Donate to a Good Cause!

I have always liked the SPCA, and have gotten two current kitties and my dog from them. I would volunteer there but then I would end up with a million kitties and dogs, so that has never been an option.

However, I do save my old print cartridges for them and I have given them old books before. They have a constant wish list of items such as paper towels, trash bags, non-clumping kitty litter, etc. My intentions are to make a regular donation to them of some of these items, which I can buy when we do our own grocery shopping.

However, I also just purchased a copper leaf from them to go on a tree mural they have there in their office. I dedicated it to my last pets, Hollie, Treble and MagGuyver (ye olde Gooch Pooch) and thanked them for bringing me joy and comfort. I don't know if all that will be etched into the leaf or just their names, but it made me so happy to do. Down the road I may again donate to other critters we had when I was growing up - the dogs Hickey, Gracie, Margaret Brendal Toes, and Geneva, and the cats Seven Toes, Moxie, and Moxie's children Regis and Thumper. Maybe we'll also do one for Kevin's childhood pets, if he wants to.

Or maybe for Kevin we'll do a donation to Wolf Park. I'd love to have one of their Wolf Photography sessions for Kevin and I to attend, where you get to go out and take pictures of the wolves for a few hours. That would be awesome. Or maybe Kevin would just like to adopt a wolf for a year.

There are so many ways to honor your charity of choice! I've been thinking a lot lately about all the good causes out there and how much just a little can do. SPCA collects aluminum cans. Ronald McDonald House takes old pop tabs. Matthew 25 accepts old prescription bottles. So donating to your favorite cause could also just be a new way of getting rid of something you would have thrown away anyway! It doesn't have to be difficult.

Why am I so hyped up about it at the moment? I don't know. I just am. I've been gathering ideas lately to share with my teens on the bulletin boards at work. And I'd like to be a good influence in the world, even if it's just to one person. It doesn't have to be something on a grand scale. It doesn't have to be curing cancer. It can be cleaning up garbage from a neighbor's yard or holding a door open for someone or just giving a smile. So in this moment, I just want to spread the word and maybe nudge some people to think about something they haven't given thought to before: How can I make a difference?