My first volunteer opportunity came by way of my stepmother who worked in a nursing home. They needed kids to “adopt a grandparent” because the sad truth was that many of their residents didn’t get any visitors. Our tasks were simple – read the newspaper to them, play games, just be someone to talk to. My sister and I still talk about some of our “grandparents.”

When I began my marketing career, my first gig was at United Way. Being so close to the needs and challenges of building better communities was eye-opening, particularly in regards to giving. I’d always been very generous with my time, but hadn’t been bitten by the bug of donating. I’ve been inspired to increase my giving three times – two date back to United Way, one happened this year.

Donation Inspiration #1: 30%?!
I took a seminar on developing major gifts (typically donations of $1,000 or more) from IUPUI’s Center on Philanthropy. The instructor openly shared his own outlook on giving. He budgets 30% of his annual income to support the causes he cares about. That’s no small bit – just hearing it made me realize I could do more.

Donation Inspiration #2: Anonymous Awesomeness
The last year I worked at United Way, we were really struggling to energize enough donors to support the families requesting holiday help. It’s heartbreaking to see the stories knowing you haven’t gotten enough to divide up among those in need. When the hour was late and it appeared we’d have to turn many people away, an anonymous donor stepped up and accounted for all remaining families on the wait list. You can’t imagine the mood shift in our office.

Donation Inspiration #3: Lost and Found

I never knew it growing up (just learned of it this year, in fact), but when my stepfather finds money on the ground, he donates it somewhere. He doesn’t need it, and the money isn’t really his. So, when I found five bucks on the ground earlier this year, I decided I’d follow that path.

This also expanded my horizons to smaller, more spontaneous giving. Most of my giving in the past was planned out, budgeted, thought through. Thinking through your donations is smart – after all you want to be sure you’re putting your money in good hands. But giving that found $5 bucks felt pretty darn good and could happen on a whim. I know plenty of organizations who can make that $5 go a lot further than I ever could.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

This summer, I made my third trip to one of my favorite cities, Seattle. It had been a few years since my last visit, but I felt I could show my friends around while we had some time before the convention started the next day. We left our hotel with the plan of walking our route to the convention center and then finding some food. This would be easy, as I knew exactly where I was, so we promptly headed off.

After 6 or 7 blocks, I wasn’t recognizing any of the landmarks or cross streets and I started to feel a bit lost. Of course, technology would help me save face because I could quickly glance at my GPS and get us pointed back in the right direction. My GPS connection had different ideas and could never pinpoint my location. We were so far away from where we should have been, I could not find the cross streets either.

Laughing, I gave up and we headed back towards our hotel (luckily a huge tower that was easy to find in the skyline) to try again. We rounded the corner and something incredible happened. The most amazing looking donut shop I had ever seen was right across the street.

Top Pot Doughnuts

We learned two things that day. First, I have no sense of direction because we headed in the complete opposite direction that we should have when we left the hotel. Second, there’s no reason to panic when you get lost, because you will find donuts.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

If there’s ever a moment for you, where you’re overwhelmed with joy, gratitude and a mixture of other emotions as you recognize “this is why I’m on this planet. This is why I’m here,” I hope you relish it and pursue more of it.

For me, that moment started nearly three years ago when I had an opportunity to travel to Ukraine to serve a community of disabled children and adults. The past three summers (2009, 2010, 2011) I’ve returned to re-engage with this community of the most selfless, patient, joyful and loving people I’ve ever met.

People who have special needs in Ukraine are pariahs to society. They’re not welcome. Their interaction with humans outside of their parents or caretaker is at a minimum.

So, for over a decade, an organization called Mission to Ukraine (MTU) has relentlessly pursued the ostracized, provided them with medical resources, physical therapy, financial assistance, and more. They invite these people to summer camps where they will enjoy time spent with people just like them. They’ll have people outside of their immediate families and MTU staff spending time with them for quite possibly the first time all year (maybe the first time in their lives).

So I go to Ukraine with a team of high school students every summer and we share the camp experience with these people.

My friend Maxim, and I this past summer

Part of what I do while I’m there, is blog and tell the stories of people we meet over there.

This past summer, I went back to Ukraine and met a man who has probably never won anything in his life, but should certainly be rewarded “father of the century.”

This past summer, I carried people who couldn’t walk up the ladder of an inflatable slide so that they could experience the rush of sliding down a slide for, quite possibly, the first time in their lives.

One reason last summer’s trip was so special was because to these Ukrainians, they began to understand just how important they are to me – how important Ukraine has become to me. They started joking this year that I’ve become an honorary Ukrainian, since I’ve come three summers in a row. I had a conversation with a woman who began crying just from talking about how much she believed I loved Ukraine. The parents of these campers with special needs are blown away that Americans would take time off of work, pay thousands of dollars to travel across the world and spend time with their child who is disabled and alienated by people in their own communities.

This past year’s trip was particularly special to me. Not just because I was returning for a third time to spend time with people I care about, but also because I was able to share it with my sister.

My sister, Trisha, and I in Ukraine this past summer

Through these experiences and more, I’ve come to realize that I experience true joy when I’m around these people. I get a glimpse of what real peace looks like. I am reminded that happiness isn’t dependent on chasing the American dream. This trip has become immensely important to me and has made me feel like I’ve discovered a bigger purpose in my life – one that involves helping others and making myself available to causes and movements that are greater than me.

Truthfully, it was what was initially most attractive about joining the team here at SmallBox. SmallBox’s work within the community, the work and events we do for non-profit organizations, and the collective and contagious energy that lives in this team when there’s an opportunity to engage in helping others is something I love and a huge reason I was excited to be a part of this company.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

Sometimes it’s just two of us, sometimes the group can be up to 15-20 people. Every Friday, my friends and I will get together at either Fox and Hound in Carmel or at someone’s house and catch up on the week, enjoy some beverages, watch sports, play games, etc. We’ve been doing this for 3-4 years now and unless there are circumstances that prevent us from doing so, at least a few of us are there each week enjoying each other’s company.

I think it’s good to establish traditions like this. I’m at the age where a bunch of people around me are married and having children. From what I understand, once stuff like that starts happening, schedules, priorities and routines change. It’s easy to lose touch with people we care about when things get really busy.

The thing I like most about knowing my friends will be hanging out on Fridays is that no matter what stage of life we’re in, so far, we’ve made this continue to feel normal. No matter how busy our work week was, or that some of us have to get up early on Saturdays, hanging out with the same people in the same setting each week just makes life feel comfortable.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.