serve local :: serve global

November 15, 2011


Serve Global...
Micro-lend as little as $25 through Kiva and help alleviate poverty in one of 61 participating countries, including right here in the U.S. Nervous to lend your dollars? Don't be. The repayment rate is almost 99% and 100% of your dollars goes directly towards the loan, helping small business owners take charge of their lives and empower the communities they live in. And don't forget - you get your money back - either to cash out or to fund a new opportunity.  Go to Kiva.org.


Serve Local...
The Chaikin family is very similar to ours (2 young kids, grad student budget) and just lost their home in my neighborhood to an electrical fire. Thank God, no one was injured, but they've lost almost everything. Members of a support network they are a part of here in Somerville - Parents Nursery Community - are working selflessly to raise money and gather donations for the Chaikins' - including their 3 year old and their baby. Perhaps they are not geographically local, but I often wonder - why does geography matter when we serve...
If you'd like to make a small donation, even $5, please click here. 


November 1, 2011

Serve Global...
Want to learn about a cause? Already committed to a cause? Donate your birthday wish or any events in your life to raise money and awareness for the causes that matter most to you.  Learn more at Causes.com

Serve Local...
Find a bowl. Can be cute. Doesn't have to be. Find a few pieces of scrap paper. Write down something you're thankful for on each paper. Fold them up. Place them in the bowl. Now, you've got a gratitude bowl! Place it somewhere accessible for the days when you need a reminder of what it is about this crazy life you're grateful for. How does this serve anyone? Well...you count as somebody, right? If you write down something about someone in particular, mail the paper to them in a card, or take a phone pic of it and send. See, there ya go. A little serving of gratitude. 

October 28, 2011

Serve Global...

Sign the petition to end the one-child policy in China and take a stand against gendercide, the systematic elimination of girls; in 2007, the Chinese government reported that there were 37 million more men than women in China. Visit All Girls Allowed to sign the petition and learn more. 

Serve Local...

Shoot a quick email or call a friend you haven't talked to in a looong time. You miss them, right? You've thought about them, right? Well, take 5 minutes and let them know. It will make their day, and actually, it'll probably make yours too.  


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Mama blogs are interesting, don't get me wrong. We all love our stints of shopping, bargain deals, latest trends, and family friendly hotspots. But who we are and what we love are beyond those things. We care about cause, we care about purpose. And each of us serves the world a dose of good in our own way. First, and most importantly - within our families. 

I want to know, though - what other ways does your heart serve the world? Maybe it's through prayer, maybe it's through action. I have evolved over the years from thinking that the bigger the cause the better to believing that genuine intention and genuine humility lead us to invest ourselves in what we are really meant to do, regardless of scale and certainly regardless of self-benefit. I am trying to check my own need for praise at the door and serve the tiny corners of the world that I can touch today, with my own two hands, and do so without calculating gain or cost.

So a few days a week, I'll post ideas you might consider about how to serve global and serve local. Remember, small is beautiful.