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Simply Ways to Serve During the Holidays

Message Series: 
The Gift of Enough

Here are some links that could provide some ideas and opportunities:

Listings

Christmas Eve Outreach Boxes: Following the 4:30 & 6:30pm CRCC Christmas Eve Services, please take one of the 500 Outreach Boxes that the children’s ministry has prepared for you to deliver to someone who is working on Christmas or who may need a little treat. It is a box of goodies (a combo of sweet and healthy) that will let others know we care about and appreciate them.

Project T.H.A.W: Rob Minnick’s family-owned Heating and Air Conditioning Company is giving away six heating systems ree to deserving families.  Go to the Minnick’s website www.Minnicks.net and click on “Project THAW” to learn more about how you can write an essay and join Minnicks in serving people in need. 

Neighborly Kindness: Tell a neighbor that every time it snows, you will shovel their walkway for free. Then make sure when it snows, you honor your word and clear their walkway, or unbury their car (good for elderly, sick or single parent. Family or group of friends can do the shoveling). When there is ice or snow on the sidewalks, offer to walk your elderly neighbor’s dog so they don’t have to venture out in the cold or ice. Is your neighbor away for the Holidays? Offer to pick up their newspapers or mail while they are away. Keep an eye on their house for care and safekeeping.

Include others: Invite a person new to the area or who is alone during the holidays over for Christmas dinner or another special time. Or does your child have a classmate that will be home alone during Christmas break while their parent or parents are working? Have them come over to your house for a few days: Make crafts, bake goodies, go to the library for an outing.

Give Fair Trade gifts: search online for fair trade organizations like en Thousand Villages or Oxfam and buy gifts that mean people in the developing world are assured a fair income for their work.

In lieu of gifts: Decide with your family that instead of exchanging gifts with each other that you will pull your money and buy an animal from www.heifer.org or another similar organization. Or chose to ‘give’ rabbits, chicks, bees and other animals to family members instead of presents. A small ornament or card can be given to the person as a reminder of the gift that blessed more than just them.

Service abroad: Do you know anyone serving in other countries? Spend time with your family writing a letter or making a gift package to ship off to them to encourage them when they are so far from home. If it is a friend in the neighborhood, make a community video getting many families saying hello and sending love. Take time to map out where their serving, researching the culture and the needs others have. This is a great educational tool to share with children who may not understand how fortunate we are. Pray for the country and the people serving; learn some geography in the process. 

Feeding everyone: Buy a supply of birdseed balls and present them to your neighbors during a snowstorm. Help feed God’s creatures and provide your neighbors with a relaxing bird watching experience on a ‘snowy day’.

Give blood. Supplies are always low during the winter, especially during the holidays. Take a little thank you card with you to give to the volunteers at the blood bank.

Winterize neighbor's lawn mower: This is easy, really, just drain the oil into, say, a milk jug (wash out first) and fill w/new oil (a quart or so of 30 weight at $3.00/quart) and drain the gas into a safe container. Oil can be recycled at Zimmerman's hardware, where there is a big tank for it out back (ask at cashier). Takes less time than leaf raking and many people fail to do it and have nonworking mowers/tractors in Spring.

Metropolitan ideas: While walking to work or in the city, keep spare socks, gloves or breakfast bars in a Ziploc bag readily available to hand to a homeless person. Buy bus tokens or metro cards and hand them out to chilly people at the bus and metro stops who look like they could use cheering up or are rushing to catch their ride. Pay a toll for someone who is behind you just to be kind.

Think of 6 people who you'd like to send a little love. Bake lots of cookies and write a note letting those people know you care for them and deliver the cookies and notes to each person (great for involving children and in a group)

Donate to the heating fund for those who can afford heat for their homes.

Put together a festive food and beverage basket for the custodial staff at school or work. If you know they have children, tuck in a few small games or stuffed animals for them.

Dig out a neighbor’s car from the bondage of snow.

Take hot chocolate and baked goods to police stations, fire houses, or gas station employees during the doldrums of the Winter months.

Protect creation and help your neighbors reduce their energy bills. Buy a few compact fluorescent bulbs and put them in a small basket of baked goods for your neighbors. Let them know they can save lots of energy by placing the bulb in their most used lamp

Encourage Green Giving: Pack up biodegradable products of trash bags, dish detergent…suggestions on non-toxic cleaners like water and vinegar solutions and give a care package to a friend. This is a great consumable gift that might also info and influence in ways that benefit generations to come.
 
Salt an elderly local person's walkway after one of our ice/sleet storms. That way, she can get the Fed-X box of presents from relatives that's been left by her gate or drive. (Fed X drivers fear ice as much as the rest of us!)
 
Take the time to make healthy snacks of natural non-processed product: a salad, a peeled pomogranted, trail mix, fresh fruit salad and share with staff, neighbor or co-worker. This healthy treat might be more appreciated than the holiday sweets.

Collections: Ask your coworkers or your neighborhood to bring in can goods and you will be the one responsible for taking them to a food bank or shelter. Make it a goal to fill a few boxes. http://foodpantries.org/category/united-states/maryland are some of the local food pantries. www.mdfoodbank.org

Contribute any additional ideas about serving during the holidays below!

Link to other content: 
Serving Locally

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