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Best Ways To Celebrate World Humanitarian Day In Miami

By Katherine Bostick

Humanitarians come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicity. Rich, poor, middle class, and even those sworn to poverty can do their part on World Humanitarian Day. Being a humanitarian does not require traveling to poor countries or cities or even going into bad neighborhoods. Simply look around your own city and you will find many ways to be a humanitarian. Here are a few ways that you can celebrate World Humanitarian Day in South Florida.

Feed The Homeless

There are many ways in which you can feed the homeless. Help serve food at a homeless shelter or bring some pop-top cans of food to the homeless hanging around your city. No time to serve the homeless at a shelter? No problem. Simply drop off some canned goods or other food at a shelter in your neighborhood. Gardener's with extra produce can drop extras off at any shelter. Go here to find the location of a homeless shelter near you.

Read To Children

Hospitals and libraries are always in need of people to read to children. Libraries usually require a reader to set a date and time far enough in advance that they can place the event on their calendar. Hospitals, however, generally welcome readers almost any day of the week, although it is suggested that readers call ahead. Readers can bring books or read one that is already at the library or hospital. Follow these links for a list of Miami/Dade County hospitals and Broward County libraries.

Use Your Talent Or Profession To Help Out The Underprivileged

Are you a dentist, an optician, a carpenter, an electrician, or any other of a number of professions? Use your talent to help out the needy. Offer your services for free to a medical or dental clinic. Volunteer to help build a home for the needy or fix up a home for the underprivileged. Even something as simple as painting would be a way to celebrate World Humanitarian Day. Hands On Miami can help match you with an organization where you could put your talents to work.

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Visit Shut-Ins

Florida is a popular place for the elderly to retire. Unfortunately, as the retiree's get older, many end up being home-bound due to illness, lack of transportation, and even fear. While some pharmacies and grocery stores do offer delivery, shut-ins still need rides to the doctor and other places. Many do not have the funds to pay for taxi service. Many shut-ins simply want someone to visit them once in a while. So celebrate World Humanitarian Day by visiting a shut-in and read a book to them, play a board game, or just listen to them talk about their family. Go to this site to register to volunteer in Broward County.

Help The Environment

Great Humanitarians don't just help the underprivileged people, they also help the environment for the sake of all the people in the world. Without clean water, clean air, and plants, our Earth will not survive. So do your part on World Humanitarian Day and clean up a local wildlife area, a waterway or canal near your home, or just clean up a street nearby. If outdoorsy is not your thing, your can still be a humanitarian. Port Everglades always needs volunteers to help out or to provide funds to help the organization. Or just visit the Arbor Day Foundation's website at arborday.org or the plant a billion trees website at plantabillion.org and donate to them so that they may plant more trees around the world.

Related: Ellen DeGeneres To Accept Peoples Choice Humanitarian Award

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