orphanage of your choice.
* Become one of the SPCA’s Animal Angels and do your bit for our furry friends. Volunteers can exercise dogs, clean cages or groom cats. However, to become a volunteer, you have to meet certain requirements. Log on to www.help2read.org for details.
* There are many volunteer organisations you can join which can help you find an organisation that needs the skills you can offer. Search for them online.
DONATE
* It won’t be long before schools open, so why not donate a pair of school shoes to an underprivileged child or an orphanage?
* Many cancer support organisations accept donations of human hair which are sent to wig manufacturers in aid of patients who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy. If you’re planning to give yourself a make-over and chop off your long tresses, consider donating them. Contact local cancer support organisations such as Cansa to find out where.
* With the increase in road carnage that usually comes with the holidays, donating much-needed blood could save someone’s life. Contact Western Cape Blood Transfusion Services to find out if you are eligible.
* Take a day this holiday to spring clean your home and get rid of those unwanted and unused items that have been gathering dust over the year. These can be donated to charity organisations where they can be put to use. Charity shops also accept donations.
VISIT
* There’s few things more rewarding than putting a smile on a child’s face. Consider visiting sick children at hospitals, especially state hospitals, and take them some treats. You can colour in with them, draw pictures, play with building blocks, paint, mould play-dough or read stories.
* There are also many senior citizens who are lonely in old age homes and who crave company. Pay them a visit, take them some cake, or offer them hand or foot massages.
ADOPT
* Why not save a cat or dog from being put down by adopting one and offering it a home and family?
* The SA National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds has a Christmas adopt-a-penguin special* which entails adopting an abandoned African penguin chick by naming it and paying for its release into the wild.
l Become a mentor mother at Philani Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition project. Mentor Mothers guide mothers through the rehabilitation of their underweight children, support pregnant mothers to improve birth outcomes, help decrease the number of children born with a low birth weight, and assist in the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission. Find out more at www.philani.org.za.
* Adopt a park by starting a project in your local community to pool resources and time to clean up the local park so it can be used for recreational purposes.
Weekend Argus