Simple Giving: Easy Ways To Give Every Day, Jennifer Iacovelli ~ book review

When I had the opportunity to volunteer to read and review Simple Giving: Easy Ways To Give Every Day - well - if you know me - you won't be surprised to hear that I jumped at the chance. And in doing so I've had the pleasure of virtually meeting and getting to know Jennifer Iacovelli. And what a pleasure that's been.

Giving of oneself is the ultimate gift. And one of the things I have tried to convey over my life is that there are so many ways one can give.

I've worked with non-profit organizations on both, the local and national level, and tried to help them find charitable organizations to work with to help their members become a part of something. To help them learn how easy it can be to give.

So finding this book?

Perfection.

There are so many points made by Iacovelli throughout this book that I honestly didn't know where to begin when it came to sharing. It's part of the reason my review is a bit behind schedule. Ehem. That's also because fall knocks me on my behind quite often and I forget that when I commit to things. Fortunately I'm somewhat back on track - and ready to share the wealth of ideas that came from this incredible read.

Create a Giving Circle

Yes. YES! This! Identify who you can team up with and create a giving circle. Find your people - your friends, family, neighbors, fellow bloggers - find the people who will connect with you when it comes to giving and doing. Work together to choose a cause that means a lot to you. Donate. Volunteer. DO something. Together. A giving circle. Brilliant.

Shop With a Conscience

I love this. The importance of stopping to think before you shop. Especially this holiday season. Shop locally. Support small businesses. Find out what kinds of businesses your friends own and run. Support them. Find businesses that give back to particular causes, or companies that support causes that matter to you and shop through them. You'll be making your purchases and giving back all at once.

Do Everyday Acts of Kindness

Such small actions can mean so much. These tend to be my favorite ways to give. How easy they are. How good you'll feel. You won't get much in return except for that feeling that strikes after you've helped someone else or made someone smile. Bring donuts to your local fire department - or - if you're me - bring Girl Scout Cookies! Write thank you notes regularly. Smile at the mom in the grocery store who is dealing with a kid having a meltdown. Hold the door for someone. Bring a meal to a neighbor who just had a baby.

These are just a few of the ideas you'll get reading this book. These ideas are for the everyday individual who is looking to do more.

The incredible lists of resources for each idea make it worth your while. You're going to hold onto your copy and it will be your go-to when you're looking for some way to give.

Mine is already a big dog-eared (what a strange term, and yet, I totally get it!) after reading and rereading certain parts of it and I look forward to putting some of the advice to great use.

I've got several charitable organizations in mind as we move forward and work to wrap up 2015. Giving Tuesday will be creeping up on us, as well, and I encourage everyone to keep that in mind, too. At year's end we find that people do the most giving - looking for that tax deduction, true, but the holiday season is a time for giving - and doing so is a great way to help you feel incredible - so get on out there and DO something. Give something. Find a way and just be amazing.

Thanks, Jennifer, for the opportunity to read and review your book. And thanks to my girl Nicole for saying we'd be a perfect fit. I think we turned out to be just that.

And if - by some small chance - you'd like to catch a video of me talking about small ways to give back, have a listen below. This was a Periscope I did last week and I've got the recording for you guys to have a look and a listen.



* I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own and were not requested or compensated. 

* There are affiliate links in this post. Think of it as your way of giving thanks to me if you want to buy the book through my recommendation and use my link to do so. I get pennies - but I'll be so happy to know you liked what I had to say.

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