We actually talk a lot less about volunteerism and community involvement at Postconsumers than we’d like. That’s because while these things are valuable and do separate you from consumer driven society, they’re often not as directly related to our mission as some of the other topics we tackle. That’s part of why we’re excited that Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to tackle the topic with these ten ideas for helping others this Thanksgiving season.

Idea One:  The Obvious Soup Kitchen

We figured we’d start with this obvious one and get it out of the way. Soup kitchens and community kitchens are always extra busy on holidays and they’re a great way to give somebody else something to be thankful for. Of course, remember that these locations also need help (and financial resources) the rest of the year too! Don’t be a one-day-a-year volunteer.

Idea Two: The Food Pantry

­­­Frankly, we’d be surprised if you didn’t overbuy food for Thanksgiving anyway, but in case you’re a very responsible quantity shopper we also think it wouldn’t hurt you to pick up $20 worth of nonperishable food while doing your Thanksgiving shopping. Then donate it to a food pantry. The number of Americans who struggle with chronic hunger is only rising. Anything you can donate helps.

Idea Three: Help an Animal

We won’t pressure you to adopt an animal because that’s not the right choice for everybody, but you can help abandoned and at-risk animals in many other ways. Volunteer to play with or walk a shelter animal or make a charitable donation to your local rescue organization.

Idea Four: Visit Your Local Senior Center or Personal Care Home

As the world changes and more and more people have to relocate for work or opportunities or simply because the world is flat these days, many more seniors are left without family around at the holidays. Brighten a senior’s day by visiting them at a senior center or personal care home. You may even find a friend for life!

Idea Five: Give an Anonymous Gift

We actually don’t mean donate anonymously to a charitable organization – we mean find somebody in your neighborhood or town who could use a little extra help this holiday season and anonymously help them out by paying their utility bill, having food delivered or any other way you can ease their burden a bit.

Idea Six: Or Make a Charitable (Careful) Donation

Here’s a system we like: Take your holiday shopping budget and designate a percentage. Then buy less stuff this holiday and use your designated percentage to donate to a charitable cause. Just remember to do the research on any organization that you’re donating to. You want to make sure your money is going to the actual goal and not a big marketing budget.

Idea Seven: Set a Volunteer Goal for the Year

Sure, we understand that this one sounds like a bit of a punt, but we also understand that not everybody has the time or bandwidth around the holiday season to squeeze in volunteerism. So instead take thirty minutes of downtime and document your goals for how you want to make a charitable or volunteer impact in the upcoming year.

Idea Eight: Help Build a Home

Habitat for Humanity as well as many other smaller organizations with the same goal tend to have larger holiday-time projects (particularly in areas of the country where weather isn’t a huge factor). Get your handyman (or woman) on and help somebody who doesn’t have the resources for a home (which is much of America these days) to obtain one. It’s life changing.

Idea Nine: Pay it Forward

Helping somebody out doesn’t need to mean finding the person most in need of your help. It can simply mean encouraging the spirit of giving. So do it! Pay the toll road fee for the car behind you. Put extra quarters in a meter. Buy somebody’s coffee. Just do one nice thing to pay it forward. The spirit really does spread.

Idea Ten: Insert Your Own…

Everybody has a cause they care about passionately, and we couldn’t possibly put all of them as options on our paltry list of ten! So this is your chance to insert your own. Nobody else has to care about it or understand it, but pick something that you believe will make a difference and find time to work it into your holiday schedule.

Did we miss an idea for how to help others this Thanksgiving? We’d like to hear about it. Tell us on the social media channels below.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Google+