Adding your name to an email list is a great way to get regular suggestions on how you can make a difference. Here are some of my favorites:
I almost didn’t recommend the first newsletter on my list, because the organization that publishes it, the Center for a New American Dream, is in transition. The center will be renamed New Dream and will streamline its mission to focus on the issues of kids and commercialism and simplifying the holidays, as well as directing more resources to promoting its alternative gift registry, SoKind. In the end, I decided to mention the “In Balance” newsletter anyway. It’s a valuable resource and will hopefully continue to be one under New Dream’s evolving structure. The newsletter comes out on an irregular basis, generally no more than once a month. You can read past issues through December 2015 on the organization’s website; note that they have not posted issues since then. To add your name to the email list, submit your information through the “Stay Informed” box at the top of any page on their site.
Climate Caretakers is a Christian organization committed to prayer and action on climate change. They send out two monthly newsletters: one focused on action steps and a second, prayer-focused newsletter. The screen shot I’ve included is of the November action letter. This is the first time I remember them using the newsletter to solicit donations, so it isn’t the best example of the usual action steps. There are always three levels of action presented, so that you can take a baby step or dive in, depending on your comfort level. You can see more action newsletters or sign up for both the action and prayer letters (I cannot find an option to sign up for just one) on their Act Now page. Like New Dream, Climate Caretakers has not posted their most recent newsletters.
End Slavery Now sends out weekly newsletters that include ways you can act against slavery. Tips include changing your buying habits, signing petitions, and printing out hotline numbers to make available to others. They used to include three action items every week, but more recent newsletters have contained fewer items. You can find past action items in their action library, and you can sign up for the newsletter on their “act” page.
Life Vest Inside is the organization behind the “Kindness Boomerang” video; its mission is to promote acts of kindness. The organization sends out daily emails. Each includes a quotation about kindness, an action step, a positive affirmation, and a short video about an act of kindness. You can sign up on their “Get Involved” page. You can also sign up to be a Kindness Ambassador; you’ll get an additional weekly email if you do that.
Simple Living Works! is a Christian organization that originated in 2012 after its predecessor, Alternatives for Simple Living, closed up shop. The organization offers online resources, a biweekly podcast, a monthly email newsletter (not featured in the screenshot above), and a daily “nudge” email (pictured above). To subscribe to the nudge, send an email with the subject line “NUDGE” to SimpleLivingWorks AT yahoo DOT com. You can subscribe to the monthly newsletter by sending an email to the same address, using the subject line “SUBSCRIBE.”
The email newsletter is full of links to different resources on simple living; the nudge is very short. I wish the newsletter and website were streamlined, making these resources as simple as the organization’s name. There’s also a distinctly old-fashioned feel to many of the resources. You may think of them as “retro cool,” but I find myself wishing for a more modern feel. I don’t think “simple” means “stuck in the ’70s.” My complaints aside, I wouldn’t recommend this resource if I didn’t think the newsletters provided useful tips related to simplicity.
Sometime over the weekend, sign up for an email newsletter or two. Just remember: You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time, so if you sign up for all of the emails (as I have done), don’t expect that you’ll be able to follow all of their tips for making a difference… or even that you’ll have time to carefully read each email as it comes in!