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Stop and
make generous purchases at all lemonade stands.
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Leave a
significant donation for your favorite "find" from summer vacation - the
historical society that runs a fantastic local museum, the lighthouse
restoration team, the national park foundation.
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Grill the
dog his very own hamburger.
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Give an
extra special and loving smile to the workers at the traveling carnival.
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Call the
local Boy or Girl Scouts or church and provide a camp scholarship for a kid who
otherwise can't attend.
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Strap
yourself into the wildest ride at the amusement park, and when the change falls
out of your pockets just hope that it lands where someone else will feel
fortunate to have found it. Find a penny yourself, remembering that the real
gift is its reminder, "In God We Trust."
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Cut a few
of the flowers from your yard and take them to a friend, an acquaintance at
work, a stranger in the nursing home.
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Patronize
the ice cream man, and buy a treat for one of the kids who doesn't have any
money for his own.
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Spend one
lunch hour every week sitting in the park, and bring along some food for the
ducks or your harmonica for the passersby.
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Buy a roll
of quarters and carry a few coins with you for plugging the expired meters of
parked cars.
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Paint
toenails, do a hair wrap or apply a fake tattoo for a young friend.
-
Buy a 4-H
project at the county fair, even if you haven't always wanted a knitted pillow
cover. Buy the paper poppy from the veteran selling them in front of the Post
Office. Buy your daughter the cotton candy, and your son the little American
flag to wave at the 4th of July parade.
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Surprise
the elderly neighbor by mowing his lawn.
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Put another
five in the plate at church (yes, a stolen line from a popular country song).
Say an extra prayer for a soldier, a prisoner, the mentally ill.
-
Climb on
the roof and count the stars with a friend. Whoever counts the most, the other
person contributes that many dimes to the March of Dimes.
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Play
skeeball at the arcade and give your winning tickets to a younger patron so s/he
can get some Chinese handcuffs, a whoopee cushion or a superball.
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Write the
biggest check you've ever written to your favorite cause when your tax return
arrives in the mail.
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When in
Telluride to restock on camping supplies, stick one of your favorite shirts or
sweaters in the free box. Or take a favorite pair of shoes to the domestic
violence shelter.
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Take the
few extra minutes to pull into the high school fundraising car wash; tip
generously.
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Do anything
you're passionate about; share it with someone who will never otherwise have the
opportunity.
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Buy a tank
of gas for a friend.
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Let your
kids eat the zucchini bread and skip the zucchini.
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Offer the
fly ball you catch to the little guy sitting in the stands a few seats down.
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Grow the
cherries, pick the cherries, pit the cherries, bake the pie and give it to the
biggest cherry fan you know.
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Buy a
little piggy bank and fill it with your loose change; take the unopened bank to
the children's hospital. Buy a whole collection of $2 flippy sandals in many
colors and sizes and take them to Girls, Inc. Buy a pass to the water slide for
a kid at the public pool on free day.
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Give a
homeless person a gift card to a local restaurant.
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Listen to
the birds, then send a few dollars to the organization best making sure that the
birds want to still hang out in your neighborhood.
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Pick up a
piece of trash or two.
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Start a new
Memorial Day tradition by making a memorial gift in honor of a loved one.
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Come up
with your own ideas and enjoy your summer!!
