Giving and Gratitude: Give Thanks while Helping Others
Life is busy. It’s easy to overlook the small moments that add meaning and joy to your day. Taking time to practice gratitude — the simple act of noticing and appreciating what’s good in your life — can have a profound impact on your well-being. In fact, recent research shows that practicing gratitude leads to numerous positive health benefits, including lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression, better sleep quality, and even better heart health.
As the holidays draw nearer, take some time to appreciate the small things that make life enjoyable. Giving to others is a practice that is intertwined with feeling grateful – it offers the giver a sense of purpose and connection. There are many ways to give to others, including our time, our talents, or our treasure. However you give, you will be contributing something meaningful to your community.
Foster Gratitude with a Family Project
A fun way to get the entire family practicing gratitude is to create a gratitude garden! Using Doing Good Together’s templates, each family member can decorate their own gratitude garden, and spend time each day adding to it. Place your creation in a prominent place so you remember to tend it. Or, set a time each day, say during a mealtime, to discuss what you are grateful for that day and add it to the garden.
Another way to spend time reflecting on what you are grateful for? Try creating a kindness journal. Keeping a compassion-themed journal is a great way to build kindness into busy weeks. Additionally, you'll have a place to record family volunteering memories. Not sure where to start? DGT has you covered with printable sheets that can spark ideas and help you create a beautiful keepsake for your family. You can complete this project in just a few minutes each day, and having a place to record these activities may motivate you to volunteer more often! Make sure you add some things you are grateful for as well!
Help Others - Donate Time or Goods
South Florida is full of opportunities to give to others. Looking to donate time or treasure to your community this fall? Miami-based Branches offers you the chance to do both! Donate non-perishable foods to help make Thanksgiving meals, including instant mashed potatoes, boxed instant stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Or, help deliver meals to over 6,000 community members on Thanksgiving Day!
Feeding South Florida is also looking for support this holiday season. Get your kids involved and host a bake sale or lemonade stand and donate the proceeds to help Feeding South Florida provide Thanksgiving dinners to more than 7,000 families in Miami-Dade!
Expressing gratitude certainly does not erase all of our problems or worries, but it can help us remember that even in times of stress, there are still things to be thankful for. Bring your children into the conversation and ask, “What am I grateful for? And how can I give from that place of abundance?”
Doing Good Together’s Miami Kindness Project content is FREE thanks to the generous support of the Al and Jane Nahmad Foundation.