I am frustrated, and I will tell you why.
My Facebook and Twitter feeds constantly blow up about this issue or that issue. Tons of people visualize themselves as keyboard warriors who hope to change the world with memes.
I’m getting tired of the online whining.
We all live in such a privileged society here in the US that we take our blessings for granted on a daily basis.
Now, I am not against protesting at all. This country affords us the freedom for peaceful protest. Blood was shed for this. So I say protest away.
However, protesting will not effect the kind of change that many perceive as necessary for this nation to move forward.
While social media enables us to communicate our message, it is also very saturated with others’ messages. Guess what form of activism is not?
Volunteering.
There are thousands of opportunities for each one of us to really make a difference in our country and our world.
I am annoyed by many things and see many injustices, but I also remember that there are tons of blessings. Being born in a communist country and having won what I consider to be the “life” lottery by coming to the United States help me to see things from this viewpoint.
How can I help?
While being a social justice warrior online may have some impact, it’s nowhere near what you can accomplish by actively helping out with causes you are passionate about.
Here are some examples of things you can do today to contribute to society in a meaningful way.
- Volunteer to help at a homeless shelter.
- Possible Impact: Helping someone who may be at their lowest with a warm meal and compassion.
- Collect donations for Mexico, Puerto Rico, Houston or Florida.
- Possible Impact: Helping to feed someone who may have lost everything and reminding them they are not alone.
- Volunteer to coach a sport for kids.
- Possible Impact: Being  a mentor for kids who may need a positive role model and a physical outlet.
- Volunteer to help out in school.
- Possible Impact: Give overworked teachers some much needed assistance.
- Volunteer for a political campaign.
- Possible Impact: Help support and elect someone you feel espouses your beliefs.
- Smile at everyone you come into contact with.
- Possible Impact: Show kindness to someone who may be suffering through unimaginable struggles.
- Pick up trash or do some landscaping or repairs for your neighbors who are older and have a hard time with the physicality.
- Possible Impact: Care for our elderly because it’s our job as a society.
- Make cookies for your team, your friends, your neighbors, anyone just because.
- Possible Impact: A random act of kindness is uplifting and will usually change the dynamic of your relationships with those in your community in a positive way. A lot of the time it will result in others paying it forward.
- Volunteer to do some light paperwork for any nonprofit that needs the help.
- Possible Impact: Be the reason paperwork and red tape didn’t keep someone from being fed or given shelter.
- Volunteer at the VA or other programs for Veterans.
- Possible Impact: Show a veteran that they are treasured and honored.
- Buy some extra groceries for a friend or someone you know who may be having a rough time due to a loss of a job or an illness or a death.
- Possible Impact: Help a mom feed her kids when she is overwhelmed with tragedy.
- Volunteer to mentor at risk kids.
- Possible Impact: Be the reason a kid may grow up to also become a positive contribution to society.
I added the possible impacts for a reason.
Here it goes.
Ask yourself if a meme would have had any of those possible impacts as soon as you posted it?
Resources for volunteers
Need more ideas or inspiration?
Here are some places where you can search for opportunities to help and sign up for something that matches your passions and skill levels.
VolunteerMatch.Org
VolunteerMatch.org currently has over 104, 000 opportunities to volunteer with more than 116,000 organizations that can use your help.
Use their search feature to connect with a cause that needs you.
JustServe.org
JustServe.org is a website run by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where the volunteer needs of organizations may be posted and volunteers may search for places to serve in the community.
According to their website, “Neither The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nor its website JustServe.org discriminates based on race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation to screen projects for posting or volunteers who may sign up to serve.”
Share your ideas
Do you have causes you are passionate about that can use volunteers?
I would love to hear about your ideas for ways we can actively make this world a better place.
Noticias Newswire 
18 Responses
I love this feature! I say this all the time, stop whining and do something, as whining won’t fix your situation. I especially love #1 and #12. I am huge on helping the homeless and mentoring kids! Thanks for this added boost of confidence!
This is so true. I honestly stayed away from my personal facebook account after the election because I just couldn’t handle how people were behaving. You make some great suggestions here, I especially like the smile one because it doesn’t take much and it could make a world of difference to someone.
Great suggestions on ways we can really be active! Thank you!
If we had more people volunteering and helping out we would all be better off. Just opening a door for someone, helping them load their groceries, saying thank you – simple courtesies that would just make everyone’s day just a little bit better.
It’s so scary and sad how we can so easily get wrapped up in all the negativity that we see online. People need to DO more positive things, and they also need to SHARE more positive stories!
This is one of my favorite articles. I have had to delete some people on social media because I just could not take the constant whining! I am very involved in Veteran Causes. My family has been impacted by combat veteran suicide. Volunteering is a fantastic way to give back and show appreciation in any cause. If you have a chance check out 22untilvalhalla and TheBarracksProject on facebook! They are awesome Veteran non profit organizations!
Thank you for sharing Shelley! I’ll definitely check them out.
You’re right, too many stand behind their keyboards and not on the front line. Taking action physically says a lot more than proclaiming it through social media. Donations and volunteering are definitely great ways to get the message out and a better way at making an impact.
This is a topic I preach on a daily business. The time spent complaining is a precious time you could have used in more positive and constructive tasks. It is so simple, AND WHY take it to social media?
Preach on Myrah. I’m the same, as I see so many needs and too many folks just giving lip service. We live in a free country and it’s everyone’s right to share views, but I personally put a lot more weight on the opinions of folks who also “do”.
Very true. Ranting on social media is useless, but lots of people do it. Volunteering and donating actually make a difference, but very few do it. No wonder the world is in the shape it’s in! “The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.” -Paulo Coelho
Oh my gosh! You could not have said it better! I wish people would just take control of their angry and focus their energy on the positive and actually do something about the reasons they’re complaining. I think it’s because people generally don’t like to take responsibility for bad behavior and just like to pass it onto others to fix. We are all responsible for everything that’s wrong in this country yet there aren’t enough of us who do anything more than whine and complain about it. Fantastic post and am soooo glad you pointed this out!
I agree with this post so much! People should just do some good versus complaining about this and that on social media. There’s also bashing on social media. People have nothing better to do should put their energy into doing good. Thanks for sharing. Hope this wakes more people more.
I’ve really backed away from my personal social media accounts. People are so hateful and ugly and it is just so sad to read all the hatred. I concentrate now just on my business social pages and steer clear of social drama. I would love to volunteer more if I had the time. I just need to learn to balance it all.
Its great that you included links to Volunteer organizations in this post
I love this post! Indeed, actions speak louder than words too 😉 Lots of people just do lip service but never really go and do what they preach. Hope this post is a wake up call to those who do!
I am LDS so I’ve been using JustServe.org for a few years now and I know it is a wonderful place to connect to organizations and communities that need help. I am so grateful you are bringing it to everyone’s awareness. I love the sentiment of your post, as well, because our voices are valuables, but like the Chinese proverb says, “talk don’t cook the rice.” Love you!
That is wonderful Elayna. Love the proverb. And now, I must borrow it. Un beso bella.