There's Still Time for Giving

In addition to thinking about New Year's Eve plans, many people also realize that the end-of-the-year is their last opportunity to make any charitable donations eligible to be included on the year's taxes.  For those of us who work best under pressure, this deadline is a helpful reminder that it is time to fulfill our charitable goals! Sometime during the last week of the year, my husband and I usually take stock of what we have already donated throughout the year, and write some last-minute checks to the charities we support.

During the last few days of December I am sure places like Good Will and The Salvation Army are busy. After receiving new things during the holiday, many people identify items that they no longer need or want, but that someone else might.  Decluttering before the year ends feels good!  

Even if you don't have any goods or funds to give away, there are other easy ways to be generous. Charitable donations can be in the form of our time, our efforts, and even our blood.

Yes, I said our “blood.”

There is a certain amount of pride involved with getting one of these stickers!

The gift of life is perhaps the most priceless gift of all.  Anyone who has donated blood may have saved a life.  According to  the American Red Cross “every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood” and “more than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day."

Fortunately, giving blood is a very easy thing to do.

Squeezing a rubber ball speeds up the process!

There are some qualifications necessary to be able to donate blood.  You can review an explanation of this here.  Prior to donating, each volunteer is asked a lot of questions and given a mini-health assessment.

Don't despair if you find out you are ineligible, either temporarily or permanently. When I was in college, some foreign travel I had done made me an ineligible donor candidate at that time.  However, I still helped to potentially save lives, by co-chairing and organizing a campus blood drive as one of my projects as a student nurse. It was thrilling to realize we had helped promote such a huge volunteer response. There are lots of ways a person can help with this crucial need.

It is easy to find out where and when your nearest blood drive is.  The American Red Cross website is a great place to start.  There may not be time left to set up an appointment before the end of the year to give blood, but the need will still be there in 2015.  Giving blood regularly throughout the year would be a great New Year's resolution.

I have made it one of mine.

I don't usually document my blood donations with a photo, but this time I asked them to take one for my blog!

Do you know anyone who has benefited by receiving a blood product?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!