Generous Actions

Opt-out of receiving phone directories

2010-03-11T04:26:53-08:00

Don’t let a copy of the Yellow Pages sit gathering dust on your doorstep. If, like many, you look up everything online now, why not put a stop to having the Yellow Pages delivered to your home all together? Just think of the paper and energy costs that would be saved if loads of us did it.

One of our Generous members, Drew, caused a twitter-storm when he tweeted this suggestion (around 140 people have retweeted it) and he then posted it – along with Frances Berriman too – as a possible Generous action. We like it. So here it is.

Opt out of receiving a paper copy of the Yellow Pages and save the paper and associated printing and transportation waste.

It’s easy: Yellow Pages have a UK free phone number to call to opt out on 0800 671 444.

Again, thanks to Drew and Frances for this suggestion.

Flickr photosource – thanks metrostation

Become a micro-financier

2010-02-09T05:27:39-08:00

Micro-finance schemes connect you directly with people in developing economies who have great ideas and big ambitions but lack the capital they need to get their small businesses up and running.

One such scheme is Kiva. It’s the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website and its mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. You would do well to begin your lending as a micro-financier through Kiva.

You can read more about how microfinance works here.

Join The Wave – Sat 5 December 2009

2009-12-01T01:41:19-08:00

Join The Wave, the UK’s biggest ever climate change march in London this Saturday, 5 December.

Click here for more details.

Sign the Copenhagen petition

2009-12-01T01:42:16-08:00

Sign a petition to ask Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to not double count money to help developing countries adapt to climate change at the Copenhagen Conference on the One International website. The people at One are after 25,000 signatures before the Conference starts and they’re just over 15,000 now.

Hold off on the heating

2009-12-07T07:56:01-08:00

We’re not encouraging acts of masochism, but you might like to set yourself a sort of ambitious-ish target date before which you want to try and cope this autumn without the central heating.

There was a phone in on Five Live recently where people were vying with each other as to who was the latest to switch on their central heating last winter. (Remember last winter? it was cold and frosty and it snowed lots.) One caller claimed he’d held off until 5 December!

Join the fray and comment below this action when you sign up to it. Let’s see who can go the longest. Not that Generous is about competition, you understand!

Get a vest (or two)

2010-03-09T07:16:58-08:00

Dig out your old vests and press them back into service. Or, if you don’t have any (it’s true, some people don’t have any) go out and buy some.

Keeping warm is all about layering up. And you might as well start at the bottom, as it were. A good vest gets you off to a great start in terms of feeling snug as the temperatures fall.

It’s not all post-war austerity. It’s practical. And it can be stylish too. Ladies, you can even get vests with lace trims (men, you might like them too).

(In similar vein, although not a specific Generous action, don’t be shy about wearing a scarf around the house. Especially if you work from home and spend lots of time sitting at the computer. Generous founder Jacqui has an award-winning writer friend who always wears a scarf to write!)

Doing this sort of stuff is not sad. It’s sensible. And in terms of cutting your energy consumption, it’s Generous too.

Vests – they’re the way to go.

Think before you buy

2009-10-03T12:27:38-07:00

Do you really need to buy that thing? Haven’t you already got enough things? This action says that you’ll start at least thinking before you buy something about whether or not you really need it (and we all know the answer it probably ‘no’).

Here’s the checklist:

Think before you buy.
Do you need it?
Why are you buying it?
Can you get rid of something at the same time (adopting a one-in-one-out policy!)

There’s never been a better time to try and make this a Generous action – in these credit-crunched times, when it makes sense to be spending less and being more careful with our consumption anyway.

It’s all ways round. It’s us reducing the clutter in our lives – and that’s got to be good. But it’s also the great machine of production being slowed just an infinitesimal amount, and so cutting the carbon required to produce all this stuff we don’t need just a tiny, weeny amount. But, as the Generous mantra goes, it all adds up.

Stats show that we only use 1% of the stuff we buy six months after we’ve bought it. Shocking isn’t it? It’s time to buy less stuff. And that starts with thinking before you next think you need to buy something.

Flickr photosource – thanks colodi

Become a Trustee

2009-12-08T01:26:13-08:00

Serving as a trustee for a charity that you’re connected to can add up to the equivalent of giving them £40 a month in cash. And that’s pretty Generous, in our book. So why not become a Trustee? It might make more difference than you could imagine.

Almost a million people here in the UK are already charity trustees. But, while that’s an impressive number, nearly half of all charities still have at least one vacancy on their Board.

Add up the time spent in meetings, preparation and other committee work and it’s estimated a trustee would be expected to devote about one working week – or 40 hours – each year. And that’s where the £40 a month figure comes from.

Click here to read our news story about this from July 2009.

Support your local fête or fair

2009-12-08T01:28:27-08:00

Try to pop along to a fête or fair happening near you, because supporting local events in your area helps build local networks, relationships and, ultimately, community.

Fêtes and fairs are potentially really Generous happenings. They signify an amazing investment of social capital. As well as the connections and conversations, the fun and games, you might even pick up a bargain and a yummy cake, too – and all the money you spend contributes to your local economy.

So, as the summer hots up, we say: it’s time to get your local fête or fair buzzing – by being there if you can, and then telling us about it on Generous and Flickr-ing your photos as well*.

*When you’re doing Generous actions why not capture them on camera and upload the results to www.flickr.com? That way we get a fuller sense of our community activity, at the same time as adding more visual interest to our homemade website!

*In order for the Generous site to find your images and magically draw them in from Flickr, you’ll need to ‘tag’ them a certain way. So, any photo you upload relevant to a particular Generous action will need to be tagged with “livinggenerously:action=X” where X is the ID number of the action.

For example, for Give something away and declutter your life, the tag would be: livinggenerously:action=44 and for this action it would be livinggenerously:action=197

Go on! Show us just how Generous you are!

Flickr photo source – thanks Anguskirk

Sit down for a Big Lunch on 19 July

2009-07-01T14:05:37-07:00

On 19th July The Eden Project in Cornwall is asking the people of Britain to stop what they’re doing and sit down to lunch together. That’s right – the Big Lunch is a party in your street, in everyone’s street.

Why? Well, for lots of reasons really, but mainly to put a smile back on Britain’s face.

Imagine a summer’s day on which millions of us, throughout the UK, sit down to have lunch together, with our neighbours in the middle of our streets, around our tower blocks and on every patch of common ground. The food, entertainment and decorations we will have either grown, cooked, or created ourselves. This will be a day to break bread with our neighbours, to put a smile on Britain’s face.

Click here to find out more. And if you don’t think you and your friends and neighbours can get something together in time (it might be a be late for this year), click here to find out where your nearest Big Lunch is happening.

This is what the Big Lunch says about the idea:

‘Most of us are shy, many of us lead single lives and even when we are together often go our own way. We all know about the problems in our society and don’t need to be preached at about them. But inside almost everyone there is a notion that despite our differences, the ties that bind us are important.

‘The shared enjoyment of eating together, laughter, play, music and conversation bring us together and for all the fact that we are so fabulously different in our outlook and experience on many things, we know a simple truth – together we are strong. Wouldn’t it be great if for just one day we remind ourselves about all that is good about us and bring about a moment that ignites a spark?

’It may be tricky, it may feel slightly uncomfortable to start with. It takes a bit of courage to stop being a stranger. But think of the prize – to be able to walk down the street and into the wider neighbourhood and realise how many good people there are: people who, acting together, can create a real sense of community – a word that in Latin means; “together, in gift”.

‘So… if you’re up for it, try growing something, making something or generally getting stuck in for the Big Lunch. No one is going to tell you how to do it as your ideas will be perfect for you. If you want any prompting we’ve gathered together lots of ideas that might set you on the road for a day that at worst might be fun and at best could start to change your life in unexpected ways!

‘And, if having a Big Lunch just for fun doesn’t feel right for you then find a cause that’s close to your heart and doorstep – be it a hospice, reformed offenders scheme or even a hedgehog sanctuary – then use The Big Lunch as a fund-raiser or volunteer your time.’

Recycle your old bras

2009-08-21T04:50:42-07:00

Take your old bras into Oxfam. It’s been virtually impossible to resell underwear. Until now. That’s because Oxfam’s recycling plant in Huddersfield, Wastesavers, sees bras as “invaluable revenue-generating items.”

Bras are valuable because they are lightweight, meaning you get more in a kilo, which in turn means they fetch a higher price per kilo. And bras from the UK are particularly popular. “They are technically difficult to make and those from here are considered to be of superior quality in the developing world," says Tony Clark, General Manager at Wastesavers.

Wastesavers is where clothes that cannot be sold in shops end up, when the material is either recycled, if the item is damaged, or sold to traders who send them to developing countries.

(Please note that Oxfam is still in the process of notifying its 570 clothes shops, and the 1000s of volunteers who work in them, about Wastesaver. So you may find that your local Oxfam tells you it doesn’t accept bras. But they do. They just might not know it yet.)

Flickr photosource – thanks MathieuB

'Grey' water your garden

2009-12-07T08:03:30-08:00

Divert bath and shower ( that’s ‘grey’) water onto the garden soil.

Get a valve that fits onto waste pipes with 41, 43 & 44.5mm outside diameter and then, when open, grey water is routed through a hosepipe onto your garden or into your water butt</a. When the valve is closed, the water flows as normal. It’s a permanent fitting with simple pull-cord operation.

Click here to buy a valve now.

Make your garden bee-friendly

2009-08-02T13:46:12-07:00

Encourage bumblebees to your garden to play their vital role in pollinating your plants.

Bumblebees can be found in most habitats where there are nectar- and pollen-filled plants – whether this is in your garden, on farmland or in the countryside. But Britain’s bees are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Various government bodies and research institutions have agreed to provide £8m to look into why populations are falling. But we can all do our bit.

The best way to help is to provide food and nesting sites in your garden for bumblebees. Wherever you live in the UK, you should be able to attract at least six bumblebee species to your garden. Try and ensure you have different plants that flower at different times of year and plant traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers. You could also leave an area of your lawn unmown to provide flowers during summer.

Find out more about keeping your bees in clover.

Find out how to make a bee home.

Alternatively you could get involved in monitoring and recording bee species that you see in order to help organisations understand their current populations. Find out about surveys run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Why encourage bees?
Pollination is the number one reason. We need them to make trees, plants and flowers bloom. Also, they’re well adapted to the British climate and don’t mind getting out even when it’s not that warm. You’d be helping the British bumblebee to survive if you put out a home for them. Their population has fallen to the point where this trend needs reversing.

Fine out more about bees in your garden here (courtesy of Blue Peter).

Click here for a short video clip of bee facts.

And click here to listen to the Environment Minister Hilary Benn talking about this on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Click here for more on how to make your garden bee-friendly.

And register here for the Save Our Bees campaign.

Watch Martha Kearney’s BBC doc about the crisis on BBC2 on Friday 15 May at 7pm.

Fit a ShowerSmart valve

2009-08-10T07:53:36-07:00

As part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the amount of energy we use, eaga have one free ShowerSmart valve to give away to every household in Great Britain. This small gadget prevents unnecessary waste of water when using your shower. It’s free, simple to use, saves money and is also green. It’s got to be a Generous action.

So how does it work?
Basically, it creates a constant flow of 7.7 litres per minutes, giving a full, even jet with less fluctuation in the speed of the water flow from your shower. And a more efficient shower means that you will save energy.

When the item is delivered, it includes a measuring bag. To see if your shower would benefit from using it, simply put the showerhead into the bag, turn on the shower for five seconds and then switch off the shower. If the water level in the bag is above the printed measuring line, then your shower unit is not efficient and you will benefit from installing the unit. If the water level is below the line, then you have an efficient shower and there is no need to install the unit.

And how do I install it?
To install it, simply unscrew the shower hose, put in the red fibre washer between the unit and the taps, screw the unit onto the taps, and on the other end screw the shower hose on to the top of the unit. Job done. The water flow remains strong and is sufficient for a good shower.

So how can I get hold of one?
You can claim a free unit – plus some energy-saving lightbulbs if you are over 70 or, alternatively, are claiming one of the following benefits or credits: income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, attendance allowance, disability allowance, industrial injuries disablement pension benefit, war disablement pension, pension credit, child tax credit, or working tax credits. But it seems like most of us can claim a free unit (minus the bulbs) even if we’re not over 70 or on these benefits.

What could I save?
A two-person household could save more than 12,000 litres of water a year by using the ShowerSmart – and, at current prices, this will mean a saving of roughly £20 each year on gas bills and (assuming your water is metered) a saving of £20 on your water bill per year. This equates to over a tonne of carbon dioxide over products lifetime.

In summary:

Save up to £600 over the product’s lifetime.
Save up to £20 per year* on fuel bills.
Save up to £20 per year* if your water is metered.
15 Year manufacturer guarantee.
Easy self-installation.
Suitable for use with non-electric mixer showers or bath/shower mixer taps, provided they run off the mains water pressure.
Works by regulating the water flow, saving you water, energy and money.

*Based on a 2-person household. Source: The Building Research Establishment

Apply for your free eaga ShowerSmart here now. Or visit eaga.com/showersmart or ring free on 0800 953 0033 quoting reference ‘ShowerSmart-RF’.

NB. The makers indicate that the unit is not suitable with electric showers, showers with multiple jets or rainwater showers.

Here’s a related video.

Shower shorter from Generous on Vimeo.

Choose philanthropy, choose to give

2009-06-09T09:46:43-07:00

Flickr photosource – thanks Johnny Vulkan

Don’t leave philanthropy to the wealthy; the rich don’t always have the best view of what’s going on. And don’t leave your charitable giving to when something starts tugging at your heartstrings – what other financial decisions do we make when we’re all choked up? Giving money is a serious business, and seriously good for us to do. There’s a reason why clichés become clichés: it really is better to give than to receive.

So here’s the deal. Most of us give something, sometime. But most of us do it in response to big appeals or special fundraisers. Nothing wrong with that … except that good causes from charities to campaigning groups can never plan properly for the future if they don’t know what funds are coming in. They need people to give to them regularly – same day every month – like people do paying off their credit card or paying down their mortgage.

Our regular giving enables them to plan and do what they do better – which means that the people who rely on their help in turn get better and more support when they need it.

So this action is about putting business sense into your personal philanthropy. Work out how much you can afford to give away, work out who or what you would like to support and then work out how you are going to do it.

The great thing about giving regularly is that it defies the idea that none of us can give big time. After all, deciding to give a charity £2 a month, the price of a couple of takeaway cappucinos – or to give ten charities £2 a month – is deciding to give away £24 a year, or £240 a year. Or £2,400 over a decade – throughout which time, many of us won’t have missed it.

And, if you gift aid it, the charity can get your tax back too.

In fact, because giving to good causes is as serious a business as paying for our light or gas or water, the rather fine people at the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) have set up a simple-to-use system – which gives you your own account, debit card or cheque book. You put the money in every month, they get your tax back from the government and you give it away again – to whomsoever you like, as long as they are a charity.

CAF Online is the Charities Aid Foundation website at http://www.cafonline.org/ and they can help your giving go further if you’re a UK taxpayer. A great first port of call if you to choose philanthropy and start to give regularly.

(Thanks to Olly Willans for this suggestion.)

Links

Learn more about setting yourself up with a CAF account here
Tell CAF what you feel about giving in a recession here