Socially Single: What the world needs now

Kelsey_1By Kelsey Foster

I was set to write on a totally different topic until Monday afternoon. With the tragic and horrific events that unfolded in Boston, I decided to scrap what I’d started and write this instead.

It’s easy to feel angry and helpless when evil strikes, I know my tears yesterday turned into anger like many other people’s did. However, I know that the best practice is to maintain a sense of compassion and love.

One of the greatest things that a terrible event can do is show us our humanity. We witness people willing to help complete strangers and rise to an occasion that they didn’t choose. In that spirit, here are some ways  you can help a fellow neighbor and spread love. As the song says, what the world needs now is love sweet love.

Volunteer
Many nonprofits rely on volunteers and it’s a great way to actively participate in the community and make a difference for a cause you feel passionately about.

Edmonds has a Volunteer Beach Docent program and also seeks volunteers in helping plan some community events.

Hopelink has a variety of volunteer opportunities in the greater Puget Sound area.

PAWS relies on volunteers at their Lynnwood location. Volunteers receive training in safe animal handling techniques.

VolunteerMatch.org is another place to search for a variety of organizations looking for volunteers in the area.

Clean Up
The annual Edmonds spring beach cleanup is taking place on Saturday, April 27th at Olympic Beach. If you can’t make that date, you can always grab a trash bag and spend an hour at one of the beaches or local parks and pick up litter on your own.

Pay It Forward
The concept of paying it forward includes small things like paying for the person behind you in the coffee drive-thru line to larger gestures like people who have anonymously paid off the layaway accounts that included toys at stores like Kmart during the holidays. It doesn’t always have to be financial, either. Pulling your neighbor’s trash cans in off the street on a rainy day is an easy and kind thing to do.

My whole point here is to be aware of opportunities, large and small, to brighten someone’s day or offer a major helping hand in a time of need. Helping each other strengthens our community. Giving feels good. And that is the best way I can think of to move forward after someone has tried to break us.

Kelsey Foster is a dating and relationship coach in Edmonds. She is releasing a new book this month titled Adios, Heartbreak. Find out more information on her website www.kelseyfoster.com.

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