Happy October everyone. Halloween is just around the corner (and so is Dia de los Muertos)! I love this month — fall has finally kicked in, the leaves are changing and everything seems to be ‘pumpkin’ flavored. Plus the smell of burning leaves and wood stoves…… ahhhhhhh.
This month’s Thankful Thursday is a little different in that the first three ideas/pieces are taken from a great post by Katie Dupere that I found on Mashable. I loved her research (and compilation) about putting an appreciation twist to Halloween so much that I had to share some of it. She listed six ideas and I shared three of them, but I have provided a link to her complete list too. As each is a story in itself you’ll see why I needed to pass it along.
Time to sit back and enjoy these five links that make me smile on this Thankful Thursday — (My tribute to stories and videos that exemplify appreciation, those that have moved me, and other people making a difference.)
The following three ideas are picked up from Katie’s post. You can read her full article of 6 ideas here:
“If you’re looking to add some good to your Halloween routine, try these three ways to give back.
1. Donate your leftover Halloween candy
Did you plan for 300 trick-or-treaters and only had a dozen costumed kids show up at your door? Don’t feel burdened to eat boatloads of leftover candy — consider donating it.
Factory-sealed, wrapped candy is exactly what charities are looking for after the Halloween fun is over.
- Many branches of Ronald McDonald House Charities take candy donations to give to families involved in their programs.
- Other organizations, such as Operation Shoebox, send more durable candy (read: not melty chocolate) overseas for those involved in military service.
- If you want to make a more local impact, reach out to your favorite neighborhood charities to see if they could use the extra sweets.
2. Donate last year’s costumes
What can you do with those costumes of Halloweens past that are simply taking up space in your closet? Donate them.
Charities such as ‘Ween Dream are in the business of providing Halloween costumes to children of families that otherwise couldn’t afford them. Many local charities take costume donations, too, so check in with your neighborhood favorites to see if they could use your costume stash.
Just remember to wash your donatable [sic] costumes before packing them up — and skip the giving if the costumes aren’t in “almost new” condition.
If you don’t have any old costumes to donate, consider donating money. Those funds could go to buying new costumes for children who require specific considerations, such as respiratory and immune sensitivities, or physical disabilities that require custom costume options.
3. Trick-or-treat for a good cause
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is a popular campaign promoted by the organization, encouraging children to trick-or-treat for donations instead of candy. The goal is to “help kids who need more than candy” by giving the money collected to support UNICEF’s efforts.
Support UNICEF — or your favorite cause — by going door-to-door with a child in your life for donations instead of just sweets. As UNICEF says, it’s “scary how much good you can do.” “
As a side note: UNICEF was something my brother and I always collected for on Halloween. In fact, my brother once dressed up as a UNICEF box. Boy I wish I had a picture of him!
Again some great ideas Katie compiled to put the appreciation back into a “gimme gimme gimme” holiday. Be sure to follow Katie Dupere on Mashable or on Twitter as well.
4. This Artwork Takes an Interesting View via Up-cycling
Title: The Effects of Deforestation Source: Copyright ©Joanna Wirażka | awirazka16 / Upworthy All Rights Reserved
Title: Loneliness Can Be Beautiful. Source: Copyright ©Joanna Wirażka | awirazka16 / Upworthy All Rights Reserved
I was blown away after seeing Upworthy’s post on Joanna Wirażka, a 16-year-old artist who uses falling leaves as her canvas for places she’d like to see. The best part, she wasn’t doing this for the attention as she thought no one would care.
Her artwork became well-known after an art blog shared a picture of her first leaf. The rest is history.
You can view the story of her paintings here or visit Joanna Wirażka’s Instagram.
5. NFL Player Honors His Mother During Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Beyond
I’m always impressed with those who step up and do something impressive. More impressive for me is the professional athlete who never forgets where he came from and uses his new fortune and celebrity to make a difference.
Meet DeAngelo Williams who lost his mother in 2014 to breast cancer when she was just 53-years-old. He’s pledged to cover the cost of 53 mammograms (the same number as the age she passed away) at hospitals in the Pittsburgh, PA and Charlotte, NC through his nonprofit, The DeAngelo Williams Foundation.
You’ll enjoy his story. One of his best quotes I read was one he gave after someone noted that October was designated for breast cancer awareness, “It’s not just about October for me; it’s not just a month, it’s a lifestyle.” You can see that he’s clearly committed to this cause. DeAngelo also enjoys wearing pink throughout the year, but has seen some resistance by the NFL when outside of October. For him, “Pink is not a color. It’s a culture to me.” Confident words from a MAN in deed.
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