Make A Difference On Human Solidarity Day

Give some of your time – whether a few days or just a few hours – to organisations who rely on help from volunteers to keep running. At this time of year, there are plenty of opportunities, including supporting homeless people with Crisis at Christmas, volunteering at your local food bank, working in a charity shop, helping at a local youth centre, coming together to combat loneliness amongst older people with Age UK, and so much more. You can maximise your skills and even offer IT or marketing support to a charity like the Samaritans if you can’t commit to being one of the helpline’s listening volunteers.

From Christmas Jumper Day, to training for half marathons (and everything in between), there are a host of events and activities you can participate in to support charities and those in need. Or, why not set up your own fundraiser with friends, family or work colleagues? Take your pick from cake sales, coffee mornings, Christmas quizzes, a festive movie marathon, winter walk, crafting afternoon, or you could even offer a gift-wrapping service to friends and co-workers for a small donation.

If you can’t spare any time, there are so many amazing charitable organisations that would be extremely grateful for any kind of monetary support. Whether you want to offer solidarity with people suffering across the globe by supporting UNICEF; want to stand against hate, racism and inequality by donating to the Stephen Lawrence Foundation; give young homeless people a future with Centrepoint; or help create magical gardens at hospices that can be enjoyed by children with life-limiting illnesses and their families, with Greenfingers, there is a wealth of important work you can help to fund.

Remember, the decisions you make, the products you consume and the waste you generate impact others; either close to home or thousands of miles away across the world. The waste we send to landfill will still be there, polluting the environment, for generations to come. Meanwhile, tonnes of single-use plastics that can’t be recycled in the UK are shipped out to developing countries that lack sufficient disposal infrastructure and have high rates of pollution and poverty. This plastic waste pollutes waterways, can be burned illegally, spewing out toxic fumes and having a hugely detrimental effect on the lives of locals and wildlife.

Make a change for good by reducing the amount of plastic you use and buy, opt for recycled products or those that can be recycled and re-used, limiting their impact on the environment. Support organisations like Plastic Bank, which has set up recycling centres in Haiti, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, and the Philippines, helping to turn plastic waste into currency and giving people a way out of poverty, whilst preventing plastic pollution from entering the waterways. The game-changing result, Social Plastic® is then sold back into the supply chain for manufacturers to produce more environmentally- and socially-ethical products. Yes, recycled plastic already exists but this has the added social benefit of support impoverished communities.