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Kind things worth an afternoon
These take real time, and the time is the point — some things cannot be done quickly without becoming a different, smaller gesture. Good for a weekend, and several of them work with other people helping.
Showing 31–41 of 41 ideas
Teach six people the thing you can do
Most useful skills are held by people who do not think of themselves as qualified to teach them.
An afternoonUnder $10A stranger
Not rated yet
Give a local group one evening
Small charities and clubs cannot afford the professional help they need, and the gap is usually one evening wide.
An afternoonFreeAn organization
Not rated yet
Give a carer two hours, not sympathy
The one thing carers cannot buy, borrow or manufacture is time when they are not responsible for anyone.
An afternoonFreeA caregiver
Not rated yet
Run an afternoon where things get fixed
Most broken things are thrown away for want of one person with a soldering iron and an hour.
An afternoonFreeA neighbor
Not rated yet
Cook for twelve, invite near-strangers
Adults stop making new friends largely because nobody hosts. A table is the cheapest social infrastructure there is.
An afternoonMore than $10A friend
Not rated yet
Learn one part of the routine properly
A helper who needs supervising is more work than no helper. Learning one task properly changes that.
An afternoonFreeA caregiver
Not rated yet
Offer to do the paperwork after a death
Bereavement comes with dozens of phone calls in which you explain, repeatedly, that someone has died.
An afternoonFreeA friend
Not rated yet
Do one shopping run for three households
A single trip that collects three lists costs you ten extra minutes and saves three people an afternoon.
An afternoonFreeA neighbor
Not rated yet
Drive them and wait in the car park
The journey to and from a hospital appointment is often harder than the appointment, and is done alone.
An afternoonFreeA friend
Not rated yet
Organize two hours of clearing up
A litter pick is mostly an excuse. Forty neighbors meeting each other is the actual output.
An afternoonFreeA neighbor
Not rated yet
Make a hard-day box for a caregiver
The person looking after someone else is usually the last one anybody looks after.
An afternoonMore than $10A caregiver
Not rated yet