It is coming up on the season of gathering, of celebration, the season of giving.
A season of many holidays.
As season when, whether you join in those holiday celebration or not, you hear and see and feel the ideas of connection, of gathering. That this is a season of giving, a season of sharing.
And yet…
This year, at this writing, it is also a time of constant unsettling news, of climate crisis, of humanitarian crisis, of natural disaster, of political division.
You will have your own roster of places with challenging times, places where you have lived and traveled, where you have friends and family.
You have strong memories of times past, and plans for future in these places too.
What can be done, at this season of giving, help those you know and those you don’t to with your skills and knowledge as a traveler. How can you help in these unsettled and unsettling times?
Consider these ideas as this season of giving unfolds:
The musician Carrie Newcomer often recalls the idea — she’s written a song about it — of doing what you can right nearby, of staring where you are.
That might at first seem at odds with being a seasoned traveler, but it is not. For instance
You could look for holiday fairs as you travel, and in your home town if that’s where you are at the moment.
At least part of the stalls at most fairs are run by local artisans and food businesses. Whether you are in a time for shopping or not, you can still have a good chat ot share a smile with the stall workers.
Are there shops where you live or travel which benefit certain causes, or host holiday events for that purpose?
Near where I stay in Glasgow, for example, the British Heart Foundation and Oxfam both have shops which run year round with all kinds of goods. They offer holiday cards, as well.
When I am in Massachusetts there’s a winter weekend art fair –several during winter months in fact– where both art and food sales go to good causes.
Online, you could look for individual artists and musicians, as well as shops such as the one offered by UNICEF.
What countries or regions do you feel connected with especially?
At this season of giving, there might be could be particular opportunities to help, on the ground or from a distance.
For instance, two well known musicians who come from the northwest of Ireland and their families joined up to offer a special recording , with proceeds from it going to help the Creeslough community where people face recent tragedy and hardship hardship
Learning, and sharing your learning is a way to take part in this season of giving, as well, on the road or in your home place.
Books, music, art, dance, food: those are ways of making connections, learning and sharing what you have learned, of helping people feel connected and respected.
Language works this way too: even a few words in someone else’s language can build a bridge.
You could brush up your own language skills, and help someone else with theirs
Music is a great way to begin sharing language, too.
Consider also the words of the late songwriter and world traveler Pete Seeger, whose home base was in the Hudson Valley of New York :“The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be known.”
Across the world, there are people working for peace, for connection, to help out in times of unrest, war, and natural disaster. If you’re able, you might contribute to their work. You could also make a gift in honor of someone.
If you are considering this, here are several organizations whose work I respect. They work across the world.
Medecins sans Frontieres/ Doctors Without Borders works, as you might expect from the name, to help with health and medical situations
Caritas/Catholic Relief Services and Mennonite Central Committee are two faith based groups. They work across all faiths, though to help in areas of hunger, refugees work, and other needs.
The International Rescue Organization has a fcous on helping helping refugees.
As you are looking into giving, you will want to know about Charity Navigator and Giving Well, too: they help make sure charities are doing what they say they are.
Here are additional resources from our archives to help you in thinking about how you might help at this season of giving
A food business in Scotland with creative ways of helping communities it serves
Ukraine: ways to learn, ways to help, ways to remember
Resources to understand climate emergency, and songs to help you think abut that, too
How to help from a distance : a story I wrote a while back with ideas that remain timely
and speaking of language and music: Music Travels with Children: 8 albums to explore
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