Smile, shop and donate some cottage time
16 / Make someone’s day Why not chat with a stranger? Here’s how: 1) Make eye contact. 2) Smile. 3) Make gently witty/sympathetic remark about weather, long workday, energy levels of squirming toddlers, etc. 4) Notice unaccustomed mutual feeling of public connection, contagious nature of smiling. Note: If met with frosty glare, smile and repeat with next available stranger.
17 / Shop charity auctions And buy new clothes guilt-free.
18 / Donate the cottage Offer at least a week of time there to a recent cancer survivor and family in Ontario through CottageDreams.org. Since 2003, cottager Seana O’Neill has matched cottage owners with survivors needing a restorative week in the country. To date, hundreds of donated cottages have welcomed families. Not in Ontario? Make a direct connection to a family (that’s how O’Neill’s journey began!) through a local cancer survivor support group or hospital.
19 / Be selfish At least on occasion. You can’t give back if there’s nothing left to give.
20 / Give what you know As a farmer, Allyson MacDonald, 45, knew what she had to offer: land and expertise. Sixteen years ago, she and a dozen or so of her friends in Ingersoll, Ont., started a project called Ugali. On 35 acres of land donated by local farmers, they grow corn, wheat and soybeans. The food is then put to use by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (foodgrainsbank.ca) in aid programs around the world. Some years, the grain is sold for cash and the money donated to the Foodgrains Bank; in other years, the actual produce is shipped overseas.
But that’s not all: Fundraising for the Ugali project (named after a corn-based porridge, a staple in many African diets) has grown to include folk music concerts held in MacDonald’s farmhouse, potluck dinners featuring the cuisines of countries receiving their grains, sunflower seed sales, planting and harvesting celebrations, and more. Since the project — one of the first of its kind in Ontario — began, it’s grown to top $150,000 in donated grain and cash, and has inspired upward of 140 other projects across the province.
One of the things MacDonald values about the program is its sensitivity to local customs and the environment. “If there’s a food shortage in Ethiopia but surplus food in Somalia, the Foodgrains Bank uses money raised in Canada to buy from Somalia and ships to Ethiopia, rather than shipping in Canadian grain,” says MacDonald. That way, neighbouring economies are supported, food is more likely to be in line with local eating habits, and the environmental impact of shipping is lessened. Plus, her group invites speakers who know the culture of the country receiving that year’s donation “so that we can understand them as people rather than just aid recipients.”
Helping communities around the world has made MacDonald feel more connected to her own community. “It’s been amazing to watch everyone contribute in their own ways, whether it’s helping cater the meal or picking rocks from the field,” she says.
Ready to do good? Check out 20 more ways to make the world a better place! or read how to Change the world this year.
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This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of More
