Provide refreshments for youth soccer tournament

The project:
Provide juice for soccer players after their tournament play.

Time:
15 minutes at the store picking up the juices. About 20 bucks since we go organic.

Why bother?
During the regular season, families rotated snack/juice duty during the games. For the tournament, all bets were off. The coach thought we'd just step up. At the morning game, no one had. Not wanting the hard-working girls to go without, our family filled the gap today.

Worth it?
The girls were thankful.

Neighborhood Trash

The project:
Once again, picking up trash in the neighborhood.

Time:
20 minutes

Why bother?
No matter how much we pick up, there always seems to be more, even in our relatively neat neighborhood. I carried a bag with me, took a walk for some exercise, and helped clean up the neighborhood.

As noted in a previous post about cleaning up trash, a study has shown that trashed areas gather not only more trash, but also more graffitti and other vandalism. I like to think I'm helping our neighborhood keep on the bright side by picking up after others.

Worth it?
I suppose - but it's wearing thin. Am I the only one in the neighborhood who gives a hoot? (Does it matter if I am?)

Watch Kids

The project:
Watch another mother's kids while she gets some chores and shopping out of the way.

Time:
2 hours

Why bother?
First of all, we love these kids. They've been gone to Papua New Guinea, serving a medical mission in the rainforest, for the past year. They're home for only a short time before their planned move to Texas. (We're super sorry to see them go, but we're taking every opportunity to see them.)

Getting back to life in the Western World must be quite a shock for all of them. And with the holidays fast upon us, an impending move and general confusion of life on the go, certainly any help is welcome.

Our girls love to play with them. I love to hear them all squealing and running, creating and generally enjoying each other.

Worth it?
ABSOLUTELY! But, really, if I enjoy it I ask once again...does it count? I'll say yes.

Make a Flier for Auntie M's Business

The project:
Create a flier to help promote a family member's business.

Time:
45 minutes

Why bother?
Independent business owners have it rough sometimes. Plus, I'd do about anything to help my Auntie M.

Worth it?
Yep.

Send Sympathy Flowers

The project:
Send flowers to Mom after learning that her 17-year-old dog died yesterday.

Time:
15 minutes

Why bother?
Mom loves her pets, and for anyone who loves her pets, it's never really easy to lose one, even if, as in this case, she can see it coming. Lilly was a good dog who never met a stranger, greeted us with love and excitement, and tolerated our children. We'll all miss her.

Worth it?
Yes.

Tend Kids

The project:
Pick up someone else's kids and watch them for a few hours.

Time:
3 hours

Why bother?
Not sure if this counts as charitable when it resulted in my own kids having buddies over to play. But taking another mom's kids off her hands for a few hours while she gets some work done HAS to count. These are good kids, and our girls really enjoy their company. This may become a regular occurrence.

Worth it?
Absolutely! When it was time to head for home, I asked, "Who's comin' with me?" Four kids hollered from their various spots on the play structure, "I AM!" What energy! In the car, it was so fun to hear them all, and charging through a couple of errands on the way home it was fun to have a pack of kids with me.

Spend time with Seniors

The project:
Our daughter is playing fiddle. Her instructor invited her to join in a local fiddlers' gathering. Not sure who did a favor for whom, but we ended up driving her to the gathering, and spending a day with a room full of seniors, playing, singing and dancing.

Time:
4 hours

Why bother?
We were invited, and spending time with seniors is a great thing for kids, well, people of all ages.

Worth it?
Absolutely. How heart-warming to see these couples, some of whom have been together for a lifetime, some of whom found each other only recently, dancing and swaying or just sitting and enjoying the music. It was also fun to see my daughter playing alongside the fiddlers when she could, and singing when she didn't know how to play the song.

Photo courtesy Jeff Kubina under Creative Commons license.