Lazy Altruism: Super-Easy Ways to Do Good and Help Others

Guest Post by Yumi Sakugawa

Color me cheesy, but President Obama's call for action for more Americans volunteering their time inspired me to take volunteering more seriously. This is to me is hardly a matter of party loyalty, but simply a matter of principle: Sitting back and riding on the coattails of other ordinary citizens’ generosity and hard work does not make me feel very good. Dedicating a chunk of my personal time — even if it is a very small chunk — to something bigger than myself keeps me inspired, hopeful and busy.

Daunted by the burdens of the world? Minimal, lazy action is so much better than no action at all. If you are a wide-eyed volunteer newbie, here are five lazy-daisy ways to dip your feet into the wonderful world of altruistic love.

1. Grow your hair really, really long. You don’t have to go anywhere, and you don’t have to do anything. Simply let those luscious locks grow long and wild! Once your hair length reaches 10 inches, your hair can be donated to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating high-quality hair prosthetics for children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. And this isn’t limited to girls, either. I’ve known several guy friends who sported their manly tresses in a stylish ponytail before chopping it all off for a good cause.

Lazy Time Commitment: Eight months to a year of skipping those pesky hair appointments

2. Play Internet trivia when you should be working. On the website Free Rice, you answer multiple-choice trivia questions in subject matters of your choice, whether it is foreign language, art history, geography, mathematics, science, or SAT vocabulary. Every time you get an answer right, you donate 10 grains of rice through the U.N. World Food Program to help earn world hunger. This is especially great for high school students studying for the SATs, but a fun brain-building game for anyone itching to entertain their boredom on the computer.

Lazy Time Commitment: At least one minute of procrastinating on other important things

3. Get fed for lying down. Once you get past the squeamishness of being stabbed by a needle, this is the ultimate lazy altruism that saves lives. All it takes is an hour of your time at your local blood donor center, such as the American Red Cross. While blood is getting pumped out of your arm, you get to lie back for 15 to 20 minutes on a reclining chair and take a breather from the real world. When you are done with your blood donation, you get free cookies and juice, and sometimes a free movie ticket or a restaurant coupon. The warm and gushy feeling in your heart, however, is priceless.

Lazy Time Commitment: One measly hour every few months

4. Have someone take out the trash for you. Too lazy to drop off your used junk to a local charity? Ask the Salvation Army or Pick Up Please to drive to your house and help you get rid of those garbage bags of old clothes, electronics and other outdated possessions. You save money on gas, and you have more space in your closet for more important things, such as good karma and positive energy. Now don’t tell me you’re too lazy to pick up the phone.

Lazy Time Commitment: A few hours to do the cleaning you should be doing anyway

5. The perfect excuse to cut back on those lattes or cigarettes. When you sign up to sponsor a child through Children International, $20 are automatically deducted out of your bank account every month. That’s about $5 a week, or 67 cents a day. After your quick, initial sign-up, the organization does the rest. Through your monthly donation, a child in a third world country gets access to food, medicine, education and other basic needs. Chances are, you probably won’t notice having $5 less to spend every week. For the less fortunate people on the other side of the world, getting that money can completely transform their lives.

Lazy Time Commitment: Five minutes to fill out a form that’ll change someone’s life

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