Want to make an impact on your community? Here are 11 Unconventional Gifts
Are you looking for ways to make a bigger impact with your gift giving this year? As the holiday season approaches, you begin to wonder what to get all the special people in your life. But giving isn’t always a physical object, a gift given directly to the recipient, or limited to the holiday season.
For example, here are some different ways of giving:
You can give to those you know and love and delight in seeing the impact of your gift. It can be a lot of fun to pick out that something special that will make your sister’s eyes light up at Christmas.
You can give donations in the name of someone you know and help them to make a difference for a cause they care deeply about. For example, my clinic set up a scholarship fund in the name of our mentor Dr. Alan Christianson, NMD last year.
And then you can also give to those you don’t know, and make a lasting impact that you may never know the full story of. The organ donors that have helped my relatives will never know the difference they made and yet there are really no words to describe this level of giving.
This last option is kind of amazing. Why do you give to people you don’t know? What motivates you to create change you will never see the results of, or to save a life and never know who that person becomes? And yet, people do these things every day. Yes bad news travels fast, but there is still a lot of good out there. By the way, if you’re looking for someone to spoon feed you only good news, you will love @goodgoodgoodco on Instagram.
You know how much I love getting into the nitty gritty research but rather than dig up all the possible ideas on why people give in all these different ways, I’d like to keep this post focused on what you can give rather than on why you give. The “why” will vary, and can be deeply personal. It may be more helpful to reflect on this on your own rather than skimming a research summary of the topic. Feel free to share your “why” story in the comments at the end of the article.
Another reason your “why” is important is because there are so many ways to make a difference that it can be overwhelming. If you want to contribute in multiple areas that’s great! But if you have limited time/energy/resources, it may be useful to focus on one or two things that you really connect with.
Have fun perusing these “unconventional gifts” for your next way of making a big impact! If blood makes you faint or needles make you queasy, skip the first one or two and scroll straight down to number three.
1. Blood & Platelets
Donating blood may be something you are familiar with, even if it has never been on your own calendar. Blood donations save lives in a variety of ways, and may be used for people with cancer, trauma, burns, blood disorders, anemia, sickle cell, chronic disease or for childbirth or surgeries. Blood transfusions were a necessary treatment for one of my relatives this past year, and as a result I have a new appreciation for those are willing to become donors. Thank you!
There are several types of blood donations. These include whole blood, red blood cells, platelet or plasma donations. Each type of donation has different eligibility requirements. For eligibility and frequency of donation information, check out the American Red Cross or Canadian Blood Services. The Canadian requirements are a little more stringent, and include minimum hemoglobin requirements in addition to age, weight, height and other health criteria. (Health professionals in Canada can access more information here.)
Donating bone marrow is a little more involved than donating blood, but can also be a lifesaver (In the US, see Be the Match or in Canada, see Canadian Blood Services for more information).
Don’t feel bad if you don’t meet the eligibility criteria. If you really want to participate in this particular sphere, check for volunteer opportunities or consider donating financially. Or, if these aren’t right for you, keep scrolling to find an “unconventional gift” that‘s a better fit for you.
Fun Facts
Did you know that pets can donate blood too?
Rare blood type? In the future, this may not be such a problem. A team of Canadian researchers has devised a way to remove certain blood “antigens” (markers on the blood that give it its “blood type”), which means the blood can be accepted by a greater number of people. To do this, they screened gut bacteria to find an enzyme that could help remove these antigens. Removing blood antigens isn’t a novel idea, but this is the first method that holds promise for being cost-effective on a large scale. There is still work to be done before this process will be implemented, but you can read more about their exciting research here.
2. Organ Donor
In their book, Connected, Christakis and Fowler give a great example of the power of one person’s choice to become an organ donor, and how this had a ripple effect that ended up saving multiple lives.
Being an organ donor is special in many ways, but the essence of it is well captured by BC Transplant’s slogan “Live Life. Pass it on.” and the phrase “I gave my heart”. If you have experienced a life-saving organ transplant, or have a relative who has had an organ transplant or will need one in the future, you know firsthand how meaningful this type of giving is.
If you’d like to learn more about the impact of organ donors, there was a beautiful campaign (#4Eva) that was started by a double lung transplant recipient, Eva, and a medical student Cyrus McEachern. The two created a stunning set of photos of organ transplant recipients with painted on images of the organ they had received and the campaign doubled the number of people signing up to become organ donors when it launched ten years ago. You can learn more or watch a documentary about Eva here.
3. Sight
There are a couple great ways to give the gift of sight. One is with a little bit of your time and the other is with a little bit of money.
Here’s how:
One way is by downloading the app Be My Eyes. This is a really cool initiative linking people without sight to sighted volunteers. This allows those without sight to call a sighted volunteer to help them, for example, with reading something (such as a food label) or understanding something about their environment that requires sight. There are over three million volunteers on the app, which is a rather heartwarming number.
Another way to give sight is by supporting access to a basic medical procedure. This is an example where small donations of money can truly make a difference. For example, $25 can help restore sight when donated to the Himalayan Cataract Project, led by Drs Ruit and Tabin. That’s truly remarkable. Imagine losing your vision, experiencing blindness for years and then all of a sudden being able to see again thanks to a $25, 10-minute procedure!
4. Money
When donating financially, you may look for a cause that holds personal meaning for you, or that you are particularly passionate about. This should be fairly straightforward, as you are likely already aware of some great organizations to support in these realms.
But what about the everyday stuff? Or smaller donations? As you saw with the Himalayan Cataract Project example, smaller amounts can truly be life changing! One easy way to contribute is at the grocery store. When you go to check out, some groceries stores will have donation options around the holidays. For example, Safeway has “Turkey bucks” around this time of year and you can conveniently donate $1, $3, or $5 when you pay for your groceries. Is that $1 extra really going to break the bank? In most cases probably not, and yet those $1 donations all add up.
Another way to make small contributions throughout the year is to use an Amazon Smile account. When you use amazon.smile.com rather than the regular Amazon, a portion of your purchases goes towards a charity of your choice. Want to support a non-profit associated with your former university? Women in STEM? Your favourite animal rescue? There are over one million charitable organizations listed as options, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one you resonate with. If you want you can even switch it up once in a while so you can support more than one!
5. Gifts that Give Back
Let’s be real for a moment – if your friend is expecting a “normal” gift, telling them that you made a “donation in their name” may or may not go over well. Don’t despair! You can still buy them something that gives back. Look for companies that actively give to their communities and make an effort to include them when shopping for yourself or friends when it works out. One site that makes this easier is DoneGood, where you can filter for products that “give back”.
If this doesn’t work for the items on your gift list, you can keep these companies in mind for your personal shopping. For example, I really enjoy buying apparel from TWLOHA, which not only supports a great organization but the clothes themselves also spread awareness about mental health.
6. Time
Volunteering is a great way to spend more time on an activity you love, meet new people with similar interests, learn new skills and help out in your community. There is an incredible diversity in the volunteer positions available. I’ll highlight a few fun ones from my area here, but please share your favourites in the comments at the end of this article!
Reading to children. The Reach Out and Read program enlists volunteers to help create literacy-rich waiting rooms. You can donate books or donate your time as a volunteer reader. A pilot study on this program demonstrated improvements in Well Child Visit attendance and increased participation in literacy-related activities between parent and child at home.
Helping with equine therapy. I’m always on the lookout for new or emerging therapies. A few years ago I became curious about the possible benefits of equine therapy. When I learned about Hunkapi, an equine therapy farm, I was super excited to get some hands-on experience with it. Hunkapi is truly a special place. The horses are donated or rescued and then trained to provide therapy for people with a wide range of conditions from autism spectrum disorder to addiction and post traumatic stress disorder. They also have a program for First Responders to help with stress management. Volunteering at the farm is a lot of fun, but you can also support them by donating a horse, sponsoring a horse (or other farm animal), or by donating farm-related equipment.
Walking/hiking with dogs. It shouldn’t be hard to find an animal rescue near you. What might be harder is not taking all the animals back home with you! Volunteering with an animal rescue/shelter operation can be a wonderful option for those who can’t have pets of their own or who love animals so much they want to give back to animals beyond their own pets. If you prefer one type of pet over another, look for a shelter that specializes in just that animal. For example, in my area there are places where you can volunteer with just cats, just dogs or even just bunnies. Take your pick!
Holiday toy shopping or gift wrapping. One of the community agencies near me has some really fun seasonal volunteer opportunities. For example, just prior to Christmas, they have a Holiday Toy Shoppe where community members can pick out toys for their kids. As a volunteer, you can help guide them through the gift options or you can help them wrap up the gifts they’ve picked out. There’s definitely a whole lot of holiday cheer happening over there!
Washing vegetables. Various food banks and “gleaners” groups can be an easy way to get involved in your community. Tasks are pretty straightforward and it’s a nice way to relax if you have a thinking-intensive day job. Although this may not sound like much of a party to you now, it can be a lot of fun to bring a friend along. Last time I went to a gleaners facility with a group there was a friendly competition to see who was the most efficient vegetable washer/chopper/packer!
Building careers. One of my friends spends a lot of time with the local Dress for Success organization. This is a group that empowers women by providing professional clothing and development. You can give clothes, funds or your time to this cause which, I have to admit, is definitely more glamourous than washing vegetables.
7. Food
You’ve seen in number four and number six how a little bit of time or money can help provide food to others. Food drives are another easy way to help out and can be a fun one to incorporate at your workplace or school. I have vivid memories of one particularly competitive food drive way back in middle school, where the teams were so competitive we had to count the cans in a locked room to prevent the other team from rushing to the store to get more items so they could beat us!
8. Clean Water
Have you ever been to a Cirque du Soleil performance? They are breathtakingly beautiful in design and demonstrate an incredible display of human movement and talent. The founder, Guy Laliberté also happens to be the founder of One Drop. One Drop improves access to clean water through a three-part model focusing on access to clean water through infrastructure building and rehabilitation, social art interventions to encourage behaviour change related to clean water and hygiene, and capital for improving how fast access to safe water can be provided.
There are many ways to get involved in this project, from following them on social media, to donating, or purchasing GAIA, a book of photographs representing views of the Earth from space.
9. Play Santa
When I was a child, the world held magical beings like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Children can have rather refreshing perspectives on life, even if not always accurate. If you enjoy making a child’s Christmas wish spring to life, you may enjoy USPS Operation Santa, or similar initiatives in your area/country.
All you have to do is “adopt” a letter to Santa from the USPS Operation Santa website, find the perfect gift, and then ship it using the provided guidelines. You know how I know this is a super popular way to give? Because when I first checked ALL the letters had already been adopted!! Keep checking because more will and have shown up, but seriously! Even if you don’t want to participate I have to say the letters are fun to read. Try filtering by “special request” to give help that doesn’t fit in a box.
10. A Home
Fall and winter really are a wonderful time for being cozy in your own home. Soft throws, blazing fires, hot drinks, some good reading material…but it’s also a great time of year for sharing your home. Holidays often mean you share your home in order to gather together with family or friends.
There are other ways to share your home too. One big one is by expanding your family through adoption. This is, obviously, a huge decision and not to be taken lightly. However, giving someone a home and a family is an incredible form of giving.
For animal lovers, this could also mean adopting or fostering a pet. In case anyone is looking for a pet to share their home with, I met the sweetest dog named Churchill the other day. He is staying at the rescue where I volunteer until someone provides a hospice foster for him.
11. Knowledge & Inspiration
There are so many ways to reach out and help those around us. From “big brother” or “big sister” type mentorships where you are paired with a child to do activities once a week to writing a book with the goal of reaching a large audience, there are many ways to inspire and impart knowledge. Is there anything you want to teach or write about? Anyone you want to mentor through something you have experience in? There is no way I’d be where I am today without some incredibly kind and generous mentors. You too can have a significant influence on the trajectory of a life or career.
Simply remembering someone can be powerful. Back in elementary school, I had a principal who was a fantastic storyteller. Every Christmas we would have a special assembly, where she would read us a new holiday story she had written. This was no ordinary story. The narrative was interwoven with the last names of every child and teacher in the school, and when you heard your name you stood up to be acknowledged. This not only kept us listening attentively but made us each feel special. Everyone was remembered, and remembered by name. I can’t imagine how long she must have spent writing that story every year. Turner is a fairly easy last name to incorporate, but some of them were tough! I think she turned a few of the trickier ones into Rudolph’s colleagues. This is my favourite memory of elementary school.
It feels good when people remember you. Do them a favour and remember them too.
12. YOU
Okay, I said eleven but I would be remiss if I didn’t include this. YOU are one of the most important things you can give. Yes your blood, time, money, food, home…but also simply you. You and your dreams. Share your passion with the world.
You’ll likely still have gifts to purchase or make for your friends or family, however I hope this list has inspired you to realize how much “giving potential” you truly have, and to expand your reach throughout the year. Feel free to share your experiences with unconventional giving in the comments below and a happy holidays from me to you :)