Celebrate Adopt a Senior Pet Month

The statistics are horrible. Approximately 60% of dogs and 70% of cats entering animal shelters will be euthanized. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter shelters will be reunited with their guardians and nearly 4 million animals have to be put to sleep every year.

Animal shelters face difficult problems every day that include the lack of resources, space and volunteer time. Another challenge faced by animal shelters across the country is getting people to adopt senior animals.

There’s no denying that puppies and kittens are cute. Both have bounds of energy and will play until they are exhausted and willing to curl up on your lap. However, there are older dogs, cats and small animals that are looking for someone to take care of them during the time that they have left on earth.

Older pets certainly have their advantages. Senior pets probably won’t chew up your shoes or scratch your furniture and they are generally calmer, wiser and more focused. They will enjoy a slower paced walk and won’t demand undivided attention all day.

Senior pets make a perfect companion for someone who doesn’t have time to house train or go running with a puppy. They also make good companions for older adults, especially those living alone.

Many senior pets recognize the chance you are giving them and will return the favor with love.

How to Celebrate Adopt a Senior Pet Month

1. Adopt a senior pet.
2. Volunteer your time at a local animal shelter.
3. Donate blankets, towels or pet food to an animal shelter.
4. Promote Adopt a Senior Pet Month and encourage others to adopt a pet.

Helping an Elderly Neighbor Prepare for Winter

While we all realize the importance of practicing random acts of kindness, often we can get so caught up in our own schedule that we forget to do them as frequently as we would like. Winter is approaching (although from the warm weather across the US, it may not seem like it), and the changing of seasons brings with it yard work and tasks in preparation for winter. For many people, this involves raking leaves, cleaning gutters, changing to winter tires and putting away summer patio furniture. Most of these tasks are physical, and they can be challenging for older adults or individuals with disabilities. Therefore, a great way to help out a neighbor, friend, family member or even a stranger is to offer your assistance.

Here are some ways to help an older individual during the fall and winter:

Rake Leaves
Skip the gym for a day and offer to help an elderly neighbor rake their leaves. Although fallen leaves can be picturesque, if they are not raked up they can be unsightly in the spring and cause problems with the grass growing underneath them.

Clean Gutters
Many older individuals try to be as independent as possible. However, would you want your older parents or grandparents up on a ladder cleaning gutters? In areas of the country that see four seasons, most gutters will get clogged with fallen leaves and debris. When they are not cleaned out for a period of time, the clog can prevent rain water from going down the downspout. It will instead leak over the gutter – ruining flower beds below – and into basements.

Check House for Drafts and Help Seal Windows
Houses with drafts or unsealed windows could see their heating bills skyrocket. To prevent this, seal windows with special insulator plastic and install draft stoppers.

Shovel Snow
Winter is a dangerous time for elderly people. The elderly are more susceptible to the flu and icy sidewalks are dangerous. If you have an older neighbor, spend an extra five to ten minutes shoveling off their walkways while you are doing your own. This will prevent a neighbor from slipping on ice or save them from enduring a potential back injury.

Check in During a Storm
On those especially cold and icy days, check in with a neighbor to make sure everything is going well. They may need groceries or prescriptions picking up but be unable to get to the store themselves because of the weather.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

7 Ways To Make Someone’s Day

I woke up this morning just feeling glum as can be, but I opened my email to a heartfelt Thank-You email from somebody I used to do business with and it simply made my day.  I am inspired.  I honestly can’t think of anything more organic or green than joy, love and smiles… so today, this week, this month, and this year we could all benefit from simply being nicer and actually DOING random acts of kindness.  Here’s seven ideas to get you started:

1) Compliment two people and mean it!

Surely, you can come up with two genuine compliments for two people that you see daily.  Tell people what a good job they are doing, how grateful you are to have them on your team, or how nice it is to work alongside them.

2) Pick up the next guy’s tab

It’s cheesy, I know… but it really can be nice.  In these tough times people are pinching pennies, and even the $5.00 or so makes a difference for many.

3) Tip your waiter 50%

If you’ve ever been a waiter, then you know how crummy days can be.  Sometimes, a few extra dollars can totally change the feel and flow of the rest of a shift or even the rest of the day.

4) Volunteer somewhere

Every day I am astounded at how many dot-orgs I find.  There is something in your community that you can participate and volunteer with.  Sometimes just being an extra person touches a life in a way that you may never know.

5) Send 5 Thank-You cards for services people have provided in the last month

With information traveling SO fast, participating in a “thank-you” culture as often as possible will be good for business and good for you personally.  Thank people more often for the things you do and enjoy where life can go!

6) Write somebody a sincere letter

Can you even remember the last time you received a heart-felt, genuine, and expressive physical letter from a friend or family member?  A signed and sealed envelope that IS NOT a bill is enough to make my day, but a sincere letter from a loved friend might make somebody’s whole year.

7) Tell a manager when you receive outstanding customer service

I used to work for a cellular telephone provider in a call center – it was hell.  The rare occasion that somebody asked to speak with a supervisor after our call was often a great thing as they were giving me “kudos” which were displayed and announced for everybody to see.  It felt great!

How Will You Serve Your Communtity on King Day of Service 2010?

“January 18, 2010  is King Day of Service a day ON, not a day off.”

On Monday, January 18- millions of American organizations close so that their employees, students, volunteers etc can observe Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday- commonly referred to as “MLK Day”.  Since 1986, this federal holiday is observed in our country on the third Monday of January each year to mark King’s birthday, January 15 but it was not observed by all 50 states until the year 2000.   Because the holiday is still  relatively new, traditions to observe are still evolving.

In 1994- Congress designated the King Holiday a national day of service and the King Day of Service has grown every year since that time.   In 2009 President Obama very publicly urged our nation to observe the call to service which resulted in a record number of Americans turned out to honor Dr. King by helping their neighbors and communities.  It was reported that more than one million volunteers served on 13,000 projects taking place in all 50 states.

Many of us think of a holiday as a day off- and in the dead of winter it is very tempting to stay in; read a book, watch movies, etc.  But perhaps it is time for more of us to actively participate in King Day of Service- and encourage our friends and neighbors to do the same.

What better way to honor the courage and selfless devotion that Dr. King exemplified and inspired in an entire generation than to give back to your community in any way that you can?  King Day of Service is a symbol of how Dr. King’s legendary dream is still alive and unfolding.

This MLK Day Toolkit is designed to provide you with the information you need to create projects and events in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life through the MLK Day of Service.

Check out some of the media coverage from 2009 about the President and First Lady’s participation, interviews with volunteers, and footage of service projects.  Please tell us how you are planning to serve on King Day of Service 2010 on our Facebook Page.

Tis the Season to be Stressed Out

Tis the Season to be stressed out, fa la la la la la la laa. But I am here to remind you that it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes we become so overwhelmed with big picture stresses like Christmas parties, family vacations, bills, work schedules, money, buying presents, cooking, etc (and the list goes on and on and on…). This Holiday season try to remind yourself that just because you are facing a problem doesn’t mean you have to be one for the people around you. Try to maintain a healthy physical and mental state of mind this Holiday season. Here are a few things I recommend:

Cozy up with some green tea and lose yourself in a good book

Go for a run! Release those endorphins and you will immediately feel better after you work out your daily stresses

Drink a cup of warm vanilla milk, it soothes the soul

Enjoy your surroundings and mother nature. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful world; breathe in the fresh air and be thankful

Sing. Belt your favorite song loudly, badly, off key, in the car, wherever-however

Slow down. Take a moment to look around you and find beauty in your surroundings. You will see that the little things are enough to make you smile

Bake some holiday cookies

Be kind and polite and you’ll find that you just might receive it in return

Take the dog for a walk. Nothing will entertain you more than watching your dog try to mark its territory on every single fire hydrant

Be present. Turn off your cell phone and computer for awhile

Take a power nap with your head at the other end of the bed

Indulge in your guilty pleasures

Choose happiness, gratitude and a positive behavior

Play hooky J (you deserve it every once and awhile)

Take a warm shower before bed to help calm your nerves so you are able to get a good nights’ sleep

Volunteer at a local organization, good for the heart, mind, body and soul

Practice Yoga and breathe deep

Listen to some good music… Pandora Christmas Station will surely get you back in the Christmas spirit

More importantly, remind yourself what the Holiday season is really about. Hopefully once you have given yourself time away from a stressful situation you can look back and realize it may not have been as stressful as you first thought it was. So, when you feel yourself slipping into a bad mood, try and think positive and remind yourself… it’s all good