Healing Garden Journal

The Difference a Day Makes:
365 Ways to Change Your World
in Just 24 Hours

By Karen M. Jones

In the winter of 2002, I was feeling permanently bruised by a series of traumatic national events. The shootings at Columbine High School, the murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, the dragging of James Byrd behind a pickup truck until he died, and, finally, the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center first devastated me, then kindled a new and powerful resolve. I went looking for a way to help—to restore my faith in human kindness. But every volunteer coordinator wanted more time than I had available; every charity wanted a check that my bank balance wouldn’t support; and every Web search overwhelmed me with more data and decisions than I could process. I was sure that doing something good didn’t have to be so difficult. I began to research and compile the simple actions in this book for every well-intentioned person who’d rather make an effort than write a check but who simply can’t find room in a hectic week for a sustained volunteer commitment. Each suggested action, in sixteen “helping” categories, can be started and finished in the course of a single day—some in five minutes—and none requires a cash donation. You can outfit a homeless person for a job interview, fund hunger relief (at no cost to you) with the click of a mouse, and help a troubled child earn awards in the arts. With 365 Ways to Change Your World in Just 24 Hours, you can set a goal of accomplishing a different step each day of the year...

The Difference a Day Makes turns the conventional model of volunteering—a few advocates doing enormous amounts of work—on its ear. It prescribes small change on a mass scale, which can be equally powerful. The book is not intended as a guide for fervent activism, but rather as a daily practice for personal and even spiritual growth through small, empowering acts of humanity.The causes themselves may be less important than your decision to overcome inertia and take a purposeful step.

Here are some of our HGJ staff picks from Karen’s book. We invite you to try them:

Nature Nurture – Shop for Something Green

Whatever you’re buying today, it’s likely that an environmentally friendly option exists. You can find it online by visiting greenmatters.com or ecomall.com/greenshopping, or by entering ‘green shopping’ into your favorite Internet search engine.

Healthy Interest – Get Someone a Free Mammogram

Sponsors and advertisers on thebreastcancersite.com provide free mammograms for underprivileged women based on how many people visit the site daily. Surf on over and click on Fund Free Mammograms; it’s free, with no obligation to you, and it takes mere seconds. Pass the tip on via your e-mail list to spread the wealth even further.

Conscious Consumerism – Reward Originality

Shop at a local, independently owned store or dine at a locally owned restaurant instead of a chain at least once a week. Buying from local merchants does more than simply support small, independent businesses. Shopping locally strengthens the local economy by keeping dollars circulating within the community, and it lends greater variety and more character to shopping districts. Local business can also be easier on the environment if it is less reliant on long-distance truck delivery.

United Nation – Identify the Source

As U. S. citizens, we can only act upon what we know about. But our newspapers, television, and radio stations are rapidly being overtaken by a few corporate giants, limiting the points of view to which we’re exposed. Find out who really owns the media in your town or city by entering your zipcode into Public Integrity’s Media Tracker at publicintegrity.org/telecom.

Home Delivery – Create “Care Kits” for People on the Street

Put together kits with snacks, cups, utensils, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and cosmetics. During cold weather, add blankets, coats, hats, scarves, mittens and socks. Contact a shelter or soup kitchen that distributes meals from a van and ask if they’ll also hand out your kits.

Food on the Table – Bake a Batch of Hunger Relief

Team up with some friends and neighbors for the Great American Bake Sale; proceeds go to Share Our Strength, a national antihunger organization. Find out more at greatamercianbakesale.org or call 800-761-4227.

Common Humanity – Fly a Colorful Kite

With kids, read The Kite Story, then build a Peace Kite. Visit unesco.org/education; click on Non-Violence Education, then The Kite Story.

Karen M. Jones is a creative strategist, social entrepreneur and founder of Benevolent Planet (benevolentplanet.com), a public resource providing practical strategies for socially conscious living.

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