FREE REPORT - Fun Dates On A Budget - Charitable Related Section

Charitable

This won’t be a first few dates category, you’ll have to know the person a little bit before you do these, but you’ll get to know the “true” person inside by going to places like this with your date.

Ok, this is one of those categories that just doesn’t fit in with anything else, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. I’m not sure why, but not many people will freely own up to liking the feeling they get when they do something nice for someone else with no intention of getting a reward.

My husband and I watch “Extreme Makeover” every Sunday night because we like the feeling we get when we see people that don’t have much, those that have gotten a bad deal in life, get help in the way of a fresh new start with a new home. Man oh man, you never appreciate what you have so much as when you see others with so little and not complain.

Here are a few suggestions for “dates” that will make both of you appreciate what you have, no matter how little you think you have, because you’ll see others with so much less and still appreciating life.

Habitat for Humanity - WOW! Plan for the entire day, wear old clothes you have no problem getting dirty, bring gloves, and be ready to work like you’ve never worked! (just kidding, although you do stay pretty busy). Habitat for Humanity provides lunch and drinks so all you have to do is bring your two hands ready to work at whatever they tell you to do. You might tile (they show what to do every step of the way), you might paint, you might plant bushes, and you might just dig holes for mailboxes. You’ll spend the day with others who want to help those less fortunate and leave feeling like a million bucks. Exhausted, but feeling like you are on cloud nine because someone else is one day closer to having a better, safer life.

Soup Kitchens - Your bigger towns and cities especially will have these nearby. Help is always needed to assist in the distribution of food at these kitchens. You could spend an hour or a few hours, but help is always needed. HINT: if you have an extra couple cans/boxes of non-perishable food in your cabinets or pantry that you can donate, it is always appreciated. No matter how little you think you have, there are many, many others who have much less than you do.

Shelters - Most of the time, you won’t be able to just walk on in to these places. You’ll have to be completely screened and vetted before you get in the door, but if you are willing to take the time to do so, your heart will just swell up when the abuse, the neglect, the indifference that some people have endured, sometimes for many years, is right there smack in your face. These people need help! They need to know that there are others out there who CARE and who want to help them. I’ve brought in handmade quilts and bibs for the babies, brought in suits appropriate for interviews/work that I am no longer able to wear for those entering the work force, I’ve babysat children so their mother can go to that interview. You can read stories to the kids, teach an adult to read, and give basic lessons on how to use a computer. It doesn’t matter what you help with, it’s all needed. HINT: leave the nice clothes and jewelry at home, and don’t go bringing any attitude to these types of places. The people who live there have seen plenty of attitude and it wasn’t any of the right kind. Bring your heart, bring sincerity, and bring willingness to help with what is needed to assist another through the crisis they are in at the time. What your date and you will see in each other during a few hours spent here will show you more about each other than a hundred “dates” anywhere else. Beauty and youth last only so long, a loving helpful heart is there for life.

Hospitals and Nursing Homes - Talk about making others feel good, go visit someone who can’t get around to see their family and friends. Again, rules have changed in the last few years and because of safety concerns, you may need to go through a screening and vetting process before you are able to visit those not related to you. Check with each specific hospital or nursing home you’d like to visit to get the exact rules.

Do you have talented friends or family members who can sing or dance? Do you have a great reading voice where you’d be willing to spend time reading to a person or to a group? Are you the bubbly type who loves to get people excited about being in a game of some sort (name that tune, spelling bees, etc.)
Call a local nursing home and set up a time where a few of you can get together and do a short “review” of song and dance, add a reading, tell a few jokes (clean, of course!), get some people smiling!

Ok, Folks, that’s the list that came from brain storming last night with some friends about where to go and what to do for dates when you’re on a budget. I’m sure we’ll be thinking of other things in the near future and I’ll be adding them to this list and freshening it up.

Hope this report has been helpful to you in getting good ideas about dates that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Also, if it’s the ex you’re wanting to get back to dating, check out The Magic of Making Up because there is a right way and a wrong way to get your ex back. What you did before didn’t work, so you might want to try it This Way and watch what happens.