Recently, PunditMom celebrated her 50th birthday by pledging to donate $1 to the Capital Area Food Bank for every comment left on her site that day. At the end of the day, she donated $110. I promised her I’d be matching her gift and issuing my own challenge. So here’s my challenge to you:

Do something.

If you want to match (or exceed) our donations, that’s fantastic. If you can’t afford that, give what you can (to a foodbank, not to me).

Issue a challenge to your friends, your co-workers, your readers, and your family. Set your own goals. Choose your own beneficiaries.

I could rehash ideas like skipping your Starbucks run once a week and putting the money aside, but you’re (mostly) grownups so I’m sure you can think of ways to set aside some part of your budget to help other people.

Although foodbanks are in the spotlight during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, hunger is a daily crisis. So, that means that although I’m issuing this challenge to you right now, you can act on it at any time and in any way you’re able. And you can do-good without even telling anyone if you don’t want to spoil your cranky image. The point isn’t to be virtuous, the point is to help someone else because you can. You can be virtuous if you want, I want stop you, but it’s not required.

If you’re fortunate enough to not have any idea how to find your local food bank, Feeding America has a food bank locator that’s very easy to use.

Feeding America also makes it easy to find ongoing volunteer opportunities in your community, so even if you don’t have any extra money you can still make a big difference to some very vulnerable people. They also have an extensive links list of local and international relief organizations.

Don’t forget the Hunger Site, which continues to grow and expand and has a store of amazing remade and recycled products that would make great gifts and help others and the planet.

Here’s another great idea that won’t cost you any money – look up your local Turkey Trot. Chances are good it’s a fundraiser for your local foodbank. Go volunteer. It’ll get you away from your family for hours.

Bonus.

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edited to add: Domestic violence and homeless shelters don’t necessarily show up in the foodbank database. I’ll write another post later in the week with suggestions for finding other local organizations, but a google search is probably your best approach. Remember that shelters for battered women rarely list an address, for obvious reasons, so you’re looking for their donation address and not their physical location.