banishingbigass ([info]banishingbigass) wrote in [info]fitspiration,
@ 2005-12-12 00:34:00
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Entry tags:brainstorm

brainstorm mondays - Body, mind, and soul.

Brainstorm Mondays XVII:
Body, mind, and soul.


This brainstorm monday will be a little different.

I want us to take some time to start doing things for others and the communities around us, as well as looking after ourselves emotionally. Im going to begin alternating brainstorm mondays between physical fitness, mind fitness, overall health education, and a category for "other" which is basically us doing what we can to benefit those around us. Sort of a "good deed for the week".

For this week, I want us to do something a little special for the holidays (although I know a lot of us are of many different religions.. as I myself am agnostic/borderline muslim), take it how you want. :) I want to make this week DONATION WEEK! Go through your closet and sort things you no longer need. I myself just bought a new winter jacket, so I am donating my old one. Be pratical, and honestly guage whether you NEED something more than someone else might this time of year. Or so what if you do need something? Sit and contemplate how much better you have it than a lot of people do lately (think natural disasters). And im not trying to preach to about things i know many of us are already aware of, but please.. please take some time to do something a little extra this week. :) Food donations, clothing, essentials, shampoos, soap, towels, diapers, hygenics(deoderant,toothpaste/brushes, qtips etc) can all be donated to homeless shelters, women/children shelters, and hospitals.

I will elaborate more on this and organize it a bit tomorrow night, as I JUST got home from work at 1230am and have to wake in 4 hours for work in morning.. so i'll finish this tomorrow, LOL! And make it an easier-to-read chart of things that are donation worthy.

Points will be distributed like so:
___1/2 (half) a point for everyone who suggests a NEW (unlisted) item to donate(1/2 a point only given once, no matter how many items you suggest)
___1 point to everyone who donates something(without a picture)
___2-5 points will be given to those who make a donation to their community and post here in fitspiration a picture of the things youre giving away. :)

Once more, i'll elaborate on this tomorrow... so if you have any questions please feel free to ask .. i'll get back to you as soon as I get home! <3

BanishingBA <3



Ideas for things to donate
TIME! Volunteer at a local shelter,hospital,food drive, soup kitchen. TONS of places. Impossible to NOT find somewhere you can help out.
$$, Be weary of this. Money isnt always the best bet. You can give a homeless man $20, but why when you know he really needs a sandwich? Many restaurants offer gift certificates.
BLOOD. Always in demand. (As well as plasma)
Clothing. Check out your local thrift store and see how cheap some things are. Wont make a dent to you..but to the single dad with 4 young children every penny counts. Childrens winter jackets, or new shoes will be much appreciated.(as well as teen/adult)
Non perishable food items (pasta, pasta sauces, rice, baking goods. Basically anything in bulk that can be stored for a long time. VERY VERY USEFUL.. and I speak from experience, for large families in desperate need. Food banks have a limit on how often you can come to them -- often 4-6 times a year, and thats for a family of 3, so makes ure the things youre donating will last them as long as possible. Evaporated milk (comes in a can) is a good thing, also. As well as ensure, and other protein drinks... can be used for babies in place of formula.
Hygenics. Soap,shampoo, qtips,deoderant, TAMPOS/PADS, toothbrushes/paste,hair brushes
BABY/KID stuff. Bottles, diapers, baby wipes, baby shampoo, baby towels, baby washclothes, baby medicine like childrens tylonol, etc.
BOOKS and other educational materials. Arts&crafts, even.
Furniture. Again, speaking from experience. I slept on the floor for quite a while until a church donated my mother and I a matress that I won via paper-rock-scissors VS my mom..who later got a futon. :)
Appliances and kitchen ware. dishes, cups, utensils, pots&pants. Again, can be bought at a salvation army/goodwill!

Places to donate:
_Local schools (Call head office and ask if they are doing any drives you can donate to, for their charity or to the children in need at their school.)
_Hospitals
_Women's/childrens shelters
_Teen shelters
_Shelters in general
_Homeless shelters
_Food banks
_Libraries

(All can be found in your city's phone book or via yellowpages.com!)
*More to come, this is just off the top of my head. Feel free to suggest. :)

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[info]dreamangel222
2005-12-13 01:49 pm UTC (link)
I donated money to St. Jude's... I don't know how to post a picture of that one... That is the only place I will donate to other than thrift stores...

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[info]surfer_chick_01
2005-12-15 04:32 pm UTC (link)
I love St. Jude's. I donate to them as well. I also donate to the breast cancer fund, as well as the local police and fire departments for their childrens programs.

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[info]dreamangel222
2005-12-15 04:37 pm UTC (link)
Wow I guess I donate more places than I think of... now that you mention it, breast cancer and lymphoma/leukemia funds also....

St. Jude's is where I regularly donate... like every month kind of thing,make sure you set aside whatever you can kinda donate.

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[info]mariapapita
2005-12-13 03:32 pm UTC (link)
Well, without getting all sappy I want to tell you about our year. Earlier this year my husband was laid off from the hospital, this was a huge blow to us because I have syringomyelia (a rare disease of the spine) and am epileptic. We lost our insurance and our only source of income. It was devastating. Michael was unable to find a job and unemployment barely paid the mortgage. We were destitute for months, we received food from the local pantries and local churches assisted with electricity, water, etc. I was humiliated at first, I was furious that I had to accept charity.

Then my pride evaporated and I was able to see the beauty and love in those things that people had donated that allowed us to live for several months. It was very freeing. It was as though that was the point at which things turned around. Suddenly we had everything we needed and more. It was amazing. We had an abundance!

Rather than store away those things we had been so freely given we donated them. We donated food, clothing, furniture, etc. The suggestion I would like to make for donation is electricity! You can opt to have your electric bill "rounded up" by calling the company and they will give the electricity to people in need. It's true! It isn't a permanent thing either, but those extra dollars could really help a family in need through the winter. I hope some of you will think about doing this. Also, some gas companies collect blankets to distribute, something else to consider.

We have another batch of goodies going to Mission Possible this week and I'll take some pictures to share. What a great idea BBA, thanks!

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[info]surfer_chick_01
2005-12-15 04:26 pm UTC (link)
That's really amazing that even when YOU are in need you can still find the ways to donate. Great job! I'm really sorry to hear about your struggle the last year, but are things going better for you now?

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[info]eadavenp
2005-12-13 04:13 pm UTC (link)
My mom goes out every year and buys loads of tube socks and mittens and hats and gives them out at the homeless shelter we host one night a week at our synagouge. It might not be something you already have, but if you can afford to do it, it may be a good idea. I know i dont have a ton of clothing or extra towels or blankets, but i can go to BJs or CostCO and get a bunch of tube socks and hats. I think ill actually do some donating when i go home on thursday, i have a ton of clothes at home that i never wear since im at school all the time, and no room if i even wanted to take them back to school with me.

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[info]dragonflyinlove
2005-12-13 11:56 pm UTC (link)
I have been donating food to homeless shelters since it has been getting colder out, I only wish I could donate clothing for them but as it is I have no winter clothes for myself nore can afford them.

I am always in awe when I hear of other peoples good deeds. Nice to know that that not everyone in this world has not become only concerned with themselves

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[info]nikki_lace
2005-12-14 12:23 am UTC (link)
At school, we have a ton of volunteering opportunities, so along with necessities, don't forget that TIME is also a good thing to give. You can also donate blood to hospitals. There's also a program where you can donate old cell phones, where they are given to women's shelters.

I've done volunteer work at our local soup kitchen already, and I've bought brand new presents for kids in inner-city Chicago, along with volunteering to help organize the presents and wrap them (My favorite was wrapping a rocking horse for a two year old, it was adorable). We also had a canned food drive, and I've donated a lot of cans of perishables.

I've also donated my old bookshelf, with half the books on it and a couple extras for their kids, to a local family who loved to read but could only do it at the library. It's getting colder now, so it's nice to give them a place where they don't have to suffer the cold weather to get a good book to read.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Also through school, we're doing what we call "Pacer Racer" with the pacer test (cardio fitness test in high school), and all money goes towards our local soup kitchen.

As you can see, I love to volunteer. You don't have to be a certain religion to want to help other people.

More things you can donate:
-stereos
-televisions
-furniture
-appliances

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[info]surfer_chick_01
2005-12-15 04:28 pm UTC (link)
You're amazing!

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[info]banishingbigass
2005-12-14 03:14 am UTC (link)
Awesome participation guys! And its great to see there are a lot of members of this community actively helping others. :)

Dreamangel - What is st judes? And why is it the only place? Women's shelters are temporary homes for abused/homeless/abandoned women (usually aged 16+) to have a safe place to stay, similar to "My sister's place", and such like it. ( http://www.mysistersplacedc.org/msptime.asp )... many women sometimes need to pick up and leave with themselves (and) their children, and nothing else but the clothes on their backs, sometimes staying in these shelters for weeks or months on end. Places like these are in great need of things like suggested, diapers for the children, bottles, formula, clothing, blankets, etc. People in desperate situations like this can't even afford thrift stores -- the point of this activity is to help those in need, and get as close to them as possible. :) + 1 point

Maria- Very intersting story! My little sister is epiletic , too, btw. Youve had quite the run of bad luck, but as I always say, and it appears you have more than realized, the good outweighs the bad! We just tend to focus more on what we think slows us down. We underappreciate the things that move us forward, because it happens so often! Good people are everywhere. :) I was on welfare for a short while as well..doign the food stamp thing, onlyshopping at thrifts, accepting charitable donations.. one xmas was entirely of donations given to a local church my mom knew people at by a local highschool who was doing a drive -- WHILE I was in highschool. Pride was shot. I was getting gifts from people who didn't even know they were giving me things-- people I saw all the time, went to class with. Ugh! Anyway yes, please share a pic with us! +1 point (more when pics come!)

eadavenp&dragonflyinlove- While some people may think they can't afford something..youd be suprised. To sacrifice your morning coffee for a week and save even $10, run to the salvation army and find the cheapest winter jacket or a blanket, then run downtown and hand it with a smile to a shivering old man sitting outside the church waiting for them to open the doors for him to sleep the night once again, is plenty.


nikki_lace- What an amazing story along with your entry, and picture. :) What an amazing donation, too! Very inspiring.. and true. You dont have to donate money or food or this or that to make someone's day -- that family is always going to remember this heap of novels and the bookshelf along with it, and cherish it probably forever as a rememberance of when times were tough for them, but things brightened up. As they always do :) And I agree with your last comment, I just didn't want to make this a "because its the christmas season" kind of thing -- it just popped into my head. :) +5 points

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[info]dreamangel222
2005-12-14 07:43 pm UTC (link)
St. Judes is a hospital for children with cancer and other terminal ill children. They turn nobody away regardless of whether they can pay for treatment and stay or not, and have even brought children from other countries here to treat them.

I only donate to them because of a few reasons, one being that god forbid i ever have kids, but even more god forbid i have them and they ever need to go there and at least if they do I know that they will get treatment no matter what. Another reason is because what the clothes I have now aren't ready to be donated anywhere yet... I need to see where my weight goes first. Another is because I feel there are too many people in homeless shelters and womens shelthers who either abuse drugs or alcohol and abuse the system basically, so as mean as it sounds why give my money (or use my money) on that... at least at St. Jude's I know its going to children who don't really have any other options avaible, it's not like they can go out and get jobs to pay for their stay. That doesn't mean every now and then I won't see a homeless person outside of 7-11 or McDonalds and when I go in buy them coffee or a sandwhich, but generally I try not to give them anything... Half of the homeless people around my area aren't even homeless... they are abusing the system...

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[info]dreamangel222
2005-12-14 07:48 pm UTC (link)
I also donate to anything to do with our Troops, because they workl too damn hard and I can never thank them enough for what they do for us...

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[info]bellahdance
2005-12-14 03:42 am UTC (link)
My mom and I make little kits with mini-sample deodorends/toothbrushes/etc. and give them to homeless people when we see them.

We're also always donating to the library or to the veteran's assossiations that ask for clothes . . .

I also volunteer three times a week at a local child care . . .

Soon, I'll be volunteering at the hospital as well.

::I met my goal this week!::

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[info]mariapapita
2005-12-14 10:17 pm UTC (link)
I LOVE this idea!! How awesome and easy to make and stick in the back seat of a car till needed! I am going to go out and make some this week to have on hand. Thanks!

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[info]bellahdance
2005-12-15 03:06 am UTC (link)
Oooh I am so glad you're doing it, too!

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[info]surfer_chick_01
2005-12-15 04:31 pm UTC (link)
I never thought of that, such a great idea!

I used to volunteer at the hospital 2-3 days a week. It was fun, but I worked in the elder-care area and sometimes it was really hard to handle. But great job, and I'll definitly make up some of those kits!

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[info]azelmaroark
2005-12-23 06:38 pm UTC (link)
Forgot to post this, but just wanted to say that [info]val_monster and I made our goals for last week!

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