New challenges :)

Finally got started on some volunteer jobs, I been keen to do this for so many years but just didn't get around to do something about it until now!

I have been elected to the Board of Ventilen Denmark. This is a volunteer organization which operates venues for quiet and lonely young people between 15-25th. I funded Ventilen with money before, and has a sister-in-law who has been a volunteer there a few years now, so I was familiar to the organization, but was a spontaneous choice that made me take the plunge and become a Board member. Many will probably think it's a bit of a mouthful; I like to think of it as a challenge:) Of course I am not superman/woman, and there's a lot to learn, but I am convinced it will be a very exciting year.

Personally, I think Ventilen is doing a tremendous job and the work they do is super important, and that I have the opportunity to help shape the organization and make my mark, I find super exciting! It is also a bunch of enthusiastic young people who run the organization, double plus:) So all in all, it's a win-win:) So far I have decided to become a part of the education committee, something which I find interesting, while still being close to what I daily work with.

Then I actually started on something else, something I've been part of since July, but which really only just got official. Have signed up as a volunteer writer for an organization in the U.S. called TwitChange! I supported them, and their mission to use social media to spread news about all sorts of good charitable organizations or events, through Twitter.

TwitChange, as their name indicates, is a volunteer organization that wants change the world 'one tweet at a time' through social media. At first they focused a lot on Twitter. Many celebrities, well-known organizations (etc.) have profiles on Twitter, and you can easily "follow" them and see what they "tweet" about on their timeline. TwitChange saw the idea of ​​teaming up with celebrities and using Twitter as a way to get people to donate money to good causes. It has worked extremely well and resulted in many good auctions and collections! Now they have expanded their horizon and want to spread the word about how social media can change the world. Celebrities often use their Twitter or Facebook page to spread messages and get their fans to support a charity they support. Media like YouTube and Google+, also forums where messages can easily spread, have now become one of TwitChange's focus areas. They want small articles that focus on a charity being promoted through social media, and therefore they have asked many of their supporters on Twitter if they would like to be volunteer writer for them.

What this long story was leading up to is that, since July I signed up to be a writer for TwitChange, and now I am! Have never written anything but essays, reports and short stories in school, and now I'm about to write articles. Really exciting and scary, and also, I have to write in English. English has always been my second language, and I already read many books in English, but it's nice to sharpen my grammar as well:) All the while I can help spread good stories about good charity and much more. Have just posted two articles, and will write if/when they are posted on the website.

Are more of you interested to know anything more about these two organizations and perhaps even support them with money or anything, you can read much more about them on the following pages.

http://www.ventilen.dk/

- Join and steadily at 75 kr. (Danish kroner) per year. If you want to give more, you can too!

http://twitchange.com/

- There are no an auctions right now, but there will be sometime soon:) Otherwise, there is a lot of interesting articles to read, or even the possibility to become a writer yourself!!

Looking forward to making a difference:)

Christina

All you need is LOVE :)

So, everyone knows the famous Beatles son "All You Need Is Love", and in that one line it says it all. Because Love is the most important thing we choose to have in our lives. Weather it is love for family, friend, soul mates, animals, nature, fashion, cars etc., love always makes us feel satisfied, full, whole.

Love can come in many packages, and one is helping others, which I believe is the most important thing we can do to one another. Some might donate, volunteer, pray, support or maybe all the above! Some might do it big, others small, whatever course, it means something.

And it is so true. If you choose to help the people you meet on a daily basis, that is so much better than doing nothing at all. We don't need to dream big, because it we can't fulfill those dreams we will just feel that much more like a failure. And a failure we are not!! During the last 1,5 years I've become more involved in social good campaigns, and donated money AND become a blood donor, something I've wanted to become since I turned 18 but just never got around to do. It is something that makes me feel like I make a difference in the big picture. But what about the small deeds? Is that not just as important, if not more important? In my opinion, YES!!!

How can we change the world when we can't change our country, our city, maybe even out neighborhood? We should dream big, our goal should be a better world for everyone to live in, but we need to pay attention to the people that surrounds us in our daily lives first. I have the outmost respect for those who dream big and do a huge impact in the world, and they should keep doing what they do, because it does make a difference! So by no means do i believe they should stop what they do, keep it up folks, I truly honor and look up to you. But what about us who don't have the ambition, energy, time or simply just the lust to go big when it comes to social-do-good-things? Well as i said, the small things might just be the right way. What if a call/ to you mother would make her still feel needed? What if that old lady on the bench just needs 10-15 minutes of chit-chat to make her feel wanted? Or what if a smile is all a person needs to make it through the day? Would that really be too much to ask? No, I don't believe so. But yet that is the things that we rarely do, that we don't see or realize! So let’s start now!! I love the quote I wrote in my introduction by Peter Marshall:

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned."

So let’s be the change! Together we can make a BIG difference, and all it takes is one small deed, a smile, a hug, a thought. It counts, you count!