Keep Your Resolutions Going Strong
Reinvigorate your commitment through service
Every year brings new promise and new resolutions—but some research suggests only eight percent of Americans keep their resolutions throughout the year. If your commitment is starting to slip, why not help yourself stay on track while helping others? This year, make contributions with your resolutions.
Watch what you—and they—eat
While you’re working to eat healthier, help others do the same. Find a local senior center, food pantry or shelter and then organize a food drive. You could make a big difference with a commitment of just two to four hours a week. And donate healthy foods so you can be sure you’re contributing quality calories.
Or try growing food for good! Start planning a community garden today, so your green thumb will be going in time for spring planting.
Have only an hour here and there? There are plenty of ways to help in a pinch: Offer to prepare or deliver food with Meals on Wheels or for others in need—or ask your local food pantry if you can fill a shift in your free time.
Keep your community fit
Just 30 minutes of walking each day makes a huge difference in your health—and the health of those who join you. Start a walking group: It’ll make that “stay fit” resolution easy to keep—and you’ll build stronger relationships with family, friends and neighbors.
You can also burn calories while beautifying the community by picking up trash in a neighborhood park or organizing a waterway cleanup. It’s a fun way to get outdoors, make connections and breathe new life into a stream, riverbank or green space near you.
Clear the air in your community
“Quit smoking” makes the top 10 list of Americans’ resolutions every year—probably because smoking is one of the hardest habits to kick. But quitting with others eases the process. Two out of five former smokers attributed support from others as vital to their success.
Make a plan to quit and encourage others to join you. Share your goals and your progress, and take advantage of proven tips for providing support to others. Volunteer with your local office of the American Lung Association: You can help with fundraising events, advocate for public health and join in community events like a Stair Climb.
Create financial stability
Keep yourself and others out of the red in 2015. Join the MyBudgetCoach program to help low-income working families make sound financial decisions. Offer to help a neighbor navigate the nuances of online banking. Volunteer to promote financial literacy among tomorrow’s generation.
You can also help neighbors in need avoid debt in the first place by uncovering opportunities for them to tap public assistance.
Take that long awaited trip
Countless people vow to travel more in the new year—yet many of us don’t make it to our destinations. Hit the road this year—and combine it with your passion for helping others. The RV Care-A-Vanners is Habitat For Humanity’s special program for people who love to travel in their RV as much as they enjoy giving back to those less fortunate.
Don’t have an RV? Don’t worry: America’s nearly 400 national parks could use your help, too, and they don’t care how you get there.
Keep good going in 2017
Make sure you fill all of 2017 with the good of volunteering! Check out Create the Good’s how-to guides, inspirational topics and volunteer opportunities right in your community.
