As a deep believer in charitable contributions and philanthropy, I understand and respect the need to help others. I also thoroughly encourage others to go out and donate to their favorite charities. Whether your goal is to help the poor or to fund research for terminal illnesses, investing your time and resources into helping others is an honorable decision.
With that being said, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the more interesting charities and nonprofit organizations out there. These charities all have unique characteristics or go about helping others in unconventional ways, and yet, they are all equally important.
Do you enjoy practicing yoga? If you do, then you already know of its amazing health benefits; if you don’t, then why not join the 20 million US adults who practice the exercise? Yoga does a world of good for the body; it can improve breathing, reduce weight, boost your circulatory health and even alleviate stress. This is why the Give Back Yoga Foundation exists. The foundation sends trained yoga instructors to several underprivileged areas and offers classes in order to give back to the community. The nonprofit sends instructors to prisons, hospitals and even addiction recovery centers in the hopes of offering balance of mind and body to those who desperately need it.
Americans generate roughly 230 million tons of garbage and solid waste, and less than a quarter of it is recycled. The rest of it ends up in a landfill. That’s a lot of waste that just sits idly by. The Cary Creative Center is looking to solve that issue in an artistic way. The nonprofit sets up classes to teach everyday North Carolina citizens how to recycle their trash in creative ways. Essentially, you can take your would-be garbage and turn it into a beautiful artistic masterpiece that can be fashionable and functional.
Community Voice Mail
You’re probably asking yourself what in the world a “community voice mail” is, right? Don’t worry, when I first heard the term, I was just s confused, But after learning about the program, I couldn’t be happier to include it in this list. Essentially, the Community Voice Mail program offers a phone number and voicemail inbox to the homeless. Why would the homeless need a voicemail? That’s another fantastic question that has a logical answer. Consider this: if you’ve ever been job hunting, you understand the importance of being accessible at all times. You also understand that you will more than likely miss a phone call or two from a potential employer. That is the beauty of voicemail: the employer can leave a message after the tone. Unfortunately, the homeless do not have this luxury. And if someone who is homeless is looking to land a job to get himself back on his feet, he will need a method of communication. That is where the Community Voice Mail program comes in. Through the program, any homeless person can provide the phone number to potential employers and receive and check on their messages from any phone. This is an incredibly unique organization that does a world of good.