Small Ways to Help

I always had a particularly vulnerable spot in my heart for children in need. I've failed to do much about it so far, using the usual excuse of 'What difference could I possibly make?' I know it's lame and the guilt of being a perfectly capable person who does nothing is wasted. So when I fell upon an opportunity to donate in a really easy way, I took it.

Huggies has a rewards program aimed at promoting exclusive consumerism of their products and tracking where their products are purchased. I know Pampers has a similar program. The Huggies 'Enjoy the Ride Rewards' program bestows upon a consumer points for every product purchased. The Pure and Natural diapers confers 15 points. You go to the website, sign up, and insert your product code. Points are saved on the site and you can earn more points by watching propaganda video, playing games or reading articles.

Points can be used to enter sweepstakes, play games with prizes such as gift cards and coupon books, or toward the purchase of items. I didn't realize until recently that I could donate those points toward providing diapers for a child in need. Considering the public sanitation and individual child health risks associated with not using diapers or reusing old diapers, I thought this was a pretty good deal. By donating 16 of my points I provide a day's worth of diapers. Simple, easy and a worthy use of points that hadn't done much for me otherwise.

This isn't a sacrificial sort of helping that makes you feel good deep down, but it is helping. I get the points by purchasing something I need anyway. Why let them go to waste doing nothing at all, playing silly games or entering sweepstakes, when I can use them toward something that will tangibly help someone else? I bring this up because it isn't the sort of thing a new mom is using energy thinking about. We get so caught up in surviving our day, providing for our families and managing our own wants and needs that we miss the little opportunities to help. I urge you to look into the products you purchase or the websites you frequent and see if there is an equally easy way you can make a difference.