Spring cleaning!   Out with the old, in with the new!   Feels good to declutter our surroundings, right? Wondering what to do with all the stuff you find during your "Spring Cleaning"?  This article, initially written as a guest blog for Activate Good, will help you take your efforts to new (and creative) levels!    Activate Good, a Raleigh NC nonprofit, connects volunteers with opportunities to serve, educates folks on community issues, assists companies to fulfill their corporate social responsibility, empowers youth to lead and serve, and so much more.  If you aren't in the Raleigh NC area, there are likely organizations in your community that would be ecstatic to receive your recycled and upcycled donations. National Volunteer Week is in April annually.  This year, it's April 21-27, 2024!  Visit ActivateGood.org for local volunteer opportunities (Greater Raleigh NC) or Google National Volunteer Week 2024 to find suggestions near you. Click here to read the...

A Singing Telegram?  Isn't that when someone dresses up in a silly costume, runs up to a designated person, sings "Happy Birthday" (or something else), and does something embarrassing for the fun of it? Do they still do that? Singing telegrams have been around since 1933. Per Wikipedia, they were first delivered by Western Union, as an attempt to make telegrams more popular and fun than the standard topics of urgent news: (like "Your uncle died. Stop. Funeral in 2 weeks. Stop...." - you get the idea). Telegrams were delivered in person. When telephones became a standard household service in the 1960s, in person telegrams fell off because people could call to talk to each other directly. Western Union suspended its singing telegram services about 1974, but independent companies continued to provide them.  The practice is still very much alive today.   So, what is a singing telegram?  People often imagine sending someone dressed up in costume...

We are now in the “Season of Giving”. For some that means getting Christmas or Hannukah and other celebratory gifts purchased, wrapped, and sent. We plan gatherings for exchanging gifts and find many excuses to party!For others it’s giving back in lots of ways, like showing appreciation, donating time, volunteering, or monitarily supporting our favorite nonprofit(s), which are all meaningful and often lasting gifts for those who benefit. “Giving Tuesday” is annually the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It’s a global movement to be generous in giving back to our communities. Founded in 2012 by United Nations Foundation, there is an organization and website for Giving Tuesday: https://www.givingtuesday.org. As Giving Tuesday approaches, we are reminded and encouraged to participate by multiple entities.  Anybody can give in a small or big way, though it’s not only, or all, about giving money.  (Note, “Giving Tuesday” is a NEW movement as it relates to my own personal years!)...