Somebody Should Do Something

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Somebody should do something about the homeless. Somebody should do something about the hungry. Somebody turned out to be me.

I reconsidered church this year. I understand from the news that reconsidering church (or, being PC, reconsidering your spiritual side) is an phenomenon, during harsh economic times we tend to return to our religious upbringings. It turns out, I'm doing just that.

I wasn't sure that was the case with me and needed to ponder it. Yes, I'd had some personal and economic losses. A divorce I didn't want. Serious financial setbacks. A move from my family home, a move from the State I love, California (because it was no longer affordable for me). Loss of family and friends. Loss of my car when someone ran a red light. Ghack. No car!

We've also probably all heard the adage, one of the best ways to help yourself in a time of loss is to help others. I've said it myself.

Learning the soup kitchen needed volunteers on a specific date and place, I was able to be there because of my church. Learning that I was being asked to give to others, not of what I didn't have, but from what I did have - do you have extra cans of food in your pantry, give a few of those to your local food pantry - you don't have to go out and buy. I learned this in church.

Learning of a woman who has suffered a series of illnesses and losses and who was in need of help, I learned in church. She needed people to help her rid her house of 'too much stuff acquired during years of battling cancer and a life and family out of control'. The church had helped arrange for a dumpster and looking for volunteers to help take the boxes she'd packed and stuff out to the dumpster. I can do this. I tell her I can help carry boxes. But, I CAN BE THERE, I tell her - if she desires - after all the boxes are gone to help her organize her life and put things in some sort of beautiful order (I am an interior designer). This woman is overly comforted with people who care. She cries and tells us it feels like maybe she'll really get her life 'back'. I can do this because of my church. I can do something, I can be a somebody, doing something.

The church thing worked for me. Being in that church building - that spiritual place - offered me a system to connect with those in need, offering me a way to be a somebody doing something. It became a complete circle of comfort, fulfilling that adage that during difficult times, it helps to help others.

Sometimes finding volunteer opportunities where you can do something is a bit overwhelming; here are some suggestions, for you to be a somebody doing something. Click on any of the following for more information:

* Animal Shelters

* Environmental Organizations

* Food Banks

* Habitat For Humanities

* Homeless Shelters

* Hospitals

* Libraries

* Lists Of Charities, Or More On Volunteering

* Political Campaigns

* Red Cross

* Ronald McDonald House

* Salvation Army

* Senior Citizens Centers

* Special Olympics

* State Parks

* United Way