Giving back doesn’t always start with a fundraiser, a committee, or a formal volunteer position. Sometimes it starts with noticing a need and deciding to help.
That is the case for two local grandmothers who have each found a practical way to make a difference. One regularly donates much needed items to a homeless shelter. The other collects unwanted pet supplies and household items from neighbors and delivers them to local animal shelters and rescue organizations.
Neither asked to be recognized for what they do. For them, helping isn’t about attention or getting credit. It is simply something they have chosen to make part of their lives.
For one Parkland grandmother, the focus is on the basic items that homeless shelters often need most. She keeps an eye out for toiletries, socks, towels, blankets, clothing, and other everyday necessities, and she either purchases them or gathers what she already has at home.
“Once you realize how many basic things people need, it’s hard not to help,” she said. “These are things most of us have without even thinking about it.” Rather than waiting for a holiday drive or organized collection, she donates throughout the year whenever she sees a need she can help fill.
In Coral Springs, another grandmother has taken a similar approach but for animals, donating to various local pet shelters and rescues.
Her neighborhood has a community clubhouse, which makes it easy to get neighbors involved. She posts flyers letting residents know what she is collecting and sets specific times for donations to be dropped off there. She then gathers everything and delivers it where it can be used.
“The clubhouse makes it really easy,” she said. “I can put up a flyer, give everyone a drop-off time, and people bring things they were probably going to get rid of anyway. They’re happy knowing it’s going somewhere that needs it.”
The donations vary depending on what shelters need and what neighbors have to give. What matters is that useful items are being redirected rather than thrown away or left sitting unused.
Both efforts are simple, but that is part of the point. Community service doesn’t always have to mean a large commitment, a formal organization, or hours of volunteer work. Sometimes it is as straightforward as paying attention to what is needed and finding a way to help.
For grandparents, there can also be more opportunity to do that later in life. Once their children are grown and the schedules that once filled their days begin to slow down, there may be time to look beyond the daily responsibilities.
As they both noted, their grandchildren are watching too.
“I love that my grandchildren see the bags being set aside and the donations being collected,” one grandmother said. “My hope is that they understand the importance of helping others and will want to do the same someday.”
And perhaps that is one of the best things these grandparents are passing along. Not every good deed needs an audience. Sometimes making a difference is simply seeing what needs to be done … and doing it.