I did things a little different this past holiday season. I was that girl who didn’t participate in Secret Santa with my co-workers. Yeah, I caught some shade but you know what? I don’t even care because I had a higher purpose. I saved up that extra money to give back in a big way! We can all do with a bit of extra cash, which is why you may see new bloggers wanting to learn more about affiliate marketing, in the hopes of working with brands in the future and getting some extra cash. Either way, we can all choose to spend it however we like.
Recently I conducted my first seminar for the Urban Resource Institute called Rebuild Your Life with Wasidah. URI is an amazing organization that provides social services for New Yorkers who are suffering and recovering from domestic violence. And, yep, all that Secret Santa money went to providing each of my attendees with gifts– from my own branded products (Wasidah’s Coconut and Coffee Body Scrub and Body Cream) to brightly colored lipstick provided by GloGirl Cosmetics, a black-owned cosmetics company that my homegirl Thembisa Mshaka put me onto.
During my seminar, I talked about how I was able to turn my life around in less than a year after my divorce, plus we talked about goal setting and I even provided the ladies with food and drink. At the end of the day, there were a lot of tears being shed– I’m not gonna lie, I was crying too! LOL! It was an emotional day. I feel really blessed to have been able to give back in this way. And I’d skip Secret Santa any day to do it again!
3 tips for giving back:
- Choose something you’re passionate about to donate your time or money. I started with Dress for Success because I worked as a stylist and I know that appearance is very important.
- Decide what you can give. If you’re donating your time, decide on a specific amount of time to give, like an hour a month. If you’re giving money you should decide on an amount you can maintain over time.
- Think small. There was a woman in my seminar who had the goal of being able to make a cup of coffee on a regular basis. Even if you can’t give your time or make a cash donation, it would be super easy for you to donate some coffee.
