Today's #SundayService is focused on services...emergency services that is. Let's take today to thank the first responders in our communities.  Drop by your local stations with thank you's of some kind. Baked yummies, gift cards for restaurants that deliver, donations for a charity that supports those agencies, or whatever you come up with that would show these important people in our communities appreciation for their work. I gave some ideas in last week's sneak peak, here they are if you missed them (of course you can always do your own Google search!): police , firefighter , for all .  There's even an organization that has a grassroots movement started to create a National First Responders Day to bring attention to the approximately 25,300,000 first responders in the United States alone. Check them out at thankyoufirstresponder.org  

Got litter? Your community does, mine does too. I don't know how many litterbugs I've got in my area but I do have high winds from time to time. And when those winds kick up - especially on trash pickup days - I see trash flying around that didn't make it in the trucks or flew out of the cans that tipped over. I see the trash swirling and flying through the air and landing in the ditches and catching on tree branches and getting caught up in brush. And I cringe. So even if there are no litterbugs - and I really hope nobody I know is one - there is still litter to clean up thanks to wind and other out-of-our-control factors.  For #SundayService take one hour, grab some family and friends, and go clean up an area in your community. You'll need heavy duty trash bags, gloves, a bin for the recyclables, sturdy shoes, and water. One hour and many hands and you'll be surprised at how much you pick up and how much better the area you choose looks! If we a...

Your local food pantries will never turn away donations of food, hygiene items, or money. Today for #SundayService contact your local food pantries and find out what their needs are and then go collecting!  Just so you have an idea of how far a dollar stretches at a food pantry versus some box store grocery store, check out this visual:  I read an article earlier this year that gave some insight about "those people" who need to use the food pantry services. So before you go collecting and filling up a food pantry please read this article from someone who has needed and used a food pantry.  I hope it will open your eyes, as it did mine, to the kinds of foods people who use the services would appreciate. Perhaps it will even change your mind about the kinds of people who need the service food pantries provide.  There's a lot of hunger in the world, let's start to ease it today by reaching those closest to us.  * Next #SundayServi...

Today's #SundayService could be super fun - turn it into a game, a competition between created teams, and celebrate at the end of the day with an ice cream sundae bar or something sweet. There are people in the neighborhoods of your communities who need help. Elderly people, disabled people, single parents, or that person who is working three jobs (as an example) and is just barely making it. Sometimes, in fact I think most often, it is the mundane things of our day-to-day in our homes that overwhelm us. Gutters that are clogged, shrubs that are overgrown, light fixtures and baseboards that need repair, just to name a few. And when those tasks get accomplished things feel a little easier to handle. So today take care of some of those things for people who can't for whatever reason. Lighten the load for people today by doing those tasks they can't get to. I ran across this idea (below) on Pinterest which I think can make it even more fun to do. Or create...