Welcome 2011

By Ginger

I love welcoming in the New Year and I don’t mean the New Year’s Eve celebrations with the champagne, the ball dropping in Times Square, the tasty hors d'oeuvres (although, I do love me some little cocktail wienies and shrimp wrapped in bacon), and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight. I mean, I love starting a new year.

It’s the beginning of a new calendar, a clean slate. It’s not exactly a do-over, but a promise of a fresh start.  It’s a chance to examine the events of the past year and think about how to make the next year better. For me, it’s a time to sweep away the cobwebs of negative thinking and to focus on new possibilities and positive thinking.

This will sound completely “Pollyanna” of me, but at the beginning of each year I mentally play the “glad game.”   Like Pollyanna, I think about the things in my life that I am glad about.  Even the things that aren’t so good in my life, I make myself find a reason to be glad, and I have to say, it just really makes me feel better and more hopeful.>

I don’t like to make resolutions, because I can’t keep them, but I do think about goals for the New Year.   Last year one of my goals was to get in a regular exercise routine and to eat healthier. I am happy to say, I am doing that.  This year, my goal is to learn to step outside of my comfort zone and to be willing to take more risks. I want to get back to being a Ginger that can embrace change, trust her instincts and lead a more spontaneous life.

What are your goals for 2011?

Government Gab - New Year's Resolution #12: Volunteer

By Stephanie

Love dares you to care

For people on the edge of the night

—David Bowie, "Under Pressure"

Some popular New Year's resolutions: Save money. Find a better job. Lose weight. Quit smoking. Go back to school. Organize that closet. Volunteer to help others.

Sometimes the resolution to volunteer to help others gets a bit buried in all the rest. But one thing's certain: people's circumstances change throughout their lives, and sometimes we need help from someone else to get through the harder times. And in this economy, plenty of people are experiencing harder times.

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to volunteer to help others? If you follow through with that resolution, you'll be in excellent company. Last year, 63.4 million Americans age 16 and older volunteered. And the number of Americans volunteering in their communities jumped by 1.6 million last year, the largest increase since 2003.

The volunteering I've done in my life—and the remarkable people I've met while doing it—have left a lasting impression on me. Whether mopping floors at a homeless shelter, giving out groceries at a food pantry, supervising a transition house for women moving out of a shelter, or regularly bringing my dog to cheer up nursing home residents, I've encountered so many people who surprised me with their resilience, cheerfulness, unique backgrounds, and resourcefulness. I always feel like I get as much out of helping them as they do.

On the other end, I'll never personally know the volunteers who brought meals to seniors like my housebound grandmother, or the hospital volunteers who visited bedridden patients like my mom—but the companionship and care they gave were invaluable and appreciated by our whole family.

Want to volunteer, but don't know where to start? Serve.gov makes it easy to find opportunities in your area. Just type in your interests, such as seniors, hunger, veterans, education, health, animals, and even technology. Then type in your city, state, or zip code—and see the amazing variety of volunteer opportunities come up. There's sure to be one that fits your time, talent, and interest.

Under the category of seniors in my area, for example, I saw a call for a snow shoveler, food distribution assistant, English as a second language instructor, computer instructor, and even volunteers to offer talks on classical music and opera!

For more volunteer opportunities, visit USA.gov's FAQ on Public Service and Volunteerism, and USA.gov's section on Volunteering Your Time. And good for you for getting serious about that New Year's resolution to volunteer to help others!