The recent earthquake in Haiti got me thinking more about activism and donating. I am an environmentalist, I try to live ‘green’, and I also donate when I can.  However, I think that it can be hard to figure out how to be eco-friendly, how to help others, or what to do to help solve ecological and social issues (which is one of the reasons why I blog and write so much about eco living: to reach out, share, and educate others about simple but effective green ideas!)
 
     Though many people donate to or are active in different social and ecological causes, I think that (based on my thesis research, talking to others, and also reading recent forum threads) the main reasons why some people do not donate or are not active in green activities are lack of time and lack of funds.  Many people in my local community who do not currently donate or participate in other environmental activities (such as buying eco-friendly items or recycling) stated they care about the environment.  In many cases, I’ve found that people care about ecological as well as social issues, but they may not know what they can do to help, think that the little they can do won’t make an impact (which is further from the truth!), may not have enough time (busy focusing on daily living, raising their families, or other activities), or may not be able to give right now (because of their own economical situations).

     So I’ve decided to share some simple ways to donate or give back to communities, which don’t take a lot of time or money to do.