Aspen Medical’s Post

🎉 Happy International Day of Charity from Big and Little Web Design! 🎉 As the fall season approaches, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how we can give back to our communities. Here are some impactful and easy ways to make a difference: 🍂 Thanksgiving Food Baskets: Start collecting non-perishable food items to create Thanksgiving meal baskets for families in need. 🧥 Warm Clothing Collection & Blanket Drives: Winter is on the way. Consider donating coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and blankets to help those in need stay warm. 🍁 Elderly or Disabled Assistance: Offer to rake leaves or perform yard work for elderly neighbors or those who may have difficulty doing it themselves. 🎨 Visit a Nursing Home: Organize fall-themed crafts, decorations, or treats to brighten the days of nursing home residents. 📚 Tutoring or Mentoring: Volunteer your time to tutor or mentor students as they settle back into the school routine. 🌳 Tree Planting & Fall Cleanup: Participate in or organize a tree-planting event, or join a cleanup effort to maintain local parks and trails. Let’s make this fall about coming together and making a positive impact. Small actions can create big changes! 💙 👉 https://lnkd.in/g8qGixNT #InternationalDayOfCharity #CorporateSocialResponsibility #CommunityEngagement #GiveBack #BigAndLittleWebDesign

At DFR, community is the heart of everything we do. We strive to ensure our programs honor the dignity of every individual we serve. Instead of relying on a single hub to distribute recovered food, our decentralized No Cost Grocery Program (NCGP) model allows us to meet people where they are—in their own communities, where they feel safe and comfortable. We partner with 21 nonprofits, schools, health centers, and resident councils so that people can easily access food in familiar, trusted community spaces. Often, community members themselves help set up and distribute the food, meaning neighbors are receiving food from people they know and trust—not from outsiders who may not fully understand their unique needs and preferences. This model prioritizes agency, which is the first step toward achieving true food sovereignty. 💚 Help us sustain this work by donating to Denver Food Rescue this Colorado Gives Day at https://lnkd.in/grnBY_2F. #CommunityFirst #FoodRecovery #NutritionSecurity #NoCostGroceries #DenverFoodRescue #FoodJustice #FoodAccessForAll

**Outgoing President Reflection: A Year of Achievements and Impact** As my term as President of Rotary Cairns Sunrise comes to a close, I reflect on the incredible journey and the significant achievements we've made together over the past year. Here’s a look back at what we’ve accomplished: 1. Support for Ukrainian children - $3,000 to RC of Cherkasy for Medical Kits - $2,000 to RC of Cherkasy for Trauma Rehabilitation Camps (benefited 80 children) - $37,750 to Rotary District 2232 for Safety Schools (benefited 16 schools and 20,000 students) - Signing a 3 year International Agreement for sister club with Club Cherkasy to join efforts on humanitarian projects 2. Restoring Dignity to Homeless in Cairns: - Raised $10k through a Trivia Night that was attended by 200 community members - Restored dignity to 41 homeless individuals by providing them with the waterproof and windproof award winning backpack beds and sleeping bags - Remaining funds available: $5,481.18 which will provide further assistance as more stock becomes available 3. Contributions from Palm Cove Markets to the community $26,815 4. Support for Cairns Flood Victims: - $5,200 in Gift Cards/Vouchers (reimbursed $4,800 from Stockland) - $548 for a new BBQ & gas bottle for Machans Beach Community Centre - $3,000 in Gift Cards/Vouchers (matched by Harvey Norman with an additional $3,000 vouchers & $6,000 in gifts) - $2,500 to Cairns Combined Clubs Flood Appeal account - $2,000 from general account (PCM raffle profits) - Total contributions: $13,248, plus $9,000 in donations from Harvey Norman 5. Introduction of Member Wellness Program 6. The Rotary Hour Radio Show As we reflect on these accomplishments, it's clear that our collective efforts have made a tangible difference both locally and internationally. I want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication, support, and hard work. Together, we have demonstrated the true spirit of Rotary – "Service Above Self." Let us continue to dream big and work together to create lasting positive change in our communities and beyond. #RotaryCairnsSunrise #ServiceAboveSelf #CommunityImpact #RotaryInternational

We took the last nine to eleven bags of clothes, shoes, & stuff animals to Wings of Hope this morning for donation… I spent about forty-five minutes today straightening up the catchall (aka Arick’s old bedroom) room this afternoon…there is another load of laundry ready to go (once the dishes are done), and I’ve started an other small bag for donations again… Hopefully tomorrow I can move the dorm refrigerator out of my room & into his room…plus a few other things…though, I need to figure out where to ‘store’ a couple of aquariums until we figure out where to take them…I know that we can probably take them to Habitat for Humanity for donations…but are there any other places to donate them—or perhaps someplace where we could sell them? Once the refrigerator & a few other things are out of my room…I’ll then deal with the ‘headache’ of trying to move my desk and one or two things to that wall…and see if I can have the desk fit under that window & next to the tv stand…I may not be able to ‘sit’ comfortably…but I rarely sit ‘normally’ at a desk anyway… Then hopefully over the next few weeks figure out how to get the rest of the furniture out of the storage unit & into the house…get the bookcase into my bedroom…get the books back onto said bookcase & then also organize the garage so we can get the bikes into the garage…while hopefully still being able to get to boxes I may need. But for now… I’m going to try to start planning out for December…since that is next week, before cooking dinner. #selfawareness #selfaccountability #decluttering #clothesdonations #stuffanimaldonations #organizing #cleaning #figuringoutmyvisionofminimalism 

Last week, we had a fabulous visit and full-day workshop with The Salvos in Bourke Street, Melbourne. We learnt that every 17 seconds, someone is helped by the Salvos and at this time of the year, over 3000 meals a week are provided alone at the Bourke Street Project base.  We were also relieved that 100% of our donations is directly transferred to the ongoing care and support projects.  Good can take countless forms, but the aim remains the same — to inspire people to not only believe in good for themselves and work towards that, but also come together and create change that is good for all. After all, that’s what the Salvos do each day. During our workshops throughout the day, we walked through the inner-city of Melbourne and listened to the real stories of community building and healthy positive changes through the work of over 6000 Salvo Soldiers across Australia.  Every day and night, the Bourke Street Project Home is open for all members of the community to visit and create a home. It is so important to consider our own experiences of belonging and the importance of community at this time of the year.  Hope, purpose and fulfillment can be everyone’s story, regardless of our circumstance.  #Thankyou so much for all that all of you are doing to support and work at The Salvos.  #buildingcommunitiesofcare #strenghteningcommunities #festiveseasonspirit #belonging #caringcommunities #givingtoothers

Black Friday is a completely bizarre concept to me. On the one hand, it's an opportunity for products that are over hyped and way over priced to become affordable for the many.. especially in the sporting industry. But this then highlights the insane mark up and profits these companies are making generally if they are able to offer these ridiculous discounts. I'm an ambassador for a brand who have asked ambassadors to promote Black Friday sales and I just can't buy into it. However, the initiative here from Finisterre is something I could really buy into. There has to be a way to strip back the b****cks and offer sustainable and meaningful actions to days such as Black Friday, or Cyber Monday or whatever other marketing ploy there is. We're way past fast fashion, crazy discounts, marketing ploys that don't add benefit to any of us, we need to be better, chapeau Finisterre.

Choice is so important.

"The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship." -St. John Paul II Happy #EarthDay! 🌍 It's the perfect opportunity to share how Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska is answering the call and leading the way in #sustainability (one of our core values!) and environmental responsibility. We invite you to join us in our efforts to be good stewards of our environment by donating new or used items to CSS. Our goal is to extend the lifecycle of your donations through regifting, reselling, or recycling them and therefore mitigating the potential of your items ending up in the landfill. ♻️ Client needs are our first priority. When you donate an item, we evaluate how it can help our clients the most- by either regifting it to a family in need of that specific item or by reselling it. All funds from resold items are then used to assist clients and families needing financial assistance for rent, utilities, medical bills, or fuel. If we cannot regift or resell your item, we recycle it so it can be repurposed and help the environment. Join us and together, we will make a #HopeInTheGoodLife difference! 💚🧡💙 Learn more at csshope.org.

It was eight or nine bags of clothes, shoes, & stuff animals taken to the women’s shelter for donation this morning. We have another nine bags of clothes, shoes, & stuff animals to take tomorrow for donation. I have boxes then to move into the garage (or possibly to go through again to decide what to keep & what to donate), then try to rearrange Arick’s room a little more so that I can move a few things out of my room & into his room…so I can rearrange things a little more in order to try to fit more of my furniture from the storage unit into my bedroom. Will I have my storage unit cleared out by next Saturday? Not sure…it depends on what I manage to get done over the next few days & what the plans are for next week (because the last few things do require more than just two people to try & move). But it will be cleared out by the end of the year. Truthfully…this is something I should have been doing years ago…but I guess better late than continuing to pay an outrageous storage fee… Then it will be tackling getting rid of DVDs (figuring out best sites to sell on and/or possibly donating)…possibly some CDs (maybe…possibly…will have to really think about this one)…and just decluttering the house in general…working from the bedrooms out to the main ‘rooms’…then the garage & then finally the abyss of it all—the attic. But while I wait for the small load of dishes to finish running (so I can then start the small load of laundry)…it’s time to work on some personal/professional development projects: redrawing my comfort/bounce/stretch/risk/die diagram & possibly redraw/contemplate what I feel my latest level 10 life looks like. #selfawareness #selfaccountability #decluttering #dontations #clearingoutthestorageunit #workingtowardsmyversionofminimalism #wehavewaytoomuchstuff 

Is it too early to mention Christmas? We are excited to be participating in The Big Give Christmas Challenge again this year. A national fundraising campaign where money raised is match funded which doubles your impact! For our Big Give Christmas Appeal 2025 we are ‘Dreaming of a Whitelee Christmas’. Covering over 15km2, Whitelee Moor is one of Britain's most important upland nature reserves, a site of European conservation importance and NWT’s largest reserve. To help Whitelee reach its full potential as a spectacular haven for wildlife we are taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge, a national fundraising campaign. The first part of this campaign is to raise match funding. We have just two weeks to raise £5,000 match funding from our generous supporters.  Match funding raised will be used during appeal week, 3rd-10th December 2024 to match public donations, doubling the impact of your gift. We have already received an amazing £1,000 towards our pledge target, will you join them to help us reach our £5,000 target?   How it works:    - Pledges must be £100 or above.  - Pledges must be made before 30th August 2024, 5pm.   -You do not need to pay your pledge until The Big Give Christmas Challenge has completed. We will ask for payments between 10th December 2024 and 17th January 2025, and can be made by cheque or BACS. How can you pledge? If you would like to support our appeal all you need to do is to follow the link and complete the form https://lnkd.in/eYPKrj6a Please help us by either making a pledge, or sharing this post with friends, family, or business communities. Your donations will really make a difference to nature in Northumberland.   If you would like any further information, please contact Catherine Kirkham, Fundraising Manager [email protected] Thank you. Image- Geoff Dobbins #TheBigGive #conservation #fundraising #charityfundrasing #matchfunding #nature #supportwildife