A report from Food Banks Canada this week indicated one in five Canadians is going hungry—a startling statistic that sadly is not unique to this country. It’s a reminder of how many people depend on the charity of others. Today, on Simple Living Sunday, I’m exploring three types of charitable giving: time, talent and treasure.
Wealth isn’t always measured in dollar signs. We each have time, talent and creativity, all of which can be powerful forces for positive change. Share your blessings in whatever form they come and to whatever level you have been blessed.
Jon M. Huntsman
Three simple pleasures and highlights
Continuing my practice of celebrating the simple things in life, here are three simple pleasures and highlights of the last week.
- Last weekend, my daughters and I went for high tea with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and our niece. It was a celebration we originally planned for my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday in 2020. It was cancelled because of COVID and we finally were able to reschedule it. It was delicious.
- Wednesday was our daughter Laura’s college graduation. She graduated with honours. We were so grateful to be able to celebrate in person—graduations have been virtual for the last two years. After the ceremony, we went out for a lovely lunch.
- After a couple of rainy days, Friday was a perfect day—sunny and around 20 degrees. I enjoyed my lunchtime walk.
This week’s simple living focus: Giving time, talent or treasure
It always saddens me that in a country as rich as Canada, so many people struggle to provide basic necessities like food and housing. And we’re not alone. The same could be said for most western countries. And despite Kim Kardashian making headlines with her recent pearls of wisdom privileged stupidity, I don’t believe it can all be solved by people getting off their asses and working harder!
As the gap between the rich and the poor widens, more people need help than ever before. Clearly our governments need to do a better job of putting policies in place to narrow that gap. This week’s report from Food Banks Canada highlights the inequities in our society with close to half of low income, Black and Indigenous households reporting food insecurity. We have to do better.
The good news—many of us are in a position to help and make a difference in our communities. When we think of charity, money is the first thing that comes to mind, but there are other ways to give. I first heard the expression “time, talent and treasure” last year when we were planning our holiday giving campaign at work. I’m not sure where it originated, but it’s a powerful reminder that we all have something of value to give.
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
William Shakespeare
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Three things to do this week
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the three ways you can give.
Give your time
In an earlier Simple Living Sunday post, I wrote about the rewards of caring for others. Giving your time is one of the most satisfying things you can do.
Your church community or local community centre is a good place to start. Organizations like Volunteer Canada can also help you find charities in your local community that need your help.
Give your talent
What’s your superpower? Is there a way to use it to help others and make your community stronger? Giving your talent is a natural extension of giving time. Your business skills could help someone struggling to find a job or get ahead. If you love to write, maybe you could help someone write a cover letter or brush up their resume.
Give your treasure
Finally, giving treasure is what most people think of when it comes to charity. If you have the means, it’s the quickest and easiest way to help. Find a cause you can support and make a donation. Food Banks Canada or the Food Bank of Waterloo Region are always in need of donations.
If you work for a large company, they may have a charitable donation matching program. See if they will double your donation.
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
Mother Teresa
Sadly, I don’t foresee us ever living in a world where we don’t need charity. Greed and selfishness aren’t going away anytime soon, but we can all do our part to be forces for good in the world.
How do you give your time, talent and treasure? Tell me your thoughts below.
I love this! I agree that is important that we all contribute in some shape or form to help others. I love to volunteer my time at my daughters school to help out the teachers.
That’s great Suzanne. When my daughters were in school I worked full time so I couldn’t volunteer during the day. I did, however, serve on school council for several years and helped with events in the evening. It really helped me stay close to the school community and get to know the teachers and other parents.
Agree, with inflation and the pandemic it is even harder for most people, it is important for all of us to help in all the ways we can. Thank you for the thoughtful reminder!
Thanks for reading and commenting. It’s good to remember that most of us are able to contribute in some way, even if we don’t have a lot of money.