The Surprising Benefits of Smiling & Giving Back on Mental Health

The Surprising Benefits of Smiling & Giving Back on Mental Health

By mick | April 12, 2023

Click this link to listen to the full podcast on this topic - https://pod.fo/e/15dc01


It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of your business, especially when you’re just starting out. But if you can find ways to reach out to the community beyond your immediate circle, it'll help establish you as an expert in your field and give people a chance to get to know who you are and what you do. Here are some of the benefits that come with reaching out:


Connecting your business with the community can help your business grow.


  • It can help you build a stronger relationship with customers, which in turn helps to create more loyal customers.
  • And it's not just about building relationships—it's also about finding new customers and new employees.


How to run a community service program


When you're just starting out, it's important to keep your program small and manageable. If you dive right in with a huge project that requires a lot of work and planning, it may be too much to handle for your staff. Instead, try something smaller like volunteering at an animal shelter or donating food items to the local food bank. The more involved they are with the community service project—and the more personally connected they feel—the better their experience will be and the more likely they are to continue working on these types of initiatives long term!
You should also make sure that whatever community service program you choose benefits both yourself and your business as well as helping others in need. For example: giving back by supporting a local charity or helping out at an event organised by another local business could not only help build rapport between those organisations but give each side some publicity as well!

Set measurable goals for community involvement


When you think about the community, it's easy to focus on the general idea of "community involvement." You may be thinking that this means participating in events, serving on boards and committees, or giving back in other ways. But if you want to get the most out of your efforts as a community leader, what you're doing needs to be more specific than that—you need measurable goals.

Here are some things to keep in mind when setting your community involvement goals:

  1. Set goals that are measurable—measurable means that there's an outcome or result associated with whatever you're working toward. This can take many forms (like raising money for a cause), but makes sure it's something tangible so there's something for people to see and feel when they've reached their goal.* Set realistic expectations for yourself—experts say it takes about 18 months for new habits such as these to become fully ingrained into our daily lives.* Strive for ambitious goals—if your goal seems too easy or too small, try doubling down! It'll give you an added boost of motivation when reaching them feels like a challenge.* Make sure they're specific—don't just say "volunteer at the food bank," specify which days or times you want help out



Understand what the community needs


  • Ask yourself, "What are the community's needs?"
  • Ask yourself, "How can my business help meet those needs?" and then ask yourself again: "How can I help the community to help itself? How can I help the community to help other communities?"


Identify how your business can help meet the needs of the community


This may include:

  1. donating food or other supplies

  2. hosting events for children, such as reading programs and game nights

  3. offering discounts on products or services that are beneficial to the well-being of others in your area

Once you've identified how your company can make an impact, it's important to consider how it will benefit both yourself and those around you. For example:

  1. being involved with local charities will give people a reason to seek out yours business over competitors' when they're shopping for services or items that relate specifically with what you offer (such as medical supplies)


Volunteering


Volunteering is one way to build a stronger community and make an impact on the world around you. It’s also beneficial for business, because it shows employees that they will be rewarded not only financially but also through personal development opportunities.

To get started, look at local organisations and charities in your area or ones that align with your values—and then reach out. You can even organise a volunteer day within the company itself!

  1. Get involved with groups such as Habitat for Humanity or Meals on Wheels.
  2. Reach out to schools in need of support like tutoring programs for kids who aren’t getting enough attention from their parents due to financial struggles; these students could really use someone who cares about them every day during lunchtime when they need it most!
  3. Consider donating old computers/phones/etc so that kids can learn how to code on them during school hours instead of being distracted by social media all day long (this is especially important since many schools don't have enough tech equipment available).


Fundraising events and initiatives


At the end of the day, whether you're fundraising for a cause or holding an event to celebrate something, you should always consider how your efforts will help others and what impact they'll have on the community. A successful fundraiser makes not only financial contributions to charity but also social ones, bringing people together under the banner of a common goal.
Recognise what needs exist in your community and how you can support them by offering whatever skills or knowledge you may have. Then share your ideas with others who might benefit from what you're trying to accomplish!
The best way to get started with any fundraising project is by taking small steps at first—start with something simple like collecting change in jars around town or hosting a food drive at work. Once these activities become routine parts of life, it'll be easier for people involved in them (including yourself!) to see how they can expand their scope into larger-scale projects that bring more attention and support from businesses, organisations and government agencies. This process will take time; after all, there's no point rushing into things when everything could go horribly wrong! But don't worry: if all else fails then just keep trying because persistence pays off big time."


One-off activities that benefit charity organisations


There are a number of ways you can get involved with charity organisations. These include:

  1. Sponsorship – a one-off donation that is used by the charity to run specific projects or activities.
  2. Donations – an ongoing financial commitment to a charity, which allows them to plan for the future and provide their services for longer periods of time. Donations can also be made in kind; donating clothes, food, toys etc is also very useful!
  3. Giving your time – volunteering at local shelters and soup kitchens are great ways to give back to your community while gaining meaningful experience in the process. Volunteering abroad is another option if this isn’t possible locally!
  4. Giving money – even small amounts add up over time so don't think it doesn't matter if all you can afford right now is $5 per week! This could go towards buying supplies needed by shelter staff once they hit capacity levels (i.e., blankets).


Establishing a corporate responsibility strategy for your business


Corporations have started to realise that they can achieve greater impact by aligning their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy with core business activities and priorities, and measuring the results.
When defining your CSR strategy, it’s important to consider how your company will use its resources to help others in need—not just what you want to give but also how you want your employees or customers to feel about your support for causes in which they care about. You should also think about what drives these decisions: are they made out of moral obligation or financial gain? The latter is not necessarily bad; however, if it does not align with what matters most for everyone involved then issues may arise later on as people feel less motivated at work or customers get upset over being asked for money multiple times throughout their interaction with a brand.
You should also evaluate how well aligned these initiatives are with the rest of business operations (for example, should there be more focus on marketing materials sent out by email) so that all stakeholders know where things stand at any given time without having any surprises come up during critical times when changes could've been made beforehand instead; this way everyone involved knows exactly what their role is within this particular project without feeling like an outsider who doesn't understand anything going on around them."


Evaluate and refine your approach regularly. Take feedback from your team on board, and make sure you’re meeting the goals you set out at the beginning.


Make sure you’re meeting the goals you set out at the beginning. Make sure to take feedback from your team on board, and make sure you’re meeting the goals you set out at the beginning.

Don’t be afraid to make changes to your strategy. As with anything in business, it is important not to get stuck in a rut and always be open to feedback from your team and stakeholders.

In conclusion, it’s important to remember that the community is your friend. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and if you reach out to them in a friendly way, they will be happy to share it with you. If you are able to get this advice from other businesses or people within your own company, then all the better! With this information in mind as well as some tips on how to connect with others online (such as using hashtags), we hope that our readers will be able to improve their outreach efforts online by reaching out more frequently through social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook.



Want more resources to help build your building or trades-based business? Join us in the ToolShed - https://bit.ly/JoinTheToolshed