Christmas is the ultimate feel-good season, right? Copious amounts of gift giving, delicious food, visiting friends and family, singing carols and watching animated movies whilst wearing those pyjamas. It's therefore not all that surprising that when the tinsel is packed away and we've already broken our New Year's resolution we can feel a little blue. So, what can you do this January that has the ultimate feel-good factor?
How about giving £50 to charity, £150 even?! Well as lovely as that would be (and I'm sure would pump some of that 'I did something awesome for others' adrenaline around your body), in January most of us are feeling the pinch after Christmas and that simply isn't realistic. So, what else could you do?
Well, how much do you value your own time, say 5 or 10 hours? Work that out and I'm sure you'd agree it would be pretty great to be able to donate that much to a cancer charity working really hard to make a difference. Well now you can, by becoming a skill volunteer through Fcancer!
Nothing will give you more of that warm and fuzzy feeling than giving a bit of your time and lending your awesome skills to a cancer charity looking for someone just like you. You see, many charities have little money available to pay for superb individuals like you who are essential for their latest project, so they go onto fcancer.org and post their project and the skills they require.
Meanwhile, you, a generous, philanthropic and talented individual (oh yes you are!) can scroll through the projects to look for charities needing your help, or simply apply to be matched and the clever Fcancer website will do all the hard work for you! Soon enough you'll hear from a delighted cancer charity who see you as a match made in heaven and ta-dah, you're a skill volunteer with a fabulous CV, recognition for your hard work and that glow of someone who did something for others without having to spend a penny. Sounds pretty awesome right?
This January, rather than convincing yourself it is the year you will use that gym membership, that you'll be fluent in Cantonese by the autumn, or that you'll lose a few pounds by trying the latest fad diet, why not set your mind on something easy to succeed in, that helps others, builds your experience and won't cost you a penny.
Whether you're an MC, researcher, marketer, designer, nifty with a camera or skilled in whipping people into shape and co-ordinating an event, there's a charity out there that needs you. Make this January your feel-good month and kick start your New Year by pledging your time through Fcancer.