There’s a lot happening at the moment, which might make you want to try and do something good. It’s easy to start feeling helpless, even though you want to try and contribute what you can to help make things better. You also might be feeling bored and disconnected from those around you. But now could be the perfect time to start connecting with your wider community and finding ways to help others. There’s plenty that you can do from home, as well as ways to safely get involved with things outside of your home too. If you want to help others during this period, here are some things that you could do.

Help Out in Your Community

Many people want to get more involved with their local community, but they never really get around to doing it. If you haven’t already, now is the ideal time to think about how you could get involved with the community around you. You could find community groups such as mutual aid groups, which are helping vulnerable people who may not be able to leave their homes. You might also just take some time to connect with your neighbours, check in on them to see if they’re well, or just have a chat now and then.

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Reach Out to Friends and Family

With the length of time that everyone has had to try and isolate as much as possible, a lot of people have started to feel disconnected from even their closest loved ones. It’s difficult when you can’t see your friends and family as much as you used to. You can even start to miss the people you don’t see that often. Reaching out to your friends and relatives is a good way to stay connected and provide some love and comfort. You can do all kinds of things to have fun together remotely or arrange to meet each other safely.

Get Educated

Educating yourself is smart when you want to help other people. If you want to be helpful, you need to know the best ways to approach different issues and how to treat people in the way that they want to be treated. Whether you want to help keep people safe during the pandemic or you want to play your part in the protests against racial injustice, it’s important to make sure you have the facts and that you understand the situation before acting.

Talk About the Big Issues

Sometimes simply talking about important issues is the best way to help people. Sharing information and discussing some of the most prominent matters in the news can shed light on what matters. You might share articles or petitions, or encourage the people you know to talk about the big issues. A lot of people have been talking about mental health and how the pandemic is affecting people, for example. Social media can be a great tool for talking about the things that matter to you. It’s also important to listen to others and make sure you’re getting different perspectives.

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Donate to Charity

If you have some money to spare, donating to charity is a great way to help people in need. There are all kinds of charities that do many different things that you might consider donating to during the pandemic, whether they are directly related to the situation or not. You might give a donation that aligns with your religious beliefs, such as a Qurbani donation. You might consider donating to an organisation such as Black Lives Matter. You could give to your local food bank, homeless charity or women’s refuge. Pick a cause that you care about and find out where your money is needed.

Shop with Local Businesses

It’s a tough time for the economy when people can’t get out and shop like they usually do. Small and local businesses are hit hardest, but you can take steps to support them. Choosing to shop with local businesses is one way that you can support your local community and the people in it. You can help local business owners to survive, which in turn will help their employees to keep their jobs. Try to shop with small businesses near you, even if that means ordering things online. Visit your local corner shop or buy from independent businesses in your area.

Be Social Online

Even though society is starting to get moving again in several ways, a lot of people are still trying not to meet up with others unless it’s necessary. If you still want to be social with other people and make sure they don’t get lonely, doing so online is the best option. You can still meet people, chat with them and even have fun doing lots of activities without ever seeing each other in person. Maybe you’re past the point of holding lockdown quiz nights, but it’s still fun to get together and talk.

Support Those Who Are Most Vulnerable

When things are tough, it’s even tougher for those people in society who are already more vulnerable. This includes homeless people or those who might already be struggling to support themselves, as well as people dealing with problems such as domestic violence. There are various ways you can support vulnerable people in your community. You might donate to your local food bank, provide support to elderly people, help out a local homeless charity or do other things to lift up those who need the most help.

Support the Arts

The arts industry is also having a tough time during this period. Many in the arts already struggle with funding and finances and being unable to continue their normal activities has meant that many organisations and individuals are finding things particularly difficult. If you enjoy the arts, look for ways to support your favourite theatres, performers and others. You might donate to an arts charity or pay to watch one of your favourite comedians do an online show.

Helping others is a positive way to use your time when you are still limited in what you can do, and you want to make a difference.