Editorial: This season, you should give a duck

Season’s greetings everyone!

You’ve heard it before: it’s better to give than receive. And that’s all well and good… in theory. The truth of it is that you’re probably writing your little letter to Santa now, or at least thinking about it. Or maybe you’re like us and you’ve reminded yourself that Christmas is around the corner and that you can wait a few more weeks so that someone else can buy you that thing you really want — hint hint.

We here at The Reflector would like to give you the friendly reminder that the holiday season is about giving, not getting. The holidays may be wildly commercialized, but there’s truth in that old adage. Giving will actually make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And what better gift to give this season than a goat?

In the bustle and business of the season—amid decking the halls and baking cookies and lighting candles for Hanukkah and wrapping presents and spending time with family—people often forget about volunteering or giving to charity. You’ve probably started a holiday shopping list for your family, but what about the people you don’t know?

There are a lot of organizations out there that need donations to support families, both in your community and around the world. You have probably heard of a lot of them, and even heard of what they do. Although there’s a good chance you’re bogged down by a bunch of different organizations asking all sorts of things from you, you can still give a duck. Check out organizations like FHCanada, WorldVision and Unicef online. Among offering farm animals as donation prospects, they also have other options like sending medicine and other needed items to places around the world. And with the miracle of the Internet, you don’t even need to leave your home to do it.

But if you don’t have the money, which most of us students don’t, then, please, give your time. There’s so many options: you can help out at a soup kitchen, become a big brother or a big sister, or clean out your closet and donate some of your old clothes to the Mustard Seed.

For volunteer prospects, check out Propellus online—formerly known as Volunteer Calgary—to find out how you can roll your sleeves up and help. And if you’re giving a duck this season, tell us about it at @reflectthis.