Five great ways to give back to your community

Looking for a way to  to your community? Here are five charitable or neighborly deeds you can perform on an ongoing basis.

1. Share your cooking
When cooking for yourself, make extra portions to offer to a homeless person or a low-income family in your neighborhood. Or, alternatively, when getting take-out buy an extra portion to give to them.

2. Organize a neighborhood cleanup
Share your love for the environment with your friends and neighbors. Gather a group of four or five people to pick up litter in you area. Make an event of it by finishing with a barbeque or potluck.

3. Collect food bank items
Set out a bin at your workplace that you and your coworkers can fill with non-perishable food items for the poor. Bring the donations to a food bank in your area every week or two.

4. Decorate for someone else
Do a bit of holiday decorating for an elderly person who lives alone, is sick or has reduced mobility. For instance, something as simple as balloons or flowers can set the stage for Valentine’s Day or Easter.

5. Mow your neighbor’s lawn
Next time you mow your lawn, check to see how your elderly neighbor’s lawn is doing. However, it’s a good idea to ask first, just to be sure it’s something they want done.

While working with a charity is a great thing to do, so is volunteering to help out in smaller but equally meaningful ways within your community.