It’s the giving time of year when many strive to spread joy to others through volunteering, sharing food and gifts, and connecting (virtually) with the people we care about. As quarantining is in full swing for the 2020 holiday season, we’re all spending a lot of safe time at home. This, along with the difficulties financial and otherwise of 2020, may seem like barriers to spreading Holiday cheer, but we’ve got you covered! Below are 10 FREE acts of kindness to keep you and your family giving the gift of good during this precarious time. Join us in doing as many as you can to keep the holiday Roots & Shoots momentum going and bringing joy safely to those around you!
TOP 10 FREE WAYS TO GIVE BACK DURING THE HOLIDAYS 2020
- Recycled Card Making: Spread some community cheer! Challenge yourself to use recycled paper, magazines etc. to make holiday cards for your neighbors and community workers (postal workers, waste collectors, etc.) View this 1-Click for inspiration —> The Write Amount of Good
- Create a Recycled Neighborhood Thankful Tree: Transform a tree, bush or shrub on your lot into a Neighborhood Thankful Tree! Invite your friends and neighbors to hang a handmade ornament on the tree with a note of gratitude for something in their life. View this Roots & Shoots project for more ideas ——> The Thankful Tree
- Volunteer to Lend a Hand in your Neighborhood (safely): Offer to help a neighbor with a chore that does not involve contact or exposure of any sort. For example, roll their exterior trash bins to the street, weed their front yard garden, or water their front plants!
- Treat Your Neighborhood Pets: Make and deliver dog treats to the neighborhood pets. Make sure and print out the ingredients so pet owners can flag any possible allergies for their furry family. Other Roots & Shoots members make treats for pets too! Read about an elementary school Roots & Shoots group who made dog treats to raise money for animals!
- Spread Some Seeds of Love: Do you have native plants in your garden? The seeds of many native plants can be easily harvested and shared with others! Make a little paper envelope and give it to a plant loving friend or family member. Are you interested in learning more about native plants? Check out this 1-Click for more info ——> Native Garden – Animal Habitat
- Schedule a Virtual Dance-a-thon: Get your tunes pumping, and your feet jumping, then flash video-call a list of friends and family to invite them to participate in a quick virtual dance party with you! Will you look silly? Yes. Will you have fun? DOUBLE YES. Trust us, your silly joy is contagious and will be sure to crack a smile with even the grumpiest of relatives.
- Plan a Virtual Game Night: Not a fan of the virtual Dance-a-thon? Not a problem. Arrange a virtual game night and specifically invite people who you think might be alone during this lockdown holiday. Have a nice chat or play a virtual game together-both will be sure to give the gift of great company and companionship. Read about how this Roots & Shoots group is planning game nights for retirement facilities!
- Make a Spirit Lifting Yard/Patio Sign: Let’s be honest, we could all do with a lift of the spirits right about now. Make an encouraging sign to remind people that we are in this together and place it someplace prominent.
- Masked-up Cleanup: Put on your face masks and take a walk around the neighborhood, cleaning litter as you go. While you are there, make sure to wave at your super socially distanced neighbors and give them a friendly hello. Cleanups of all types are a very common Roots & Shoots project! Search this list from our Project Database for a few examples of cleanups around the United States.
- Give the Gift of Home Grown: Do you have a fruiting tree in your yard? Package up a few bags/boxes of your home grown produce and leave them as a surprise treat for friends and neighbors. You are gifting them something sweet and personal while also ensuring that no produce goes wasted.
BONUS: Every single one of these could be your very own ROOTS & SHOOTS PROJECT!
This year end, show the people in your life how much they mean to you by doing changemaking community projects that make the world better for your network and the world. If you haven’t started a project with Roots & Shoots, you can right away! Anything you’re passionate about can be something you turn into a project – maybe even something the person you’re gifting to cares about, too! We’ve got tons of tools and resources including our 4-Step Formula to create your project to make doing it simple and fun. And by becoming a member for FREE you can register your profile creating your own special landing page and link to share as part of your gift.
If you’re already a youth member, or an educator, and you’ve started your project, now is your chance to complete it on rootsandshoots.org to give to someone special – maybe even just as a gift to yourself and the world! It certainly is our favorite gift of all.
The Jane Goodall Institute is a global community conservation organization that advances the vision and work of Dr. Jane Goodall. By protecting chimpanzees and inspiring people to conserve the natural world we all share, we improve the lives of people, animals and the environment. Everything is connected—everyone can make a difference.
