Originally Posted by Sewnoma

You can drive yourself crazy with that kind of thinking.

Is it more important to feed someone for a day? Or make them feel warm and loved for a year? Or what about medicine, maybe sick people need help more. If you spend time visiting with the elderly, are you "wasting" time that should be used helping a child learn to read? What about donating cat food to a shelter, is it better to help people? If I have $5 to donate, should I give $1 to five charities, or all $5 to one charity? Do I take care of local people, or help people far away who are worse off? If I have a single mom with five kids on one side and an elderly lady living on food stamps on the other side, which neighbor do I cook extra meals for?

No one person can take care of everybody and everything that needs help. So we each pick a thing or two or three that resonate with us personally and spend our time/energy/money there and hope all the bases get covered. Personally, I do a mix of things. I donate cash, food, quilts, and physical labor to a variety of places all year 'round. Some focus on the local community at large, some focus on elderly, children, animals, or people who are ill. And I do a walk-a-thon once a year for the local hospice. Some of it is done through my employer, some through my guild, some through community programs, and some on my own.

I WANT to get involved with the local convalescent hospital, the one my DH's grandmother lived in until she passed away. My FIL has continued to visit with the ladies there even though his mom is now gone, and I think that's wonderful and so I've asked him to find out if they could use some quilts, or maybe some small washable things to serve as bibs, or things like that. It's not a very cheerful place and I'd like to help brighten it up a bit. Maybe even some cheery wall hangings would be welcome - I hope I can do *something* for them.